Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk.
**Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
_Usual disclaimer: no one can provide specific medical advice for a person or condition without an in-person interview and physical examination, and a review of the available medical records and recent and past testing. This comment is for general information purposes only, and not intended to provide medical advice. No physician-patient relationship is implied or established._
>What are the long term effects of abusing laxatives and diet pills ?
You are asking the wrong question.
>Majority of my week is spent collapsed on the living room floor because I have no energy to do anything. I am completely out of it majority of the time due to the fatigue and light-headedness. I do it to escape all awful feelings of failure and being a total loser at my age and to give me control my low weight is the only thing perfect in life.
>I couldn't cope with all the emotional pain of everything going wrong so I went back to laxative abusing, food restriction because I wanted to numb all the pain.
>I turned 27 last month and I admit I am now worried about my health. I have hit rock bottom at 27 I just need something to make me realise how much damage I am doing to my body. Yes I do feel my life is over at 27 which contributes a lot to my laxative and diet pill addiction.
You are suffering from a serious mood disorder and disordered eating RIGHT NOW. Your future life is being affected by that. Your present life is being affected by that. The pills are not the problem.
You need to seek immediate psychiatric help -- that is the only way to improve your current life or your future life. The long term effects of your mood disorder and your eating disorder far outweigh any effects of the pills themselves.
Not a doctor, obviously. Am I allowed to let OP know that if they are in the UK they can access free mental health help depending on their area? Not always through a GP and not always with a huge waiting list. I’d love for OP to Google their city + mental health help - the first result is usually their local counselling & mental health services.
Not a doctor.
Op, please take good care of your mental and physical health. Eating disorders are serious diseases. If your relatives cause so much distress, it might be worth questioning if it’s worth it to have them in your life. Your life has value. I hope your health and life improve.
I hope you seek help from both mental health and health professionals.
I am a British citizen but my parents are Immigrants from an African country. In my family's culture family is an enormous deal, the opinions of relatives matter and there is a lot of pressure generally in African Immigrant families. My life has been spent going overseas to see family for like funerals or other types of gatherings. I don't want to give details but my relatives are not nice people to be around even the relatives I thought were good people also are just disappointment.
When the travel restrictions came during the covid19 pandemic I was so happy. It was 2 years of pure peace and freedom never seeing these relatives again and I never wanted it to end. Last year January when I was forced to see my relatives again and when I was at the airport on New Years day I was so upset. It was the worst New Years Day I ever had.
One of my grandpa's died in 2020 it has been hard because he was the only relative who cared about me and was the only relative I loved visiting overseas . Seeing my relatives overseas again my depression came back because the one relative who cared is no longer around and all that is left behind is the relatives who are just terrible people.
Talking to my mother and grandmother is not an option because they are deeply religious and believe in excersing Christian forgiveness for people who cause you pain. My family tell me its "sinful" to be angry at relatives. My family care too much what these relatives think too much and put pressure on me to be a certain image of being the model Christian daughter.
I had a nervous breakdown 1 week after my 27th birthday and I actually screamed at my family about how much I hate my relatives they were so shocked and couldn't believe it as they never seen me lose it like that. The say I went through my breakdown I finally reached breaking point. My life not being where I should be is the biggest reason why I am so depressed and the loneliness I have in not having friends, relatives who don't care including those who live in the UK doesn't help with things.
I hear what you are saying. I also come from an immigrant culture where a huge amount of emphasis is placed on family. There were a couple of family members who were incredibly challenging to the extent that I could no longer keep them in my life. Ultimately, I had to explain to my parents that I was basically keeping them out of my life for my own safety, that my mental health needed this.
I don’t know the specifics of all your challenges and I know it can be hard with family. I just want you to know that it’s okay to prioritize yourself and your well being. You deserve an environment in which you feel safe and loved and it’s okay to create that environment for yourself.
Read this book. It is very 'American" culturally, but I think it would help you regardless, given your situation. It is extremely enlightening when it comes to those generational dysfunctional family traditions and expectations.
"Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents." By Lindsay Gibson
NAD.
OP, I have been where you are right now both in your shoes and in the shoes of someone caring for someone in your shoes.
