Eating Disorders

[Cupcake]

Hello,

I wanted to see if anyone else had been in a similar boat with dealing with eating disorders along with their battles with crohn's disease.

I find myself becoming extremely obsessive and paranoid about eating anything. I have to remind myself that I have to eat in order to obtain nutrition, but I think after dealing with the pain and possible lack of control over what happens when I do eat things (pain, bloating, running back and forth to the bathroom, nauseau) that just the idea of eating really can be hard.

I wouldn't consider myself to be anorexic as I am clearly overweight, but I find I have developed a preoccupation with food and fear of eating. I get terrified at the idea of going out to eat with a group, or eating out. I'd like to have a much healthier way of looking at the situation.

Has anyone else had any coping strategies that have helped them with becoming comfortable with food?

 

[Rebecca85]

Have you tried keeping a food diary or following some kind of elimination diet? If you could find out which foods will not make you sick, maybe you won't be so paranoid and preoccupied?

 

[Jennifer]

Have you talked to your GI doctor about different medications that could help you? Not just ones that get your illness under control but ones that also help treat your symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, bloating, pain etc.

I used to be afraid to eat around people I didn't know to well in the past but I've grown to accept my illness over the years and accept those symptoms as part of who I am. Therapy helped with acceptance along with friends or family or someone close to me who knew my condition so I wouldn't feel quite as alienated. Eventually I was simply honest with people and no one judged (didn't go into a lot of detail just the basics).

 

[Cordillia16]

I have a friend that is the same way. The only way she can get herself to eat anything is by taking pain meds before to counteract anything that might happen. She also is extremely strick with her diet. Good luck.

 

[Cupcake]

In the past, I've used aps on my iPhone to keep track of everything I eat. It was helpful. I also had to re-educate myself on the ingredient lists on the sides of boxes. Over time, I've realized a lot of my trigger ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, lactose, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, nuts, seeds, gritty whole grains) and have learned other ways in which they are listed on the box and stayed away accordingly.

Because of my food issues, I tend to stick to very few foods that I eat regularly. Most of them are breakfast foods. I have my staples of things that I know never make me sick. Most the time if I go out anywhere, I find myself overly tempted with things put in front of me. I usually can find something to order on the menus of places I go, but usually it's small. At times, I just want the company and to socialize, but I find myself eating just because everyone else. Give it 15 minutes or so and I'm off to find a bathroom.

I had to go on prendisone earlier this year and I put on about 30 pounds. I haven't made much of a dent in having to lose any of it, as I just haven't felt like doing any exercise. I previously was very active. Part of my fear of overeating is that I really don't wish to gain any more weight and it seems that no matter what drug I'm prescribed, it always seems to do something to my weight, up or down. It's a tiresome feeling to lose and gain over and over again, by no real fault of your own.

I often try not to care what anyone has to say about my weight, but even people I've known for a long time have to make comments when I've lost weight, saying I look great. When I have put on my weight, I've heard comments about 'gosh, she's let herself go!'. I'm not as sensative to it as I once was, but people's preoccupation with one another's weight loss and gain is so evident. I cringe in the grocery store check out seeing all the magazines obsessing over celebrities and their bodies.

 

[Jennifer]

You gotta work on changing your mind set. Weight isn't important and friends who say that you let yourself go aren't friends at all. I know what its like to have to deal with a little chubbiness and have people point it out all the time by poking at my flab (usually family members). It upsets me but no matter what reason I give, they keep doing it. Some people are just jerks. Know that you're better than that no matter what weight you are. You are not a jerk and you are worth the air you breathe.

Prednisone is an evil drug and is really the only one that ever affected my weight (Entocort can over extended use but never as bad as Prednisone). Things like Lomotil for diarrhea do not affect your weight or other drugs that help treat your symptoms. Perhaps you could look into other drugs to help treat your symptoms and maybe seek some counseling for your fear of eating and body image. It seems to be controlling you and you don't want to become an agoraphobiac.

 

[Cupcake]

That is such good advice. Sometimes I really have to remind myself that in the grand scheme of things, what you weigh doesn't really matter. I'm worried about 30 pounds. That's really not that important. There are things in this world really worth being upset about and weight gain really isn't one of them. I get most upset about gaining weight when I can't fit into clothing I'd like to wear.

I find when I feel like getting back into doing exercise, I have a lot less issues with my body in general. I really enjoy biking, swimming and working out. I'm hoping once we have a nice week of 60 degrees or warmer, most of this feeling sluggish will just go away. I think a lot of this is a seasonal depression issue, too.

