need info/help about Bulimia!

Former Member

my partner is an 18 years old female and has been suffering from Bulimia for the last 3 years. i have been with her for 1yr 4 months.

when i first met her (4 wks into relaonship) i discorved that she had Bulimia because she had self-harmed her-self by cutting into her tummy and legs with a razor blade. this wasnt a deep cuts but just lots of grazing which have not left any scars.

i immediatly told her to see a doctor but she refused. i then told her that if she did it again i would tell her parents and also end the releanship with her.

this worked and she has nver harmed her-self again.

last week she told me that she has been sick again and after talking to her i discovered that for the last 3 months she has had Bulimia again. but this time round she is sick every day up to 3 times a day.

i feel i need to get her to see a special doctor ASAP!

Can anyone advise me where i can get this help for my partner and how i can deal with it with her?

i am the only one that knows about this condition and i cant tell her parents or her mates as she would see this as a abuse of trust and i feel it would make her condition worse!

thanks
jules
:cool:

Former Member

It would take me ages to go into the ins and outs of bulimia, but I can point you in the direction of http://www.something-fishy.com/ which is extremely detailed and should give you some insight into bulimia.

Ultimatums won't work, and they really aren't fair. She needs support and understanding, but you can't make her seek help.
She may not have got to the point where she feels she needs to deal with it. Unfortunately, it often takes till a person reaches desperation before they are willing to face reality.
Be there for her, PLEASE try not to make her feel guilty about this, it really can make it feel ten times worse.

It is not as simple as to stop throwing up. She needs to deal with the reasons behind the behaviour. It has been long-standing and the longer it goes on the harder it can be to get over.

If she won't see her doctor, perhaps she will talk to the practise nurse. It is not only her that is suffering with this behaviour and she needs to take some responsibilty for herself.

Don't let this overshadow your realtionship. Bulimia isn't the end of the world. The world will still turn on its axis and you can still get pissy when she nicks the remote. You sound like a decent bloke, I'm sure you'll get through it.

Former Member

Doing a search under the site has shown a list of items.



TheSite search results

Also try:

NHS Direct ]

Try not to push her into resolving this. It will happen but might take time.

Former Member

She must be doing this to herself for a reason and somewhere in her childhood she obviously had some distraught. Try talking to her and see if you can get out what caused her to do this. If she stopped and started she really needs to get help so she can stop as if she doesnt she will seriously damage herself. You need to get her to realise she has a problem herself and she needs to get it soughted. If she doesnt realise she has a problem herself, she won't stop.

Former Member

Originally posted by Smirnoff_Ice
She must be doing this to herself for a reason and somewhere in her childhood she obviously had some distraught.

No, not necessarily. Sometimes earlier experiences can have a bearing on eating problems but often there is no clear-cut reason.

Former Member

Some useful articles for you:

anorexia and bulimia the facts

case study

Our whole body image special

Helping someone else

Susie