Why anorexics take laxatives

Eat a banana, or head to the pharmacy. Laxatives are a valuable tool for the constipation afflicted, but they can also disguise a toxic secret.

For those with eating disorders, laxatives can become a crutch, an addiction, a weapon against their own bodies. Anorexia and bulimia are, like many other mental health conditions, difficult to talk about.

They're wrapped in shame, stigma, and the fear of being viewed differently. But what we hear or talk about even less are the men and women bent double over the toilet having abused laxatives to the point of acute pain, purging their colon in pursuit of thinness.

There are no exact stats on how many people this includes in the UK, but it has been found that most people who suffer from an eating disorder have used laxatives at some time. Having danced with anorexia for much of my early adolescence, I first discovered Dulcolax laxatives at the age of It was Christmas, the time where everyone worships at the altar of overeating, I hadn't taken a shit in maybe three days, which made me anxious to the point of losing my sleep.

However hard I tried to claw the food from inside my stomach via the throat—scratching at my tonsils in the vain hope of vomiting—nothing came up. So I begged my dad to go to the pharmacy and pick something up that would help me go.

And it did. A lot. Needless to say, I was hooked, and when I ran out of the stash in my parent's cupboard, I bought my own laxatives and took them every day for the six months. During that time, I shat myself more times than I can count. I left toilets in the state of a nuclear wasteland. My stomach was apocalyptic. The cramps were devastating. I thought up dozens of excuses to sneak off and crouch on the toilet to let the rusty liquid fall from my arse. Boys smiled at me; grown men gawked from their cars.

I met a handsome year-old boyfriend through my aunt, and I invited him to my junior prom. Not that it was always a breeze. That spring, I spent prom night on the toilet. Soon after, my stomach stopped responding to two pills a day.

Now my system needed four to perform. Lunches with friends in the cafeteria morphed into isolated events in my room. Sure, my friends were on laxatives, too, but I had taken my quest to a much deeper extreme. I installed a mini fridge in my room, telling myself it was to keep the milk fresh. But really, I just didn't want to eat in front of anyone anymore. I was becoming paranoid, and I feared being judged—even by the same girls who'd taught me my tricks.

It got to a point where I could hardly concentrate on anything but eating—or not eating. I often felt light-headed, dizzy, and daydreamy; visions of Dawson's Creek floated through my head during history class. Yet no matter how I looked in the mirror, the girl I saw there just didn't seem thin enough. I couldn't see the skin and bones I'd become. The girls who called me "Anna-rexic" behind my back? They were just jealous. And again, no one spoke up. No one dared to disapprove or tell the former fat girl that she'd gone too far.

After a year-and-a-half of my rigid routine, my mission finally came to an end. That fateful morning in the shower, I fell unconscious. I don't know how much time went by before my roommate rescued me, smacking me awake and dragging me to my feet.

I was lucky; I could've drowned, slipped into a coma, or gone into cardiac arrest. I'd stripped my body of all the nutrients and electrolytes it needed to function. For a fleeting moment, I thought to myself, At least I would've died skinny. My roommate and I kept that incident as our little secret.

I was too mortified to confess my eating disorder to my parents or teachers. I felt terrified of being shipped off to rehab or kicked out of school. But that day changed things for me—it was my wake-up call. I promised myself: Never again. Never again will I risk my life just to be thin.

Of course, I wasn't able to change my habits overnight. While I did flush my laxatives and Equal packets, I continued to struggle during my college years, mainly with excessive exercise. And I never sought professional or parental help, which isn't a genius idea, I know. I was simply too ashamed and stubborn to ask for assistance. But gradually, I shifted my focus away from my weight, eating once-forbidden foods like fruit or buttered bagels, investing in comfortable clothes instead of jeans that were so tight-fitting, I had to lie on my bed in order to zip them up.

Eventually, I started writing—a new hobby that preoccupied my thoughts and filled the gap that my obsession with size had left. The information contained on or provided through this service is intended for general consumer understanding and education and not as a substitute for medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

All information provided on the website is presented as is without any warranty of any kind, and expressly excludes any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Hiding the Problem Nobody knew. Stimulant Laxatives Most laxative abuse is done with stimulant laxatives, like Ex-Lax. Quitting People abusing laxative may have difficulty quitting them because of the constipation that normally occurs. Many techniques can also remedy the discomfort. Drink at least cups of water.

Restricting fluid only worsens the constipation. Eat regularly, at least three meals a day at regular intervals. Eat more foods that promote normal bowel movements. These include whole-grain breads; wheat bran; fruits high in fiber like apples; green vegetables; and yogurt. While you always hear prune juice for constipation, prunes actually contain an irritant laxative, and long-term use can be as problematic as long-term use of laxatives.

Community Discussion — Share your thoughts here! As a result, laxative abusers try to treat the symptoms they are experiencing by taking even more laxatives, and this established a dangerous cycle. For some people, having frequent bowel movements due to laxative abuse irritates the anus and rectum. This causes pain, bleeding, and sores when going to the toilet. If you lose excessive fluid in the form of diarrhea, you can easily become dehydrated.

The symptoms of dehydration include decreased urination, thirst, light-headedness, dry mouth, fatigue, headaches, reduced sweating, and weakness. You also lose electrolytes like chloride, potassium and sodium and an abnormally high rate when you have diarrhea due to laxative abuse. This leads to an irregular heartbeat and weakness and could even cause sudden death. In the long term, being dependent on laxative use leads to a number of long-term medical problems. This problem means that waste remains in your intestines for much longer than it should.

The symptoms associated with laxative abuse can continue for a very long time, even after you stop using laxatives. Your intestines are usually coated with a mucus protective layer to prevent irritation from occurring in the intestinal walls. There are also bacteria in the intestines which are essential for overall health and to keep your immune system functioning properly.

When you abuse laxatives, these bacteria are stripped away together with the protective intestinal mucus and this leaves your intestines vulnerable to irritation and infection. There are even studies which suggest laxative abuse could increase your chances of developing colon cancer. People who have chronic diarrhea due to laxative abuse may also cause a rectal prolapse to occur. This is when the inside of your intestines protrudes out through the anus.

Usually, surgery is required to correct this problem. Mental health problems are also a risk of laxative abuse.