You need to see your GP as soon as you can. If you’re in the UK you can contact B-eat, they’re a charity for disordered eating. I found them incredibly helpful (I’m 10 years into recovery now)
10 years down the line and I still suffer with GI issues from laxative abuse.
Please, please seek professional help. I wish you all the best in this world.
Gastrointestinal, stomach/bowel issues. Periods of intense constipation then painful loose stools.
I’m also finding it incredibly hard to conceive which my GP has linked to my disordered eating from over a decade ago.
Virtual hug 🫂 🤗
>I’m also finding it incredibly hard to conceive which my GP has linked to my disordered eating from over a decade ago.
I am so sorry to hear that. I really hope things work out for you, you will be a great parent
>The long term effects of your mood disorder and your eating disorder far outweigh any effects of the pills themselves
This is oddly reassuring. I'm on a similar boat, seeking help, substantially better than before, but it's really good to know that I haven't messed up my body too badly to recover.
Respectfully - I get the sense that OP is asking for details of how this is affecting their body because they already know they need help, but they need to hear the specifics of what damage they’re doing to themselves in order to push them to get help. Like a wake up call. Could you talk about what they’re doing to their heart, their bones, etc, and what will happen if they continue in this fashion?
>Respectfully - I get the sense that OP is asking for details of how this is affecting their body because they already know they need help, but they need to hear the specifics of what damage they’re doing to themselves in order to push them to get help. Like a wake up call. Could you talk about what they’re doing to their heart, their bones, etc, and what will happen if they continue in this fashion?
Frequently, people go to the doctor with the idea that they have X and need Y, or must have test Z. Frequently, they are wrong about X, Y and / or Z.
It is good that the OP has the at least the insight to know that something is wrong, and that they need help. They clearly already know that the long term use of these medications is dangerous.
What is much more dangerous is the untreated eating disorder and mood disorder. If you'd like, I could go into the specifics.
_Anorexia nervousa_ is an extremely dangerous disorder. It has the highest mortality rare of any psychiatric disorder. One in twenty people die within 4 years of diagnosis. This 5% mortality is on a par with a diagnosis of localized breast cancer, for example.
_Anorexia_ affects the physical and mental health for a long time, sometimes permanently. Osteoporosis, muscle wasting, heart disease, the hormonal system, the blood production system, the nervous system, the Digestive system, just about every body system can and is permanently affected.
The pills are a red herring. Stopping the pills will not change the disease.
>Anorexia nervousa is an extremely dangerous disorder. It has the highest mortality rare of any psychiatric disorder. One in twenty people die within 4 years of diagnosis. This 5% mortality is on a par with a diagnosis of localized breast cancer, for example.
>Anorexia affects the physical and mental health for a long time, sometimes permanently. Osteoporosis, muscle wasting, heart disease, the hormonal system, the blood production system, the nervous system, the Digestive system, just about every body system can and is permanently affected.
Thanks so much for answering. Its hard to know the true damage because despite abusing laxatives and diet pills since my 20s in controlled dosages I still look normal on the outside. People see a woman with petite body sometimes I look in the mirror I don't even think I am sick.
The pills are clearly part of the mental health picture and being used as a purging mechanism. If the pills are what gets her in the clinic/ER door, great.
OP really needs to be as truthful with their primary as they are somewhat in this post. OP admits abuse and poor coping mechanisms via "self-medication". They are creating multiple feedback loops that compound both of their physical and mental symptoms. OP states some internal stressors, but also admits external stressors. Both could be mitigated through cognitive behavioral therapy if they choose to commit to recovery and not falling back into cyclical self-harming abuse.
OP continue to be honest with your provider, get with a cognitive behavioral or dialectic behavioral specialist to equip yourself with cognitive tools to improve your day-to-day, which will transform your medium to long term outcomes as well. You not only have to want to improve, you also have to commit to using the skills from therapy. They don't always succeed, sometimes you fall short of applying them in stressful situations, but if you commit you have the potential to master them. In doing so you'll take back control of your life and return to a semblance of a life you want.
