# Bulimia in early pregnancy...very scared!



## kitty_9474

Hi mommies - I'm hoping to get support here or perhaps you can refer me to another board. I'm 37 years old and 7 weeks pregnant on Sunday and I have struggled with bulimia for many many years. Since I've found out I'm pregnant I've pretty much stopped. I have on a few occasions slipped. Like once a day for the last few days but I'm not doing it nearly as much as I normally would. I feel horrible about this and I'm sooooo concerned and scared for the health of my baby. Deformities, miscarriage, etc. 


I will say that after throwing up I do immediately eat something healthy and keep that down. I'm planning on seeking help and talking to my doctor about this at my first prenatal appointment which is next Friday. I'll be 7 weeks and 4 days then. Praying that all is ok. 


Do any of you have advice? Do I need to be concerned about the few times that I have eaten and thrown up? Not sure if being so early there is that much to be concerned with? 


I know this is a horrible thing and believe me, I'm working on it. I'm so ashamed of it. Any advice on recovering bulimics or from anyone knowledgeable on this subject is greatly appreciated. 


Thanks in advance! 


P.S. I have been taking a prenatal vitamin daily since finding out that I was pregnant at 4 weeks.


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## WishfulX1

Hi hun, I can completely sympathise with you but the same time tell you, this is no longer about you, it's about that little baby growing in there! 

Please don't take that the wrong way, I suffered with bulimia for many many years! I continued all through my first pregnancy and it resulted in my baby being born at 35weeks, tiny and me being very malnourished and really ill! It got much worse after pregnancy to the extent that I feel as tho I missed out on my littles boys first year :( 
When ny baby was 18months old I was seriously ill and caught my baby pretending to make himself sick down the toilet!! I have never felt a feeling like what I felt that day!! I was heartbroken and it was the biggest slap on the Face I needed!! 
I got help and went to hospital and I've now been recovered for 2 and a half years, it's still hard but when you have kids they are you life now! Not what you think you look like! 

I'm now almost 27weeks this time and have been living every single minute this time that I didn't get to enjoy in my first pregnancy! I've realised that all I have to do is eat healthy.

Your baby needs you now and you need to get the help that's out there! Don't be ashamed of speaking with your doctor, they will understand. 

You are making a new life inside you and it deserves the best possible start right from the beginning! 

Xx


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## shocker

To answer your questions, there is no point fretting about episodes up til now, what matters from here on in is that you make a really big effort to eat healthy for baby. I've been in treatment for bulimia for a few years now but only in the last few months have I really started to try and get better. It is really really important that you go to your doctor and explain your situation as soon as possible, I attend my local eating disorder unit on an outpatient basis and as soon as I told them I was pregnant and struggling they stepped in and offered more help with extra nurse visits/dietician visits/etc. I've had severe morning sickness this time around and so in some ways its been easier as I've been desperate to keep down food and not had the energy to engage in any behaviours. You have nothing to be ashamed of, if anyone says otherwise then ignore them, it is incredibly hard to recover from bulimia and pregnancy can be a very stressful time, but know that now IS the time to rid yourself of this.Here are a few things off the top of my head that i've found helpful

1. Remind yourself everytime you eat that your not feeding yourself your feeding your baby, i found that helped a lot. 
2. Its not your belly that is growing it is your baby getting bigger and stronger
3. Eat small meals often, dont let yourself get hungry, I know that sounds ridiculous but its true. If you have to use military planning to achieve this then so be it but its really helpful to mark out when you need to eat and whether your hungry or not just eat, if you stop yourself from getting to the point where your really hungry your less likely to binge, if you have small meals it will stop you from feeling too full and wanting to purge.
4. If you have binge, dont berate yourself, just fight the autopilot and force yourself to go lie down, at first tell yourself you will allow yourself to purge in 5 minutes, but next time it happens make it ten and then 15 and after some time you'll get to the point where if a binge does occur your more able to calm yourself down and resist the urge.
5. Dont leave sugar out of your meal plan, if you happen to binge on cakes a lot then put one into your meal plan, with reduced calories in other meals for that day if it makes you feel safer or a scheduled light activity. If you have sugary foods everyday during binges like i did there is absoloutly no point in trying to eat lettuce instead, you just cannot cut it out that easily your body will crave it and it'll drive you to binge.
6. If you have a bad day dont give up, if you feel you cant do it then ask for more support from your gp and tell him honestly how you are coping. 
7. Make sure your staying properly hydrated, purging makes you very dehydrated and dehydration puts your body under a lot of stress so its really important

Also if you feel your doctor isn't being supportive enough, then dont hesitate to go to another, unfortunately a lot of gps arent trained correctly in dealing with eating disorders, dont let a doctor without specific knowledge fob you off when you need extra support :hugs: xx


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## Preggies

Try to not eat foods that make you feel bloated. If you are craving sweets, I find that larabars are a good replacement for the usual craving. They have lots of different flavors. Carrot cake and everything else. For every craving I've struggled with throughout my life, I've managed to find a replacement for it that doesn't make me feel bloated (hence wanting to barf it all up right away).


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