 

[Manatey]

I understand where you are coming from. Right now I am on a 6 month flare that they are not able to get under control. I have been on 40 mg of prednisone since the first of January and 30 to 40 since Sept. Needless to say I am puffy everywhere. I tell myself it's no big deal. I can't do anything about it. Most the time I am ok with it. Lately I don't even want to look in the mirror while getting ready. Right now I am on leave from work so I don't have to spend a lot of time on myself and don't leave my house that often. I have found I am not the social person I used to be though. When it comes to eating, there are times when it hurts my stomach to drink water. I have started buying ensure by the case. On bad days I only drink that. On good days I just eat small amounts of foods I have found that work for me and maybe and ensure if I don't think I am getting enough nutrition. On iffy days or days I am craving something that I am not sure how it will turn out I have been known to pre med myself with pain meds. When I go out to eat, my friends and family are very understanding and they try to go somewhere they know I can find something that will work for me.

 

[zyamase]

my BMI is 19.5, my GI doc says i have to gain wt, was on a short course of pred 40mg and weaning off now, i associate food with pain, when i overeat , i get pain, when i dont eat i get pain, i understand your obsession with food, i also have a non specified eating disorder, not anorexic not bulimic so i understand your obsession with food. pain is a very fearful thing .... lol

c'est la vie that's life....

 

[elizamt]

you're not alone!

Cupcake,

Literally everything you said is true for me as well. I have always hated the number I saw on the scale. I've been working out on a regular for about three years now, and I've started to come to terms with the fact that I'm never going be be a size two or four (like most of my friends). I try to think about the things I CAN do that a lot of my friends can't - I can run six miles, I can box, etc. - but sometimes that's not enough.

I also have issues with going out with friends, be it to eat or just to go out and be social. Everyone always wants to go to places where the food is greasy and unhealthy and, once I'm there, I have a really hard time resisting the kinds of food I used to love eating. If I go out and have a burger, it's virtually a guarantee that I'll be back and forth to the bathroom several times before my friends are ready to leave. I don't so much have a fear of eating as a fear of the effects. I hate using a public bathroom for a "Crohn's Attack" (as I lovingly refer to my bowel habits) when there are other people in there. I try to hold it until there's no one in there, but sometimes I can't, and I hate that, especially when there's no courtesy music. So fear not. You're definitely not alone!

 

[Kendra]

Fear of food

Hello,

I wanted to see if anyone else had been in a similar boat with dealing with eating disorders along with their battles with crohn's disease.

I find myself becoming extremely obsessive and paranoid about eating anything. I have to remind myself that I have to eat in order to obtain nutrition, but I think after dealing with the pain and possible lack of control over what happens when I do eat things (pain, bloating, running back and forth to the bathroom, nauseau) that just the idea of eating really can be hard.

I wouldn't consider myself to be anorexic as I am clearly overweight, but I find I have developed a preoccupation with food and fear of eating. I get terrified at the idea of going out to eat with a group, or eating out. I'd like to have a much healthier way of looking at the situation.

Has anyone else had any coping strategies that have helped them with becoming comfortable with food?

I get tired of denying myself things I want to eat, I know its wrong, but sometimes i eat a BUNCH of no no foods, then I throw it up. Makes me feel good tasting it, just cant let it go through my system. I am so sick at my tummy if I just eat a piece of dry toast! Its tough but you learn to deal I guess. Take care. its messing my stomach up bad, so I have slowed down a LOT!. Seeing a Dr. for it though, I need to stop!

 

[Txarmywife]

I first began having problems as a small child (never remember being normal when it came to my tummy). It got worse at age 12 which ultimately led to my diagnosis. I, like you, Lost all pleasure from eating. I was afraid to eat because of the pain and diarrhea that followed. Then my GI at the time put me on a very restrictive diet. That accompanied by the pain and throwing up, I quickly lost weight. I was about 14 when I realized I was no longer not eating just cuz of the pain...now I was afraid of getting "fat" and was diagnosed anorexic when I got down to 70 lbs at 5'2". My eating disorder would last for another 4 years. So I certainly can relate to what you are goin through. It's very tricky when you have this disease that forces you to constantly be consumed in a world of what you can and can't eat. My suggestion would be to talk to someone about it now before it gets any worse. I talked to my GI doctor about my feelings surrounding food way back then who then referred me to a therapist and eating disorder specialist/nutritionist. When I'm in an active flare and lose weight I do find myself returning to old thinking but I'm not longer using food or lack there of to cope. IBD is already a pretty lonely disease and an eating disorder is even more so when accompanied by IBD. Good luck. I hope you can find someone to confide in. And don't try to down play your feelings just because you may or may not be stick then. Eating disorders are more about how you feel towards food and the number on the scale than the actual number on the scale.