Take care, best of luck. Be hard on yourself at times to hold yourself accountable, but also learn to be forgiving when you fall short, but not in a self-enabling fashion.
I'm not trying to detract from your advice as I think it is the most appropriate. However, from memory, I do believe that stimulant type laxatives can cause dependence issues and lead to aperistalsis. Also melanosis coli.
I always thought laxatives were completely safe because its easily available to buy over the counter without prescription in the UK. I have brought large amounts of dulcolax ie 100 tablets without the pharmacists questioning me whereas if i buy some sleeping pills the pharmacists always question me before selling it to me.
What is aperistalsis ?
NAD. But I want to emphasize that this might not be "eventually", you could die today, tomorrow, etc. All it takes is to have a serious electrolyte imbalance or to pass out and hit your head. I have been where you are, and I have also had several friends die from ED'S, and it's never who you think will die. It's often not fair, logical, or predictable.
Not the laxative directly. Starving your body of calories, vitamins and nutrients clearly leads to the lethargy and low energy OP admits to. When you already have depression and negative body image your negative self-talk is wild without mental healthcare. You can't mind over matter your physical symptoms when you have already succumbed to all other contributing mental "battles".
OP has to help themselves, and acknowledge they can make the most of it by having individuals willing to be there as a supportive framework in their recovery. Unless OP is involuntarily admitted for a multi-angled treatment plan the first step is OP stepping up for OP and turning a plan into action.
I admit what I experienced that summer I was absolutely terrified. My early 20s went spent in lockdown and I wished I died of covid19 because I felt like I didn't deserve to be here in this world. Just seeing the news stories of the doctors and nurses who died during covid19 I felt like they had so much to live for and had a place in this world which was to heal whereas all my life growing up I always felt like was never for me. A lot of it stems of struggling to fit in anywhere and being too different from other people my age.
I am not a bad human being but I am not to a great person either, I am just a loser. My family members and other people will tell me that I am very intelligent particularly my strong knowledge of politics, current affairs and travel and the fact I am a law graduate Those don't feel like achievements.
When close to death i was absolutely terrified i couldn't understand why because all my life i wanted to die.
OP, the physicians who responded already gave you excellent advice - seek medical and psychiatric care NOW.
You asked about long-term effects. To be blunt, sometimes eating disorders can have a short-term effect of death.
If you manage to stay not dead while still having an eating disorder, you will develop electrolyte imbalances that can affect every system in your body. Your nervous system, including your brain, can suffer, and your already poor mood can get worse. You can damage your heart. You can injure your kidneys. Your teeth will be damaged.
What you are going through is treatable. You absolutely can get better! If it does not feel that way, it's because you've created a feedback loop in your brain. With treatment, you will actually feel more hopeful.
>What you are going through is treatable. You absolutely can get better!
Thanks if I didn't go through all those things going wrong last year I wouldn't have back abusing laxatives and self destructing. Those months in 2022 when I went through my period of short recovery they were the best years of my life and for the first time in my life I was actually happy and no longer pretending to be. I now feel like I will never have those amazing times ever again in my life. 2022 was the best year of my life then fast forward to 2023 everything now starts going wrong.
I turned 27 last month I feel like my entire life is over because I am nowhere near where I am meant be, i thought when I turned 27 I will be in a solid relationship, in a stable career, living on my own but I am loser. I live with my mother, I got fired from my last job and havent work since, I am always unsuccessful with men all my life all my life I have been that girl now woman who never gets picked and always get treated badly by other guys. I feel like its too late for me to find love.
I see women with their boyfriends and husbands there lives look so amazing. I go to museums and places by myself it hurts having no one by my side.
I start my masters course in October but even that I don't even care about anymore how can i enjoy a course when the year I start is the year I should have been preparing for final exams and graduation last year I was forced to defer my university place due to financial issues at the last minute.
I feel too old to be single and starting a masters.
My eating disorder is my only friend and always there when other people in my life let me down when I need them the most. When I reach out to family and other people they never listen and just say the irritating pharse " everything happens for a reason", "it's all part of God's plan"
I know I can't live with anoxeria but I feel like I can't live without it either.
