edexpeducation

[edexpeducation]

Diagnostic Criteria for EDs In The DSM-5

[edexpeducation]

ok so um this is mostly for reassurance n i don’t actually expect a response tho that would be appreciated :)

i’m on my period n i was craving ice cream. i didn’t want to binge n feel guilty , so i decided to give into my craving n i had some. like four scoops worth i think.

will this result in fat gain? i barely eat ice cream, and a little amount if people make me, so will this ruin my progress?

This doesn't go against my guidelines, so I will answer.

I cannot say exactly, but my guess is no. Maybe water weight, but not fat. And it most definitely won't "ruin your progress", the most I can imagine you "gaining" (when it's most likely water weight) is 1-2 ounces.

I am very proud of you for eating what you enjoy and still controlling yourself to avoid binging. That's something I still struggle with after almost 10 years, good on you! I really hope you enjoyed it!

[edexpeducation]

Binge-Purge Cycles: Extremely Deadly.

I see many users underestimating the dangers of purging.

"Why do we give fasting tips but not purging tips?"

Ignoring the fact most fasting tips are for harm reduction...

Here is why. Under cut.

CW for graphic descriptions of death and body mutilation as a result of binge-purging. I will provide a link in dms, as the original source has graphic imagery of the woman's corpse and vomit.

Death due to neurogenic shock following gastric rupture in an anorexia nervosa patient*

"Take notice of her position, the discoloring of her limbs and her stomach.

She was 19 and had anorexia and bulimia for 5 years.

Died at 5' 1" (155cm) and 94 lbs (43kg) after her stomach ripped after eating 5.6 liters (pic of stomach contents) of food.

Case notes:

She was in full rigor mortis - which is present from 12-72 hours. The bruises set the time frame at around 8+ hours.

Her eyes had clouded, which happens at progressively from about 2 -4 hours on.

If you look really closely at her stomach, you can see a greenish tint, which is a typical sign of her internal organs decaying - called livor mortis. I think this process may have been accelerated as her insides were digested since it normally takes a few days to set in.

The bruises called for the autopsy. Because of her position when her stomach exploded, it spilled all its contents into her body cavity. The blood and food settled around her anus and vagina and caused what looked like "fresh bruises." So to rule out sexual [assault, etc.], they had to autopsy.

When they did the autopsy, they found that her stomach had been extended from where your ribs meet each other all the way to her pubic bone, right behind that pad of fat above the genitals (mons pubis). And her stomach had a large rip in it...

She also had some other abnormalities going on. Her heart was small and displayed typical characteristics of a starving heart - destroyed muscles and dead immune cells (lipofuscin bodies).

Her brain had swelled, my guess due to the massive increase in blood flow after her stomach ruptured - it had started to squeeze out her skull before she died.

She also had evidence of focal pneumonia in her lungs - not really surprising as starvation hurts the immune response to viruses.

Like a typical binger, her stomach was dying before it ripped. What I mean is that every time we binge our stomachs expand, if they expand far enough, the vessels supplying them blood are crushed - cutting off the blood supply to that area, killing the tissue. That area is weakened and the next binge of that caliber becomes more dangerous. Purging just adds fuel to the fire by increasing stomach pressure above and beyond the natural level.

But believe it or not the ruptured stomach didn't kill her. A natural reaction did.

When the stomach exploded, her body responded with a typical immune reaction. It dilated her blood vessels, her blood pressure dropped, she blacked out, and her heart slowed down and stopped. They also did a tox screen and found nothing. Potassium levels are obviously of no use as when you die potassium leaks out of your cells.

"...her stomach ripped after eating 5.6 liters of food."

Another things to note about this. Back in the 1800s, they determined that the stomach should only be able to hold 4 liters of stuff (by filling corpses). To surpass this, we have to adapt our stomach sizes - resulting in gastric dilatation.

Ruptures via overfilling the stomach appear along the lesser curvature of the stomach, whereas vomiting induced ruptures normally occur along the greater curvature and fundus (the top of the stomach) - it's unusual that her stomach ripped how it did, right down the front.

Apart from the intellectual value of the report it does illustrate an important point - the endpoint of these diseases is very ugly.

There is no glamour or beauty spending your last living moments over a toilet."

[edexpeducation]

"Ana Coaches" The Study.

So, the National Library of Medicine did multiple studies regarding ED social media, and they also did a separate study regarding "ana coaches."

This study confirmed my own general suspicions, "ana coaches" are textbook groomers.

They are all using your disorder to make you dependent on them and to feed their own fetishes. Stop making excuses for them or giving them chances.

Tags are for reach.

[edexpeducation]

So... i see a lot of people sayinv that restriction dries up your 🐱... does it do anything else to that region? did that happen tp you?

I won't go into too much detail for obvious reasons, but here's a small list of symptoms found in those with vaginal reproductive systems:

Loss of period/Irregular periods (Fun fact: It was originally thought to only affect underweight individuals, now confirmed to affect individuals at any weight going through long-term restriction.)

Infertility

Pelvic pain

Worsened period cramps

Drying and inflammation of vagina

Shrinkage of breasts

Pauses/stops puberty in young teens and children

If pregnant, can kill or severely disable/injure infant

Now as for my own experience, I did not experience any of these symptoms... because I have a penis. So, lets discuss the symptoms of penile reproductive system havers with restrictive EDs!

