In contrast to Anorexia Nervosa, where the patient is in total denial about their situation, most bulimics already know and admit that they suffer from a life-threatening illness. The facts are that the constant binging as well as purging over the years takes a toll on human bodies. Abusing laxatives as well as repeated vomiting can cause irreparable damage to the rectum as well as/or esophagus, resulting in heavy bleeding that can happen so quickly a patient can "bleed out" in the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive. The mindset of a bulimic is such that their denial comes in the form of hopelessness for recovery. Life to the bulimic appears to be no more than one long, endless cycle of binging and purging to lose weight or avoid gaining weight. If a bulimic reaches the age of thirty, figuring the individual started the conduct when he or she were a teen, he/she is so deeply ingrained with the bulimic mindset that the binging as well as purging becomes almost as second nature as breathing. Although some bulimics will try to reform themselves, they fall short in relapse prevention.
Hopelessness, shame, and self-loathing pervade a bulimic's life, as well as it is for these reasons that a bulimic will not seek out treatment on their own. More often than not, it is a concerned physician, friend, or family member that takes matters in hand as well as speaks to the individual about the situation. With some reluctance, the bulimic will seek help. On an inner level, this does offer the patient some small bit of hope as well as the bulimic breaks silence, consenting to intensive treatment. The web site Bariatric Obesity Physician which will provide you with a lot more revealing information.
For treatment to be successful, it is imperative that the bulimic be hospitalized in a special unit staffed by physicians, nurses as well as mental health professionals who are skilled as well as experienced in treating eating disorders. Treatment consists of nutritional counseling, medical care for co-existing physical problems such as electrolyte imbalance and erosion of dental enamel, nursing care that monitors the patient's vital signs for any evidence of adverse reactions to medications that may be prescribed, as well as mental health care for intensive individual and group therapy to assist the bulimic in overcoming shame and guilt, increasing self-esteem and gaining life coping skills to prevent relapse. If psychiatric evaluation reveals the presence of co-morbid disorders such as depression and/or anxiety, these conditions will be simultaneously treated.
An essential part of in-patient treatment is the close supervision of the patient's eating conduct. Meals are carefully planned, as well as the patient's consumption of the meals is visibly monitored by staff members. After meals, the bulimic is closely watched to prevent purging by self-induced vomiting. Clearly, this kind of treatment is not punitive or overly-intrusive in nature; it is based upon sincere compassion as well as belief that the binge-purge cycle must be interrupted by any means necessary. Until this has been accomplished, all other forms of treatment will be useless. Successful cessation of purging is a success a bulimic desperately needs.
It's been said that medical treatment is only as good as an insurance company will pay for. Hence, the average hospital stay for a bulimic is four to six weeks. Not a preferable 90-day hospitalization, but certainly better than no hospitalization at all. Once the patient is discharged, his/her treatment plan has been largely accomplished; eating conduct has returned to acceptable, healthy practices, purging has been eliminated, and mental health therapy has provided the patient with great strides in improving self-esteem, reducing or even eliminating co-morbid depression or anxiety, as well as most importantly, the patient has hope that the bulimia will go into full remission.
Relapse prevention as well as follow-up outpatient medical as well as mental health care is important for a bulimic's continued recovery. If the illness is discovered at this early stage, there is still plenty of hope that the bulimic will survive as well as have a future without the binge as well as purge cycle.
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