Why Is There Not Much Help For Binge Eating Disorder (and if there is, where is it?)

cockaleekee

Your were offered some excellent advice in this thread. Maybe now is the time to act on it?

daska

cleggy. wrote: »

I think you are missing the point somewhat.

Someone that eats 3 times a day isn't always a bingeing food addict. Someone that drinks alcohol 3 times a day isn't always addicted to it.

And you are completely missing the point - no doubt deliberately.

If, as you claim, you aren't an addict then your experience in giving up the alcohol has not a jot of relevance to anyone who is trying to deal with an addiction.

cleggy.

daska wrote: »

And you are completely missing the point - no doubt deliberately.

If, as you claim, you aren't an addict then your experience in giving up the alcohol has not a jot of relevance to anyone who is trying to deal with an addiction.

She's not addicted. It's a habit that can be broken easily when effort is made.
Everything is relevant, even you :rotfl:

Judging by her previous thread it seems she may be addicted to asking for advice then ignoring it.

heartbreak_star

Food addiction and binge-eating disorder are mental illnesses, like all addictions. As I said earlier, mine developed into bulimia and my body never recovered. I still want to purge after a large meal and I've been in control of it for over ten years...

HBS x

oopsadaisydoddle

cleggy. wrote: »

She's not addicted. It's a habit that can be broken easily when effort is made.
Everything is relevant, even you :rotfl:

Judging by her previous thread it seems she may be addicted to asking for advice then ignoring it.

How do you know I've ignored it? I have been back to the GP to discuss the binge eating, as I said - i have already posted my response from him in earlier post on this thread - and by what i posted in the thread that cockaleekee linked to.

I have also seen a second GP in the practice (I made sure I made an appointment for when I knew my normal one was off because they won't let you see another if yours is in) and he referred me back to my usual GP, after agreeing with him in that he thought my binges were 'normal' and down to depression.

I left after that appointment certainly feeling low. I also phoned my private health cover provider and they won't deal with it unless I get a pyschiatric referral - which my doc wouldn't give because it doesn't feel it is appropriate.

Also, how can you say I'm not addicted? I get cravings that i act on - just like a smoker, drinker or druggie.

I have already said i appreciate that i probably need to nourish my body properly in order for my cravings to lessen. I have attempted to do this by making my homemade healthy cereal bars, homemade veg soups, homemade meals. I also understand that I am still not getting this quite right which is why I am asking for further help.

I believed (obviously wrongly) that my yogurt, grape and nut breakfast was healthy. These are just small examples of the things I have tried to do.

You will also note that my last post in that thread was at the end of Nov...my aim to find help with this took a back seat to christmas busyness and work changes...and Cleggy, before you say it, it was not used as an excuse for me to go and binge. I had a lot on at that time and didn't have the strength to follow things up again.

To be fair, even if I had, I don't know how I would(or will) seeing 2 docs from my surgery have been little help.

Cleggy - of course you are free to post where you like but your responses are futile really. You're not offering any constructive advice so you may feel it appropriate now to stop wasting your time on this.

@Cockaleekee - think this response to Cleggy will double up as a response to your helpful(?!) post.

oopsadaisydoddle

Also i asked my doc again about coeliacs and he said i didn't need it because the bloods came back clear. I also took my DH with me to one of my appointments so he could explain and back up how i was and how I had been trying to help myself.

So you will see, i hope, i haven't just been doin nothing - maybe what i have been doing has not been right, but I have tried.

Fire_Fox

IMO there is a difference between being totally out of control and addicted to food, any food even still frozen veggies or stuff out of the bin, and binging on or self medicating with specific foods or macronutrients. If you are selecting the highest calorie, highest sugar, highest glycaemic index or highest fat foods that doesn't necessarily mean eating regular balanced meals is like an alcoholic trying to drink 'in moderation'.

Smoking for some is largely a lifestyle habit that can be broken with changes in routine, for others purely a nicotine addiction complete with powerful withdrawal symptoms. Some REALLY struggle with the loss of the hand to mouth action and many miss specific cigarettes intensely, they are dependent on or addicted to more than just the chemicals. Our triggers are all different, our withdrawal symptoms or willpower are all different. Some people seem to be at much higher risk of addiction than others.

Every addict does have to do much the same thing tho - identify their personal triggers (emotions, sounds, smells, sights, places, skipping meals, etc) and avoid them like the plague, make it very difficult to access their drug of choice, make it very easy to access healthy alternatives, have a plan in place for handling triggers or difficult moments. Unless you are willing to steal, you cannot get your drug if it is not to hand and you don't have cash or cards. People freeze their bank cards in blocks of ice or hand them to relatives to stop themselves spending money.

