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ChronicWitch2.0

Updated 11mo ago

Can You Have Multiple Eating Disorders at Once?

My PCP diagnosed me with anorexia maybe like a year ago. I’ve struggled way longer than that but didn’t really get help. I had another appointment with my PCP a few days ago. She says she’s not a mental health professional so she can’t do psych meds or anything by herself. But she really believes I have an eating disorder. At my last appointment, she added two more eating disorders to my diagnosis. I thought people could only have one ED. Possibly two, but I thought that was more rare. I’m diagnosed with three now. She says I have anorexia, binge eating disorder, and avoidant / restrictive food intake disorder. I believe the anorexia and BED, but I don’t think I have ARFID. I’m not sure what I’m trying to say here. I’m just stressed and confused. She doesn’t specialize in mental health, so maybe she’s wrong. But is it possible to have three eating disorders all at the same time?

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royalty

2y

I know I have anorexia, but as I've been exploring myself more I've found that BED and ARFID are likely as well, even though I though ARFID was just my autism and sensory issues. I've skipped whole meals because of the way the food I was being given looked or smelled. If you refuse to eat food because of the way it looks, smells, or tastes, I would definitely say that's ARFID as that's what I tend to do.
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ChronicWitch2.0

2y

I don’t even know what “normal” eating is anymore. I’ve always been picky, but most people are at least kind of picky. I have sensory issues and possibly autism. I’m not sure if it’s really just sensory issues. It use to be textures, but now I’m constantly checking how much sodium everything has before I eat. I’m so scared of salt rn. But I’ve been having health problems from too much salt from BED, so I’m not sure if that’s a normal reaction or if that’s disordered too
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royalty

2y

That's probably disordered as well. I don't want to armchair diagnose or anything but that almost sounds like OCD as well if you're constantly checking that type of stuff. Do you also get intrusive thoughts that make you want to check those types of things?
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ChronicWitch2.0

2y

See I’ve also wondered if I have OCD. I feel like I have so many disorders that it’s not normal. I do get a lot of intrusive thoughts. But they could be from anxiety. I’m currently not getting and help for my mental health, but someone is supposed to call me to help me find a therapist in the next few days. So maybe I’ll get somewhere with that. I feel so broken
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royalty

2y

Don't worry, I've got a long list of issues too 😅. There's an app called NOCD that's really helped me manage my symptoms. You don't need OCD to join as people have actually been diagnosed by the therapists on that app. I'd say it would definitely help figuring yourself out as I'm pretty sure intrusive thoughts are mostly strictly an OCD thing.
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royalty

2y

At least, frequent intrusive thoughts.
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ChronicWitch2.0

2y

I just downloaded the app. I’ve been looking into OCD for a while now bc I think I might have it. I’ve been isolating so much lately and just sitting alone stuck with my thoughts. I helped babysit some kids today and I realized how bad it is bc I almost cried playing Minecraft with them bc I couldn’t get everything even and they kept messing up my house. And then they wanted my food but I had already figured all the calories of what I was eating and almost could share with them bc I didn’t want to mess up the numbers
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royalty

2y

I'm the same in Breath of the Wild. When I make food everything always has to be a multiple of five and when it's not I get extremely upset.
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ChronicWitch2.0

2y

Wait omg me too. I don’t get like too upset, but it feels wrong. I’ve been logging all my food the past few days and I want every single number to end in 5 or 0. And that’s not possible for ALL the numbers to be like that. I keep finding myself looking at how much of everything I ate that day and I have to find something to eat that’s “okay” to go with those numbers. Like every time I’m hungry I’m like “can I afford to add more calories/carbs/sodium to today?” It’s so exhausting

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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