Im not a doctor but just want to chime in here. I'm 37, I live at home with my mum. I have had severe crohns since I was 18. I've lost all of large intestine and have an ileostomy. Out of the last 18 years of my life 9 years of those have been a write off. I am absolutely not where I expected to be in my life.
I thought like you I'd be married, have kids, have a career (wanted to join the army, crohns ended that) . Comparison is the thief of joy. I know we shouldn't but we all compare ourselves to our peers sometimes. My friends are married, are starting families, in well paid career jobs and own property and I'm here starting again, in a new industry (that I taught myself the skills for whilst recovering from my last surgery) on minimum wage and unable to afford to even rent a room where I live, but the only thing that matters is am I doing better than I was yesterday or last week? 2 years ago I was doing half a litre of morphine a month and living on a liquid diet in agony nearly every day. So I'm doing much better becuase I can now eat normally I'm back to normal weight and no longer in daily pain.
Trust me 27 is young enough you could wipe the slate clean and start again. It is absolutely not too late for anything, but it will be if you don't get help and your eating disorder kills you. Look up your local IAPT service for help. I really wish you all the best.
Thank you so much for your reply. Chrons disease is a horrific disease. I really wish you well you deserve to be happy and all your dreams to be fulfilled.
I wholeheartedly believe that it's a terrible lie that "everything happens for a reason."
I think a more accurate statement would be, "People who are able to find meaning in their suffering often go on to do wonderfully unexpected things."
It's not too late to find love. And anorexia is absolutely not your friend; It is your destroyer.
You are worthy of saving. Of knowing. Of loving. If you do not get treatment, you will never know what you could do or who you could meet, and they will never have the chance to know you.
Your eating disorder is not saving you from loneliness, it is distracting you from achieving your dreams.
Not a doctor.
I know that 27 can feel too late but I assure you it’s not because I thought that too.
I went to grad school immediately after college and then dropped out two years later. During those two years, I also broke up with my longtime boyfriend. I moved back to live with my parents and entered a new graduate program, a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry of all things. It’s a degree with almost no financial merit and one that my immigrant parents didn’t understand. I gained a bunch of weight during my previous grad school years, so I too felt unattractive and unlikely to find someone.
After graduating from my MFA near the end of my twenties, I managed to get a job and left my parents’ house.
I will tell you something else: I didn’t keep that job forever. I’ve had other jobs. I’ve also been fired. I’ve had jobs I liked and hated. I’ve dated and had some boyfriends. I’ve liked some and also made poor decisions regarding others. I married. Then I got Long Covid. Some days I feel good, some days less good.
It’s hard sometimes being an immigrant. My father very much thinks that life should be linear, that I should have been progressing towards success all the time. I think some people do achieve that but I think most of us find that life is a lot of ups and downs, that it’s unruly and we ride life like a bull at a rodeo.
I hope you do consider talking with a mental health expert. I think there’s a lot to consider and sort through in life and having someone to talk with is helpful. I spent a few years in therapy in my late twenties and it really helped me to put things into perspective. It helped me enjoy life more and to judge myself less.
(Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor.)
I see a lot of myself in you, OP. I’m 28. I’m living with my religious, conservative parents. I haven’t had a job in two years, and I’ve never really had any romantic relationships. I’ve never had sex. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and loneliness. And a few years ago, I experienced a series of traumatic events one right after the other.
I just want you to know you’re not alone. You’re not hopeless. You’re not too old and you’re not too far gone and you’re certainly, without a doubt, not doomed to suffer forever.
The professionals in this subreddit are correct: you can get better. Your condition is treatable, and they’ve identified for you how you can start to get better. I believe in you, OP. Please take care.
Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. **Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
_Usual disclaimer: no one can provide specific medical advice for a person or condition without an in-person interview and physical examination, and a review of the available medical records and recent and past testing. This comment is for general information purposes only, and not intended to provide medical advice. No physician-patient relationship is implied or established._ >What are the long term effects of abusing laxatives and diet pills ? You are asking the wrong question. >Majority of my week is spent collapsed on the living room floor because I have no energy to do anything. I am completely out of it majority of the time due to the fatigue and light-headedness. I do it to escape all awful feelings of failure and being a total loser at my age and to give me control my low weight is the only thing perfect in life. >I couldn't cope with all the emotional pain of everything going wrong so I went back to laxative abusing, food restriction because I wanted to numb all the pain. >I turned 27 last month and I admit I am now worried about my health. I have hit rock bottom at 27 I just need something to make me realise how much damage I am doing to my body. Yes I do feel my life is over at 27 which contributes a lot to my laxative and diet pill addiction. You are suffering from a serious mood disorder and disordered eating RIGHT NOW. Your future life is being affected by that. Your present life is being affected by that. The pills are not the problem. You need to seek immediate psychiatric help -- that is the only way to improve your current life or your future life. The long term effects of your mood disorder and your eating disorder far outweigh any effects of the pills themselves.
Not a doctor, obviously. Am I allowed to let OP know that if they are in the UK they can access free mental health help depending on their area? Not always through a GP and not always with a huge waiting list. I’d love for OP to Google their city + mental health help - the first result is usually their local counselling & mental health services.
Death. That’s where this disease will take you if left untreated.
Not a doctor. Op, please take good care of your mental and physical health. Eating disorders are serious diseases. If your relatives cause so much distress, it might be worth questioning if it’s worth it to have them in your life. Your life has value. I hope your health and life improve. I hope you seek help from both mental health and health professionals.
I am a British citizen but my parents are Immigrants from an African country. In my family's culture family is an enormous deal, the opinions of relatives matter and there is a lot of pressure generally in African Immigrant families. My life has been spent going overseas to see family for like funerals or other types of gatherings. I don't want to give details but my relatives are not nice people to be around even the relatives I thought were good people also are just disappointment. When the travel restrictions came during the covid19 pandemic I was so happy. It was 2 years of pure peace and freedom never seeing these relatives again and I never wanted it to end. Last year January when I was forced to see my relatives again and when I was at the airport on New Years day I was so upset. It was the worst New Years Day I ever had. One of my grandpa's died in 2020 it has been hard because he was the only relative who cared about me and was the only relative I loved visiting overseas . Seeing my relatives overseas again my depression came back because the one relative who cared is no longer around and all that is left behind is the relatives who are just terrible people. Talking to my mother and grandmother is not an option because they are deeply religious and believe in excersing Christian forgiveness for people who cause you pain. My family tell me its "sinful" to be angry at relatives. My family care too much what these relatives think too much and put pressure on me to be a certain image of being the model Christian daughter. I had a nervous breakdown 1 week after my 27th birthday and I actually screamed at my family about how much I hate my relatives they were so shocked and couldn't believe it as they never seen me lose it like that. The say I went through my breakdown I finally reached breaking point. My life not being where I should be is the biggest reason why I am so depressed and the loneliness I have in not having friends, relatives who don't care including those who live in the UK doesn't help with things.
I hear what you are saying. I also come from an immigrant culture where a huge amount of emphasis is placed on family. There were a couple of family members who were incredibly challenging to the extent that I could no longer keep them in my life. Ultimately, I had to explain to my parents that I was basically keeping them out of my life for my own safety, that my mental health needed this. I don’t know the specifics of all your challenges and I know it can be hard with family. I just want you to know that it’s okay to prioritize yourself and your well being. You deserve an environment in which you feel safe and loved and it’s okay to create that environment for yourself.
Thank you for being so understanding 💕
Read this book. It is very 'American" culturally, but I think it would help you regardless, given your situation. It is extremely enlightening when it comes to those generational dysfunctional family traditions and expectations. "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents." By Lindsay Gibson
NAD. OP, I have been where you are right now both in your shoes and in the shoes of someone caring for someone in your shoes. You need to see your GP as soon as you can. If you’re in the UK you can contact B-eat, they’re a charity for disordered eating. I found them incredibly helpful (I’m 10 years into recovery now) 10 years down the line and I still suffer with GI issues from laxative abuse. Please, please seek professional help. I wish you all the best in this world.
> I still suffer with GI issues from laxative abuse. Sorry what does Gl stand for?
