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Jan 19, 2006 10:21

The following is a list of possible medical complications that accompany Eating Disorders. If left untreated the physical complications from practicing an eating disorder can become life threatening.

CARDIOVASCULAR

Slow pulse
Low blood pressure
Electrocardiogram abnormalities
Hypovolemia (state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma)
Myocardiopathy and Congestive heart failure (especially with use of ipecac)

CHEMISTRIES

Uric acid elevated
Cholesterol is abnormal (elevated or depressed)
Carotene is elevated
Deficiencies of trace minerals
Low blood glucose
Hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis

DENTAL AND MOUTH

Increased dental caries
Highly sensitive teeth from gingival deterioration
Pyorrhea (Periodontal disease)
Lacerations and contusions of the oral cavity from use of objects to induce emesis
Tooth Loss
Erosion of enamel
Altered bite
Bleeding gums
Oral sensitivity

DERMATOLOGIC

Dry skin
Loss of subcutaneous tissues and fat in general
Scars (such as on knuckles due to inducing emesis)
Fine lanugo hair
Acrocyanosis (disorder of the cardiovascular system that causes cyanosis (a bluish discoloration of the skin) of the hands and sometimes the feet. It is a relatively benign disorder and there is usually no medical treatment advised.)

EFFECTS ON BRAIN AND CNS

Lack of REM sleep
Affected hypothalamus (lower body temperature, loss of shivering response, cold intolerance, and malfunction of entire temperature regulating system) due to chronic malnutrition
EEG abnormalities

ENDOCRINE

T-3 deficiency (leading to bradycardia [a heart rate of under 60 beats per minute], sluggish reflexes, dry skin, cold intolerance, hypercarotenemia [yellowish discoloration of the skin], and various abnormalities of the hair)
Abnormal calcium levels and symptoms
Hypogonadism (efect of the reproductive system)
Partial diabetes insipidus condition and the inability to concentrate urine normally
Addisons disease or hyperaldosteronism

FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE ABNORMALITIES

Effects of resultant metabolic alkalosis, potassium and chloride deficiencies
Electrolyte Imbalance
Skeletal muscle weakness
Diminished reflexes
Abnormal gastrointestinal motility
Cramps
Paresthesia (a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin with no apparent physical cause)
Polyuria (passage of a large volume of urine in a given period.) and oliguria (the decreased or absent production of urine)
Nocturia (need to get up during the night in order to urinate)
CNS abnormalities
Constipation
Cardial effects (conduction abnormalities, irregular rhythms and sudden death)
Impaired kidney function
Emotional lability and lassitude
Potassium increase due to diuretic abuse causing cardiac abnormalities
Depletion of sodium (hyponatremia)
Dehydration
Hyponatremia (when the sodium level in the plasma falls below 135 mmol/l.)
Edema (swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess fluid.)

GASTROINTESTINAL

Abdominal pain, bloating, and fullness
Esophageal perforations and lacerations (Mallory-Weiss Syndrome)
Irritable bowel syndrome
Ulceration of the bowel
Malabsorption of nutrients leading to hypoproteinemia (an abnormally low level of protein in the blood.), hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin is reduced to abnormally low levels. It is a specific form of hypoproteinemia.) and calcium deficiency
Fatty infiltration of the liver
Pancreatitis
Exacerbation of hemorrhoids
Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus.)
Melanosis coli
Gastritis (inflammation of the lining of the stomach)
Gastric ulceration
Intestinal injury

GYNECOLOGIC

Menstrual irregularity
Amenorrhea (the absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age)
Infertility
Atrophic vaginitis (Atrophic vaginitis is an inflammation of the vagina due to thinning and shrinking tissues and decreased lubrication of the vaginal walls. It is caused by a lack of estrogen.) and loss of sexual appetite
Breast atrophy

HEMATOLOGIC ABNORMALITIES

Anemia (a deficiency of red blood cells and/or hemoglobin.)
Leukopenia (a decrease in the number of circulating white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood)
Thrombocytopenia (the presence of relatively few platelets in blood.)
Bone marrow may be deficient or hypocellular

OPHTHALMOLOGIC

Transient blurred vision
Dark circles, puffiness under the eyes

ORTHOPEDIC AND MUSCULOSKELETAL

Osteoporosis
Loss of muscle mass leading to muscular weakness

PULMONARY

Aspiration pneumonia

RENAL

Prerenal and renal azotemia due to diminished renal pertusion and chronic dehydration
Tubular and collecting system abnormalities due to electrolyte abnormality
Predisposition to renal stones
Kidney failure

MISCELLANEOUS

Bacterial and fungal infections
Bilateral parotid gland swelling

Yum.
Body Obsession Symptoms

Individuals suffering from eating disorders frequently have negative feelings about their body and are over concerned about their body size and weight. They may participate in certain behaviors and hold particular beliefs that negatively reinforce a poor body image. The following is a partial list of some of the signs and symptoms of being overly effected by body image. If three of more of the following symptoms fit for you, you may be at risk of having your body image overly influence your life.
(I bolded ones that I experience)
*Thoughts about "feeling fat"
*Feeling shameful and guilty about your body
*Avoidance of social situations that emphasis physical appearance
*Looking at others to see how your own body size compares to others
*Weight determines how good you feel about yourself
*What you weigh affects your relationships
*Pinching of body parts to measure fatness
*Checking of reflection in glass windows to see how your body looks
*Having special clothes that are used to make sure your body is certain size
*Having clothes that do not fit to entice self to lose weight
*Touching underneath the chin to check for a "double chin"
*Feeling you can not give a speech or make a presentation based on the way you look
*Missing school based on feeling you have gained weight
*Checking the diameter of the wrist for size maintenance
*Asking others about weight to compare your own weight to others
*Asking others about clothing size to compare your own clothing size to others
*Attempting to elicit comments from others about how fat you are
*Embarrassment about body weight
*Checking to see how close thighs are together when standing up
*Checking for cellulite in thighs
*Sucking in your stomach in front of a mirror to see what it looks like
*Preferring to only wear baggy clothes
*Pinching of cheeks to measure fatness
*Difficulty undressing in front of spouse or other loved ones
*Comparing own body to people on television, movies and magazines
*Checking to see it body parts jiggle
*Checking to see if rings still fits as in the past
*Checking to make sure same belt hole is used as in the past
*Checking to see if you can feel your bones
*Weighing of self multiple times
*Fear of weighing oneself
*Making negative comments about your body to others
*Difficulty taking compliments from others about the way you look
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