to purge or not to purge?
 

After I binge, I often wind up purging. I can never accept the consequence of my slip up (aka gaining weight) and so after I run to the kitchen, i often find myself running to the bathroom to undo the damage.

Do you think it is better or worse to purge after a binge? bc on one hand I know that purging is dangerous, but on the other hand so is becoming grossly overweight due to binging.

Purging is not encouraged on these forums. Maybe you should get some counseling to help you overcome this dangerous practice.

I have to agree- purging is more dangerous than you realize. It destroys your teeth and hurts your throat and much more. If you have a hard time stopping this habit I suggest you seek help.

I wouldn't purge but try to figure out WHY I'm binging. Am I starving myself all day then binging at night? Okay then I'll eat more during the day, etc.

Also, as an aside, Sid... your goal weight of 110 is incredibly unhealthy for someone your height. I'm your height so I pay attention to the charts, and you will never find a chart that lists it as an okay weight, even with the smallest frame.

Being overweight can cause long-term health problems, but I don't really think that it quite compares to purging.

Purging is not something our bodies constantly do on a normal basis. To force a purge is incredibly unhealthy in the much more immediate sense. You're harming not only the natural rhythm of your body, but your throat, your teeth and gums.

You have other choices beyond just purging or not purging. Are you seeking any counseling about the binging? Are you part of any support groups in person?

We're human, so it might happen that you binge again. If that's ever the case, do NOT purge.

When you purge, you're not really getting rid of that many calories, which start being absorbed as soon as they hit your tongue. I'd suggest to evaluate the reasons why you feel like you need to both binge and purge. You don't sound as though you have a massive psychological 'need' to purge, more you're a bit confused about how to handle binges and I hope you can work this out before you become dependent on it.

There's really nothing to gain by purging. I am going through counseling for bulimia now and despite it being 3 weeks+ since I last purged, my throat and glands still feel swollen and sore, I get stomach cramps very frequently, my hair comes out far more than it should, I have low blood pressure and despite being only 20 I feel run down and weak, lethargic. I found I also started getting small red blotches around my eyes, broken blood vessels I think. Worst of all is the morning after when you wake up completely dehydrated and your heart feels like it's skipping beats and you wonder if that time finally caused some kind of permanent damage.

And that's really only covering some of the physical consequences, it's nothing to what you'll end up putting yourself through mentally. Please talk to your Dr, a helpline or a counsellor if possible, because whilst binging isn't healthy behavior, we all slip up sometimes and it's okay too-purging is incredibly dangerous and not a normal way to 'counter' a binge.

There are sites out there better equipped to handle binging issues. I'd urge you to seek help and Http://www.somethingfishy.org is a great place to start.