Bulimia nervosa

The symptoms of bulimia nervosa include:

• Repeated bouts of overeating (rapid absorption of large amounts of food over a limited period of time);

• Feeling of loss of control over behavior during an attack;

• Vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, strict diets or starvation in combination with exhausting physical training;

• Obsessive worries about your weight.

Patients with bulimia, as well as with anorexia, are afraid to gain weight and tend to lose weight due to dissatisfaction with their figure. Bulimia is usually carefully hidden from relatives, as it is accompanied by a sense of shame. The overeating-vomiting cycle can be repeated from several times a week to several times a day.

With frequent vomiting, the following disorders occur:

• Chronic inflammation and sore throat;

• Swelling of the cervical and submandibular salivary glands;

• Thinning of tooth enamel, increased tooth sensitivity and an increased risk of caries as a result of exposure to gastric acid;

• Gastroenterological problems;

• Dehydration of the body;

• An imbalance of electrolytes (too low or too high levels of sodium, calcium, potassium and other minerals), which can provoke heart attacks.

Treatment of bulimia nervosa

The programs of psychotherapeutic assistance in the framework of the correction of eating disorders at the EMC Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy have been developed both for emotional disorders associated with a reaction to stressful situations, and for eating disorders in anorexia or bulimia. The main goal of the programs is not only to teach the patient to limit himself in food and fight excess weight, but also to help cope with stress and stress in alternative ways, while remaining at a comfortable weight.

Today, there are many ways to treat RPP.  These include drug therapy, various types of psychotherapy, and normalization of the diet. In the treatment of anorexia, a program focused on various aspects of the disorder is most effective: therapy should take into account existing somatic diseases and the cause of the development of RPP (which involves the use of individual and group psychotherapeutic approaches, behavioral, cognitive and family psychotherapy). In addition, for successful treatment, work is underway to normalize the patient's nutrition.

In the absence of timely and appropriate treatment, the symptoms of RPP can become life-threatening. Bulimia nervosa is amenable to treatment, which allows you to restore the functioning of the entire body and return to a normal weight.

Treatment of late-stage bulimia often requires medication and the development of a complex recovery plan with nutrition control and intensive psychotherapy. One of the most effective methods of bulimia psychotherapy is cognitive behavioral therapy.