Eating Disorder - Suddenly getting full quickly.

[[LittleMonster]]

I've suddenly started getting really full too easily.
My stomach feels bloated, in pain after eating & I belch alot too. Ick.

I haven't managed to finish a meal in 3 days now, and I only eat one proper meal a day because my parents only eat 1-2 meals a day and I've been working alot..

I do have an "ED" as in I purge daily several times, but in the past 2 weeks I've barely done it at all. (I guess I can't say how many times, but trust me it's barely at all).

I don't know if my food pattern is normal now, or should I be worried?
I had to force xmas dinner down, and the meal out but even then I could only eat half,, and tonight even less.

Now as usual for the past few days I've got stomach pains, and feel very uncomfortable..

What could it be?

[JaffaCake.]

Could be something to do with your bowels? Have you had regular movements?

I had something like this a couple years ago and it was my bowels that were causing the problem.

Also, possibly, IBS? Just a very mild version?

I'm no doctor though so, maybe try see your GP as soon as you can? (with it being the christmas period, and all.)

Also: Well done for cutting down on the purging though (:

[[LittleMonster]]

Yeah I've been having movements and able to go, but at the mo' more than once, but at other times not at all.
I was using laxatives everyday for a few weeks, but don't think a few weeks of laxs would cause this especially as I've stopped taking them at the mo too?

[Emmabob.]

do u restrict?

[[LittleMonster]]

I was but then I started eating normally, I returned to uni for a few days and fell back into restricting and b/p'ing but that was only a few days, & when I ate normally for those couple of weeks I felt fine.. Now I'm back and it's really uncomfortable..

[makedamnsure]

Try eating more regularly, but slowly and smaller amounts.

For example, one piece of toast. Then 2 hours later something small like a boiled egg and a tomato, then an hour or two later have a sandwich. It will help keep your metabolism running and blood sugar levels constant and you shouldn't get full so easily. The less you eat the less hungry you feel after a while and your stomach shrinks so you get full quicker. Eating little and often should help you get back to normal.

[[LittleMonster]]

What I dont understand is that I was eating much more than I can manage now just 2 weeks ago before coming home,, but then I started getting pains & feeling sick.
It kinda makes me want to go back to the ED behaviours, although I know that I'm going to within the next week anyway... it just makes it harder for the moment to try and eat normally.

I managed a bit more last night, and it was hard as I was at my boyf's uncles house, and even then I gave him at least half of it.

I just want to know if there's anything I could try,, I have been fitting in lunch too for the moment but it still happens with dinner. I will feel extremely hungry then will get full so quickly :/

[All I know is falling.]

Really, the only thing to do is eat regularly as stated before. Try small meals, regularly.

You probably feel this way now because of how screwed up your eating has been before. Especially if you purge, your body isn't used to keeping food and can make you feel sick. Happens to me when I purge a lot.

[[LittleMonster]]

Thankyou <3

[Animad]

Christmas dinner is known for being bigger than most other meals so if you have been restricting before, even if you have started eating again it is likely that you've been eating relatively small quantities, am I right? This is often without realising as people with EDs lose sense of normal portion sizes. Because of this, it may be that your stomach has shrunken due to restricting and then not eating as much and then the extra food on xmas day just overdid it and stretched the stomach wall, causing pains and nausea. This can then cause the lining of the stomach to become a bit inflamed and then make you more likely to feel full/ having little appetite after as well as pain and also means you're likely to feel neuseas. As well as that, if you have been purging before then the nausea could also be partially psychological in terms of when you eat large amounts your body is used to purging and therefore you feel ill. This would be worse if you're anxious about eating that amount of food or something else. As well as that, not purging, though, it's GREAT and an amazing achievement to cut it down, barely purging is a relative thing so it may be that also, if you have been purging, even just a small amount, that has caused your stomach to become inflamed and therefore painful etc so it could also be that. As well as that, Christmas dinner can make many people feel sick and have stomach ains, even if they don't have a history of ED behaviour just because of the quantity and also the richness of the food.

As well as that, I would definately NOT go back to taking laxatives. They do NOT help to lose weight and they cause a lot of damage when not used properly so only use them when/ if you need to which is when you're constipated and then only at the amount on the packet. As well as that, yes, laxatives can cause damage if used daily, even if 'only' for a few weeks.

It does not sound like IBS in any form to me and we should also not be making any suggestion of a diagnosis on RYL and as well as that, IBS isn't the first thing a doctor looks into.

It may also be worth you reading this.

In regards to eating little and often, for the moment these should be easily digestible foods such as chicken, rice, pasta, soup, bread/ toast, fruit, white fish, veg and NOT red meat. When you start to feel better then you can start slipping back into a full diet but I'd still say little and often for now. This does not mean eating Lunch and Dinner, that is 2 main meals of the day and what everyone should at least be eating. This should be not following a 'normal' eating plan and cutting down the amount you should eat in a day and having it in quite a few small amounts spread equally through the day so every 3hrs or so. Yes, eating lunch is a good step but this is still going to be relatively large and your body is unlikely to be able to cope with this well now, not just in terms of your stomach feeling painful/ being full but also because of the ED behaviours your body will have a reduced ability to digest at the moment too.

[[LittleMonster]]

Thank you for your reply :)

I understand with regards to losing an understanding of normal portion sizes, I was eating very little before coming home & purging most of what I did eat anyway.. However, christmas dinner was quite small compared to how much I would usually have and it annoyed me that I couldn't even eat much of it.
I find it a bit difficult to eat that regularly but I will try ofcourse.

Again dinner tonight was hard to eat, I got very full too quickly and ended up giving half away.. it's getting frustrating but I guess I understand why.

If I am to eat regularly, what kind of portion sizes would I be looking at?

The pains aren't there much anymore, I just feel nauseous quite a lot :/ But I used to "feel" sick after every meal I used to eat so it's hard to tell, but then I have woken up feeling sick which doesn't usually happen.

[Animad]

At the moment you're looking at very small portion sizes really but eating several times a day. It's hard to say really but maybe something like a sandwich made just with one slice of bread folded over for one time you eat, then something of a similar quantity maybe 2-3 or so hours later carried on throughout the day so you're not having meals as such but having food quite often throughout the day. The amount I mentioned there does NOT constitute to a meal in it's own right and I no way intend for it to be taken like that as it is way too small. And I would strongly advocate eating little and often throughout th day is the way to go for the moment or this is going to take much longer to settle.

Generally, if you buy/ look processed food of different types then it will say on the package how much of it they think of as 1 portion, you can then incorporate that into your own meals using around the same sizes. Generally as well, you should be aiming to eat around 2000kcals throughout the day so, if that doesn't trigger you you could also work it out like that. However, make sure that out of this it is not just the same things and a big variety and therefore you'd be much more likely to get the rest of the nutritional quantities right.

Really, what may be best if you speak to your doctor regarding this and they can then refer you on to a nutritionalist/ dietician who could come up with a diet plan for you or give you a better idea of portion sizes than we can on here especially as it is far from the realms of our roles and is not something we can really do and if we go any further into it in the forum then it is pushing it with the rules on here.

[[LittleMonster]]

Thankyou for your advice :)
I will try this when possible.

Very much appreciated. x