Article from a reputable scientific journal
"The experimental question is whether or not sugar can be a substance of abuse and lead to a natural form of addiction. “Food addiction” seems plausible because brain pathways that evolved to respond to natural rewards are also activated by addictive drugs. Sugar is noteworthy as a substance that releases opioids and dopamine and thus might be expected to have addictive potential. This review summarizes evidence of sugar dependence in an animal model. Four components of addiction are analyzed. “Bingeing”, “withdrawal”, “craving” and cross-sensitization are each given operational definitions and demonstrated behaviorally with sugar bingeing as the reinforcer. These behaviors are then related to neurochemical changes in the brain that also occur with addictive drugs. Neural adaptations include changes in dopamine and opioid receptor binding, enkephalin mRNA expression and dopamine and acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens. The evidence supports the hypothesis that under certain circumstances rats can become sugar dependent. This may translate to some human conditions as suggested by the literature on eating disorders and obesity."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/

Having said that binging absolutely can be down to clinical depression - self medicating is an incredibly common phenomenon in poorly controlled mental health issues. The criteria of full blown addiction is far more than just cravings, even very powerful ones. Other criteria or signs might include - but not limited to - withdrawal symptoms, altering your lifestyle or relationships to accommodate the addition, amount of time devoted to the habit, risk taking.

Often addicts will put their drug/ habit above their morals, above their children or partner, above their employment as well as above their health or finances. That can be as 'minor' as being late for an appointment or meeting in order to have a cigarette, to as serious as stealing or buying drugs instead of food for children. Although nicotine and caffeine are relatively socially acceptable addictions, users may subconsciously plan a surprising amount of their life around their habit. With less socially acceptable drugs like alcohol and illegal substances relationships break down, people get disciplined or sacked.

Jox

Sorry to take the focus off oopsa and on to me (but I identify with oopsa) I don't need to beg, borrow or steal to get sugar, the kitchen at work has tons of sugar, there's chocolate, tracker bars, fruslli bars for us to help overselves to and every Friday we are given almond croissants and chocolate croissants at work, how can I say no? I always take 2 as well...

I have jam and honey at home (ok, so I better stop buying it).

When I was younger and lived at my parents', if I couldn't find chocolate or sweets I would add water to icing sugar and eat loads of that. My parents would buy multi-packs of yogurts and I would take all of them to my room and scoff the lot. I bought loads of cadbury creme eggs for family and friends one Easter and then proceeded to eat them all myself.

I pass out from eating too much sugar some evenings. I ate a big bag of jelly babies recently and went into a sugar "coma".

I wake up feeling groggy, I want to phone in sick every day but I force myself to get up and go to work. I look and feel awful, then I think eff it, I might as well eat this cr*p or drink this sugary drink as I'm already so low.

The sugar gives me bad breath, I get thrush which I think is from over consumption of sugar (candida?), I feel dizzy and depressed.

Yes, only I can help myself, but for me it's easy now to stay away from cigarettes and alcohol but not so easy to stay away from sugar.

My gran was an alcoholic and my mum is a sugar addict so I think it's in my genetics as well.

I'm off to library to look for self-help books!

Fire_Fox

Jox wrote: »

I juice vegetables sometimes, but my problem will never be too much fruit or freshly made juice, it is the processed foods, the chocolate bars, the teaspoons of sugar in tea and coffee, cakes, toast and jam / honey.

I would be happy if the only sugars I was consuming was fruit sugars, but I want the overly processed, evil, packaged stuff.

With respect you are fooling yourself, that is like saying it's OK to self medicate for heroin with another opiate, or replace a speed/ meth (amphetamines) addiction with Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) or 'cut down to quit' in smoking. The only time that sort of substitution should be done is if 'cold turkey' is dangerous, or as short term with a view to weaning off entirely (as should be done with nicotine patches or methadone). If you have a genuine addiction you are triggering it every time you eat a sweetened or sugary substance. Justifications are classic addict speak. You are like an alcoholic who still wants to drink socially, that can't happen.

Tasting sweetness is a trigger and can make your brain 'plan' or 'prepare' hormonally for the sugar rush that is coming. Some of the sugars in juice are converted to blood glucose faster than table sugar, the remainder are converted slower but end up just the same. In excess all sugars and carbs are damaging be that to teeth your blood vessels or immune system and they all promote the inflammation which is implicated in numerous health problems. Fruit juice counts as ONE serving a day however much you drink because the claimed health benefits do not outweigh the negative effects.

Not sure what books you are reading but try scientific not commercial ones, anything that advocates juicing is not based on research and it's completely illogical for anyone suffering sugar addiction, cravings or significant health effects from overuse. Stabilise your blood sugar, break the habit don't feed it.

oopsadaisydoddle

Thanks again Fire Fox.

I do suffer from symptoms like headaches, mood swings etc when i try to abstain, but I suppose these could be the result of the stuff i had eaten before rather than the fact I am 'withdrawing' from them. I can also be devious - like the example I gave of eating sweets that were there as gifts. I also had to then replace them and bin the 'evidence' so DH didn't find out.

I have also had a crisp/biscuit binge in the garage when I told the lods i was going in the freezer for evening meal stuff...I did this because I didn't want the kids to see.