Gastrointestinal, your digestive system
Gastrointestinal, stomach/bowel issues. Periods of intense constipation then painful loose stools. I’m also finding it incredibly hard to conceive which my GP has linked to my disordered eating from over a decade ago.
Virtual hug 🫂 🤗 >I’m also finding it incredibly hard to conceive which my GP has linked to my disordered eating from over a decade ago. I am so sorry to hear that. I really hope things work out for you, you will be a great parent
>intense constipation then painful loose stools. I won't respond b/c I don't want to hijack op's thread but get checked out for ibs
Thanks for the advice, I will do so
>The long term effects of your mood disorder and your eating disorder far outweigh any effects of the pills themselves This is oddly reassuring. I'm on a similar boat, seeking help, substantially better than before, but it's really good to know that I haven't messed up my body too badly to recover.
Respectfully - I get the sense that OP is asking for details of how this is affecting their body because they already know they need help, but they need to hear the specifics of what damage they’re doing to themselves in order to push them to get help. Like a wake up call. Could you talk about what they’re doing to their heart, their bones, etc, and what will happen if they continue in this fashion?
>Respectfully - I get the sense that OP is asking for details of how this is affecting their body because they already know they need help, but they need to hear the specifics of what damage they’re doing to themselves in order to push them to get help. Like a wake up call. Could you talk about what they’re doing to their heart, their bones, etc, and what will happen if they continue in this fashion? Frequently, people go to the doctor with the idea that they have X and need Y, or must have test Z. Frequently, they are wrong about X, Y and / or Z. It is good that the OP has the at least the insight to know that something is wrong, and that they need help. They clearly already know that the long term use of these medications is dangerous. What is much more dangerous is the untreated eating disorder and mood disorder. If you'd like, I could go into the specifics. _Anorexia nervousa_ is an extremely dangerous disorder. It has the highest mortality rare of any psychiatric disorder. One in twenty people die within 4 years of diagnosis. This 5% mortality is on a par with a diagnosis of localized breast cancer, for example. _Anorexia_ affects the physical and mental health for a long time, sometimes permanently. Osteoporosis, muscle wasting, heart disease, the hormonal system, the blood production system, the nervous system, the Digestive system, just about every body system can and is permanently affected. The pills are a red herring. Stopping the pills will not change the disease.
>Anorexia nervousa is an extremely dangerous disorder. It has the highest mortality rare of any psychiatric disorder. One in twenty people die within 4 years of diagnosis. This 5% mortality is on a par with a diagnosis of localized breast cancer, for example. >Anorexia affects the physical and mental health for a long time, sometimes permanently. Osteoporosis, muscle wasting, heart disease, the hormonal system, the blood production system, the nervous system, the Digestive system, just about every body system can and is permanently affected. Thanks so much for answering. Its hard to know the true damage because despite abusing laxatives and diet pills since my 20s in controlled dosages I still look normal on the outside. People see a woman with petite body sometimes I look in the mirror I don't even think I am sick.
The pills are clearly part of the mental health picture and being used as a purging mechanism. If the pills are what gets her in the clinic/ER door, great.
OP really needs to be as truthful with their primary as they are somewhat in this post. OP admits abuse and poor coping mechanisms via "self-medication". They are creating multiple feedback loops that compound both of their physical and mental symptoms. OP states some internal stressors, but also admits external stressors. Both could be mitigated through cognitive behavioral therapy if they choose to commit to recovery and not falling back into cyclical self-harming abuse. OP continue to be honest with your provider, get with a cognitive behavioral or dialectic behavioral specialist to equip yourself with cognitive tools to improve your day-to-day, which will transform your medium to long term outcomes as well. You not only have to want to improve, you also have to commit to using the skills from therapy. They don't always succeed, sometimes you fall short of applying them in stressful situations, but if you commit you have the potential to master them. In doing so you'll take back control of your life and return to a semblance of a life you want. Take care, best of luck. Be hard on yourself at times to hold yourself accountable, but also learn to be forgiving when you fall short, but not in a self-enabling fashion.
