Binge-eating disorder?

arielaliza

Hi all. I am new to this site, but very familiar with yo-yo dieting. I always loooooove to eat, but about 3-4 days a week I can control my binge craves. The other half of the week I am out of control, and feel like, although I have strength and discipline in other areas, literally cannot control myself. I posted my first post yesterday, and such a nice young lady replied to me, and discussed binge eating disorder with me.. I have never heard of this before but it sounds just like me. I am a pretty happy person, and definitely dont have a lot of sadness, stress, or anxiety in my life (aside from those feelings related to food)... Has anyone been diagnosed with binge eating disorder that does not suffer from depression? Also, has anyone been on, or explored any meds for this disorder? I always try to avoid meds but if it is in fact an imbalance then maybe meds are needed and would actually help.... THANKS!!!!
Ariel

greekygirl

Welcome! I haven't been diagnosed but I'm sure I have it. BUT I have been diagnosed with depression so I don't know about that. Maybe it's a different underlying issue causing it? Or it could just be that certain foods are addictive (for me and others I know) and that could be the cause. Either way, I'm glad you're here! You came to the right place!

Sorry, I don't think I was very helpful but wanted to respond.

InTheInbetween

Welcome, Welcome!
I don’t know if my account helps at all but for whatever it’s worth . . .
I have been diagnosed with BED and depression though at separate times. They compound one another though it seems that the binge eating has more of an effect on the depression than vice versa in my case. My depressive tendencies seem to be largely wrapped up in my atrocious relationship with food and how I feel about my body image itself. Initially I didn’t admit to the binge eating to any of the psychiatrists who prescribed me the medication for the Depression and Anxiety. Like greekygirl mentioned, underlying issues are often present and the binge eating is obviously a very big underlying issue for the depression! Perhaps if they’d known that piece of it they’d have taken a different route. I don’t know. The meds didn’t seem to have the affect on the depression that they might otherwise have had if the eating issue, the bigger issue, had been addressed. Ultimately I chose to omit the meds altogether (the withdrawal symptoms are awful!) and sought out a Psychologist with a specialty in eating disorders. That was a HUGE step for me. I’m trying the cognitive behavioral therapy approach with no medication at this point and I’m cautiously optimistic. Obviously there’s underlying issues causing the binge eating to go on but I feel like finally working through those and not hiding it anymore (at least from my Psychologist . .) is going to take care of a lot of the depression issues as well . . .

arielaliza

Thanks guys! I am glad to be here to and want to thank you all for your support I am going to my GP tuesday and will be asking for a reference to a psychologist..... You know, ADHD runs in my family, and the people I have lived with (people reluctant to even believe in ADHD) have been convinced I have it. Anyway, I have never thought too much about it b.c through college I was forced to come up with effective coping mechs dealing with my, for example, constant boredom, impusliveness, and need for constant stimulation and excitement.... I see that there have been many academic studies linking ADD to binge eating and other EDs.... Not sure if everyone already knows of this but I found it pretty interesting! Thanks again for sharing you guys!

jlyle73

Welcome, I’m so sorry you’ve been going through this. It’s such a secret battle I don’t realize how many other people do the same thing, thank you for sharing. I can only do the same because I feel somewhat anonymous here. I’m stuck in the same pattern right now, but I have been living with (I wrote “fighting with” first then realized I don’t fight it too much) eating disorders most of my life – I was anorexic in college (they sent me home when my weight dropped below 80lbs – I went to a small school that didn’t want the liability of having me there), my dad didn’t know what to do with me (he had watched my mom die from cancer a year before then I come home looking like that). I eventually gained weight & swapped out for bulimia. I was healthiest during my early 30s – around 120lbs, I ate as normally as I ever have, worked out a reasonable amount – I wish I knew what turned it off at that point. Two years ago I switched birth control and lost some weight which turned into a competition for me & I went down to 97lbs. I was already starving & watching my father in law pass away with cancer last year initiated the binging again. Today I’ m at 107, I want to be 104 – so I’m in this pattern where I restrict too much during the week, I’m starving by the weekend and then binge, and start the cycle over on Monday…
I’ve been on the anti-depressants/anti-anxiety before, I never noticed much of a difference on them. A good psychologist is probably your best bet – it’s not easy to find the right one so be willing to go to a few to be sure you find the one you click with. Good luck, I’ll be thinking of you & keep us updated on your progress.

greekygirl

Very interesting - I never heard of ADHD having an effect on, or having anything to do with, binge eating. I swear I think I have it but haven't ever explored the possibility with a doctor or shrink. Hmmm....

I should probably try the psychologist thing again, I did that in the past but didn't find it very helpful. It could be that I didn't have the right doc. I am on meds with the supervision of a shrink for depression/anxiety and I think that helps with the binge eating.

I really think more people struggle with BED than we think because it IS such a secret battle. And I don't think it every really "goes away" for good. I have had eating disorders since I was 12 - I became anorexic and then my dad died when I was 12, which was very difficult for me. I started bingeing, most likely as a coping mechanism. From then on (almost 25 years, wow), it's been yo-yo dieting, restricting/bingeing/restricting pattern, exercise bulimia, etc. And I'm pretty sure I have body dismorphic disorder because I do NOT see the same body that others do. Boy, when I write this out I sound like a mess! LOL, but it's really a work in progress. I believe I have made progress so I'm ok with that. I am trying to learn new ways to cope with emotions rather than eating.