Unexpected & frequent fainting episodes?

[Anonymous]

So I'm going to give you some background information first before getting into my fainting episodes. I'm 21 years old and have been dealing with bulimia since I was 17 years old. I've been trying my best to adopt healthy eating habits and not throw up after every meal but sometimes I just have to because I feel really guilty about what I've consumed. My boyfriend has been extremely supportive of my attempts at recovery & he constantly reassures me that I'm beautiful just the way I am. The problem is that I don't feel that way about myself at all. Regardless of how much weight I lose or how often people tell me that my body is fine the way it is, my perception is so completely different from theirs. I cry when I look in the mirror & don't really know how to truly love myself. I tend to trivialize how bad it is because I know my boyfriend has really been trying to help me. I hate that I'm being dishonest with him but something keeps driving me to continue my unhealthy patterns and fall back into old habits. I am so tired of lying & deceiving people (especially my boyfriend who encouraged me to seek help for my problems). My boyfriend knows me better than I know myself so he has been working out with me to keep an eye out for any signs that I'm reverting back to old behaviours. A week ago when I was on the treadmill I felt extremely weak/tired and just felt my legs give out from under me. It was really scary & he quickly got me water and said that I had blacked our for a few minutes. It happened a few days later when I was taking a shower & luckily he was home from work so he knew what to do. I have no idea why this keeps happening but I would really appreciate an explanation. Thank you so much!! :)

[super147]

If you were standing both times, and by the activities it would suggest you had been standing for a time, then your blood pressure most likely dropped, i. e. postural hypotension. The cause is very likely to be your bulimia, the toll that you are putting on your body and the lack of food energy in your body. It's actually not at all surprising that you have started blacking out. I would expect that to occur more often to be honest.

You should still check with a doctor to rule out any more serious neurological issues. You should also be in therapy for your bulimia, if you aren't already. You can't keep doing this, you should know that. You will damage your body irreparably. You risk losing your looks, your teeth, your health and potentially your life. If you are lucky enough not to lose your life then you risk being beset by serious and chronic health problems for the rest of your life.

I'm sure that you know most of this but you need to know it if you don't. What use is there to be thin if you're dead?