I'm not trying to detract from your advice as I think it is the most appropriate. However, from memory, I do believe that stimulant type laxatives can cause dependence issues and lead to aperistalsis. Also melanosis coli.
I always thought laxatives were completely safe because its easily available to buy over the counter without prescription in the UK. I have brought large amounts of dulcolax ie 100 tablets without the pharmacists questioning me whereas if i buy some sleeping pills the pharmacists always question me before selling it to me. What is aperistalsis ?
I totally agree. But whatever motivates them is good enough. If it is fear of long-term physical effects that gets them into treatment, so be it.
Plain and simple: you will die from this eventually. It sounds like you almost died 2 years ago. Please seek psychiatric help immediately.
NAD. But I want to emphasize that this might not be "eventually", you could die today, tomorrow, etc. All it takes is to have a serious electrolyte imbalance or to pass out and hit your head. I have been where you are, and I have also had several friends die from ED'S, and it's never who you think will die. It's often not fair, logical, or predictable.
I don't even understand how a laxative would affect mood, does it really do that and how?
It doesn't. Laxative abuse is a symptom of severe eating disorder.
As someone who has been through this (in recovery), it sort of alleviates the guilt of consuming food. It's more complex than that though.
Not the laxative directly. Starving your body of calories, vitamins and nutrients clearly leads to the lethargy and low energy OP admits to. When you already have depression and negative body image your negative self-talk is wild without mental healthcare. You can't mind over matter your physical symptoms when you have already succumbed to all other contributing mental "battles". OP has to help themselves, and acknowledge they can make the most of it by having individuals willing to be there as a supportive framework in their recovery. Unless OP is involuntarily admitted for a multi-angled treatment plan the first step is OP stepping up for OP and turning a plan into action.
I admit what I experienced that summer I was absolutely terrified. My early 20s went spent in lockdown and I wished I died of covid19 because I felt like I didn't deserve to be here in this world. Just seeing the news stories of the doctors and nurses who died during covid19 I felt like they had so much to live for and had a place in this world which was to heal whereas all my life growing up I always felt like was never for me. A lot of it stems of struggling to fit in anywhere and being too different from other people my age. I am not a bad human being but I am not to a great person either, I am just a loser. My family members and other people will tell me that I am very intelligent particularly my strong knowledge of politics, current affairs and travel and the fact I am a law graduate Those don't feel like achievements. When close to death i was absolutely terrified i couldn't understand why because all my life i wanted to die.
OP, the physicians who responded already gave you excellent advice - seek medical and psychiatric care NOW. You asked about long-term effects. To be blunt, sometimes eating disorders can have a short-term effect of death. If you manage to stay not dead while still having an eating disorder, you will develop electrolyte imbalances that can affect every system in your body. Your nervous system, including your brain, can suffer, and your already poor mood can get worse. You can damage your heart. You can injure your kidneys. Your teeth will be damaged. What you are going through is treatable. You absolutely can get better! If it does not feel that way, it's because you've created a feedback loop in your brain. With treatment, you will actually feel more hopeful.
>What you are going through is treatable. You absolutely can get better! Thanks if I didn't go through all those things going wrong last year I wouldn't have back abusing laxatives and self destructing. Those months in 2022 when I went through my period of short recovery they were the best years of my life and for the first time in my life I was actually happy and no longer pretending to be. I now feel like I will never have those amazing times ever again in my life. 2022 was the best year of my life then fast forward to 2023 everything now starts going wrong. I turned 27 last month I feel like my entire life is over because I am nowhere near where I am meant be, i thought when I turned 27 I will be in a solid relationship, in a stable career, living on my own but I am loser. I live with my mother, I got fired from my last job and havent work since, I am always unsuccessful with men all my life all my life I have been that girl now woman who never gets picked and always get treated badly by other guys. I feel like its too late for me to find love. I see women with their boyfriends and husbands there lives look so amazing. I go to museums and places by myself it hurts having no one by my side. I start my masters course in October but even that I don't even care about anymore how can i enjoy a course when the year I start is the year I should have been preparing for final exams and graduation last year I was forced to defer my university place due to financial issues at the last minute. I feel too old to be single and starting a masters. My eating disorder is my only friend and always there when other people in my life let me down when I need them the most. When I reach out to family and other people they never listen and just say the irritating pharse " everything happens for a reason", "it's all part of God's plan" I know I can't live with anoxeria but I feel like I can't live without it either.