Erectile dysfunction

Pauses/stops puberty in young teens and children

Infertility

Unfortunately, because of how little AMAB awareness there is for EDs, this is all I can find to be directly related to the ED itself.

I will not be sharing my own experiences or speculations because I don't want to share disinformation and I also don't want to tell a bunch of strangers how my penis works.

[edexpeducation]

is there a reason you can't have anorexia and bulimia?

Yeah! Before AN-BP was coined, many underweight individuals were diagnosed based on their weight rather than their experience (although weight is still a criteria point for AN).

Targeted treatment is a must for ED facilities, so they were either diagnosed with AN and encouraged to eat more (leading to binges), or diagnosed with BN and encouraged to eat less (leading to worsening restriction), both of which didn't have a positive effect on their disorders, as you can imagine.

By coining AN-BP, more research has been done on this subtype (still very little... but it's progress) and has improved treatment for those who restrict and bp.

[edexpeducation]

so um,,, this is kinda embarassing for me to ask but,,, what actually counts as a binge? like. i see so many people claiming they binged on like... one brownie and now im super confused :(

TLDR: Binging has to be a significant amount of food to count under DSM-5 criteria, and then I discuss people misdiagnosing themselves with binge disorders.

I've seen this as well and before I go into answering your question, I do not hold ill will towards those who misuse the term "binge". It is definitely frustrating for individuals, like myself, who suffer from binge eating to see people claim binges that aren't by definition a "binge," however I understand that you are using the term to describe your distress and discomfort with what you ate. Perhaps, there are better ways to describe it, but please don't take any of this information provided as a personal attack.

Now what is a binge?

By definition: "A binge, or bingeing episode, involves eating large amounts of food while feeling a loss of control. Common signs of binge eating disorder include eating rapidly, eating when not physically hungry, eating alone due to shame, and feeling guilt or distress afterward."

So in short, eating over your cal limit or eating fast food is NOT a binge unless it is a socially "unacceptable" and large amount of food. While distress is valid, it is not binging unless it meets the criteria.

Quick note, binging can be planned as well, all of the criteria can be planned and many binge eaters do plan their binges, their binges are still considered disordered if it causes them distress or physical discomfort.

Off topic but also somewhat related: I also see people claiming to have ana, mia, and BED... which while can be a comforting idea to put names to your experience... is diagnostically impossible. So here are the diagnostics for disorders that can cause binge episodes.

The BED criteria* defined by the DSM-5:

*I want to make a short note that this criteria explicitly states it cannot occur at the same time as BN or AN.

The BN criteria* defined by DSM-5, which shortly addresses the definition of binging:

*I want to make a note that this explicitly states it cannot occur at the same time as AN.

The AN criteria* defined by DSM-5:

*This doesn't explain binging but moreso I wanted to address that there is a BP variation of AN, meaning that it is very well possible to binge and have AN without having BN or BED like many think.

The OSFED criteria* defined by the DSM-5:

*As you can see, AN, BN, and BED are not the only disorders causing binging. I also want to note that BN is specifically a BP cycle, and purging without binging is considered it's own disorder under OSFED, purging disorder.

I can also make a post addressing other eating disorders that aren't necessarily associated with binging, if anyone would like that!

[edexpeducation]

Normally wouldn't post this, but I think it's important to share some positivity too!

I am one month b/p free!

[edexpeducation]

The belly pooch: What it is and it's purpose.

AFABs and those who produce estrogen often have a little belly pooch at the lower half of their tummy. A lot of people (specifically, I believe it started on TikTok) claim it's "just your uterus", and while this is a comforting notion, is medical misinformation.

As we see below, the uterus is behind our other reproductive organs, we can also see that it is indeed fat in the pooch area.

However, this pooch is necessary and important for our organs, mainly our reproductive organs, but also our other organs.

Those with a female reproductive system tend to have more organs than those without, meaning we need more fat to support and protect those organs. This pooch is hard to get rid of because it's necessary for our organs to stay functioning properly.

[edexpeducation]

Hello! Call me EXP, I am an "ED Educator"... however, I am not a professional. I speak from experience, cross reference articles, and take into account other's experiences to provide my information. As I am not a professional, I cannot diagnose anyone and will be deleting asks that ask for a diagnosis.

The EDs that I have experienced based on professional diagnosis: PICA, ARFID, and ana-bp.

I have been struggling w PICA/ARFID since I was a toddler and ana-bp since I was an elementary schooler.

I will not be talking about my weight, height, or BMI here, and I ask that you don't either! If it's a weight/BMI related question, please DM me or refer using vague classifications ("underweight/average/overweight") to avoid triggering as many people as possible.

Please do not go into detail about starving, fasting, or binging and avoid mentioning calories, my DMs are open if you need assistance there.

I will not encourage worsening anyones disorder and only encourage harm reduction. However, I am also against forced recovery since it often causes disordered individuals to relapse worse afterwards. Recovery is a choice, but a heavily recommended one and required for your mental and physical health.

I am open to answer any questions that follow the guidelines set here, but my guidelines are set to change at any time as topics come up.