PCOS Messages for May, 2002: Re: anorexic individuals with pcos

Re: anorexic individuals with pcos

From: jodi (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue, 28 May 2002 11:39:41 -0500 (CDT)

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In reply to: janpotter: "anorexic individuals with pcos"

This could fall into the realm of "too much information" BUT... do you happen to know if your niece is a restricting anorexic or a purging anorexic?

I suffered heavily with an eating disorder for YEARS... and I am certain it has made my PCOS much, much worse. I'm sure I would have had some problems even without the ED, but I am certain the ED made the PCOS worse.

In theory - in pure, back of my mind, speculative theory - I feel that anorexia - restrictive type anorexia - should serve almost as a cure for PCOS. very little food intake, lots of exercise... talk about getting insulin levels under control! i find it hard to believe that pure anorexia and full blown PCOS can co-exist. I can say that my PCOS symptoms were virtually nil during my pure anorexia days... of course, it is hard to say, being that I was also younger then (early teens...)

The problem is, it is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY hard to maintain pure anorexia for any length of time. Eventually, many if not most anorexics turn to bulimic behaviors... eating a lot of food at a time, most often followed by purging. These binges, wether or not they are followed by purging, wreak havoc on insulin levels and in turn sex hormone levels... and PCOS blooms.

Anorexia and bulimia are confusing disorders... diagnosis is often based on weight as much as if not more than symptoms/behaviors... an underweight binge/purger will likely be classified as "anorexic" whereas an overwight woman who eats a lot and exercises a lot will be called "bulimic..." So just because your niece is underweight doesn't mean she is purely anorexic.

What I am saying is... you cannot look at your niece and just say "My niece is anorexic. She is underweight. Will gaining weight make her PCOS worse?" You need to know exactly what behaviors she is using to maintain that low weight... if she IS bingeing and purging, recovery - even though it includes weight gain - will undoubtably make her PCOS symptoms better. PCOS is more about what and how you eat than what you weigh. I can also say that anorexics/bulimics are notorious for diet coke consumption... something that is VERY bad for insulin resistance... and starvation stresses the body, something that is very bad for hormonal balance... and so on... basically, eating disorders are just not healthy to the body. If your niece achieves a healthy weight by following a healthy diet, she should theorettically become healthier, from a PCOS standpoint as well as all other standpoints...

Unfortunately, recovery from an eating disorder is an elusive thing...

- jodi

At Sun, 26 May 2002, janpotter wrote: >
>Hello,
>
>My niece is anorexic and has been diagnosed with pcos a couple of years
>ago. She need to gain at least 15+ pounds to get to her ideal weight.
>My question is if she eats a lot of carbs in order to gain weight, will
>her pcos symptoms like body hair and acne and irregular periods get
>worse?

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In reply to: janpotter: "anorexic individuals with pcos"

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