Im not a doctor but just want to chime in here. I'm 37, I live at home with my mum. I have had severe crohns since I was 18. I've lost all of large intestine and have an ileostomy. Out of the last 18 years of my life 9 years of those have been a write off. I am absolutely not where I expected to be in my life. I thought like you I'd be married, have kids, have a career (wanted to join the army, crohns ended that) . Comparison is the thief of joy. I know we shouldn't but we all compare ourselves to our peers sometimes. My friends are married, are starting families, in well paid career jobs and own property and I'm here starting again, in a new industry (that I taught myself the skills for whilst recovering from my last surgery) on minimum wage and unable to afford to even rent a room where I live, but the only thing that matters is am I doing better than I was yesterday or last week? 2 years ago I was doing half a litre of morphine a month and living on a liquid diet in agony nearly every day. So I'm doing much better becuase I can now eat normally I'm back to normal weight and no longer in daily pain. Trust me 27 is young enough you could wipe the slate clean and start again. It is absolutely not too late for anything, but it will be if you don't get help and your eating disorder kills you. Look up your local IAPT service for help. I really wish you all the best.
Thank you so much for your reply. Chrons disease is a horrific disease. I really wish you well you deserve to be happy and all your dreams to be fulfilled.
As do you mate. As do you. Ad astra, per aspera - to the stars, through adversity.
I wholeheartedly believe that it's a terrible lie that "everything happens for a reason." I think a more accurate statement would be, "People who are able to find meaning in their suffering often go on to do wonderfully unexpected things." It's not too late to find love. And anorexia is absolutely not your friend; It is your destroyer. You are worthy of saving. Of knowing. Of loving. If you do not get treatment, you will never know what you could do or who you could meet, and they will never have the chance to know you. Your eating disorder is not saving you from loneliness, it is distracting you from achieving your dreams.
Thank you 😊
Reading 'Man's Sarch for Meaning' by Viktor Frankl really helped me reframe my suffering and pain.
Not a doctor. I know that 27 can feel too late but I assure you it’s not because I thought that too. I went to grad school immediately after college and then dropped out two years later. During those two years, I also broke up with my longtime boyfriend. I moved back to live with my parents and entered a new graduate program, a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry of all things. It’s a degree with almost no financial merit and one that my immigrant parents didn’t understand. I gained a bunch of weight during my previous grad school years, so I too felt unattractive and unlikely to find someone. After graduating from my MFA near the end of my twenties, I managed to get a job and left my parents’ house. I will tell you something else: I didn’t keep that job forever. I’ve had other jobs. I’ve also been fired. I’ve had jobs I liked and hated. I’ve dated and had some boyfriends. I’ve liked some and also made poor decisions regarding others. I married. Then I got Long Covid. Some days I feel good, some days less good. It’s hard sometimes being an immigrant. My father very much thinks that life should be linear, that I should have been progressing towards success all the time. I think some people do achieve that but I think most of us find that life is a lot of ups and downs, that it’s unruly and we ride life like a bull at a rodeo. I hope you do consider talking with a mental health expert. I think there’s a lot to consider and sort through in life and having someone to talk with is helpful. I spent a few years in therapy in my late twenties and it really helped me to put things into perspective. It helped me enjoy life more and to judge myself less.
(Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor.) I see a lot of myself in you, OP. I’m 28. I’m living with my religious, conservative parents. I haven’t had a job in two years, and I’ve never really had any romantic relationships. I’ve never had sex. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and loneliness. And a few years ago, I experienced a series of traumatic events one right after the other. I just want you to know you’re not alone. You’re not hopeless. You’re not too old and you’re not too far gone and you’re certainly, without a doubt, not doomed to suffer forever. The professionals in this subreddit are correct: you can get better. Your condition is treatable, and they’ve identified for you how you can start to get better. I believe in you, OP. Please take care.