I experienced a variety of bulimia symptoms during my 10-year battle against this evil disease. Some were scary, some drained my bank account (like my expensive bulimia teeth!), some were just plain embarrassing.
She had dry skin, a heart murmur, gray bags under her eyes, and teeth that were crumbling like old buildings.
Yes, bulimia wreaks havoc on your body. It affects you in many negative ways. But in this article I am only going to focus on those symptoms of bulimia that ruin your physical appearance…
1. Chipmunk cheeks
Binge eating and regular purging by bulimics cause the lymph nodes, salivary glands, and parotid glands to swell. This makes their cheeks look puffy and puffy like chipmunks.
Although it has a cute name, these are definitely not cute. I felt so self-conscious when I used to have them. I was terrified that they would reveal my bulimia secret.
2.Anemia
Bulimics often do not absorb enough iron from the food they digest. Over time this leads to anemia.
Anemia is exhausting your body. It feels like everything is too much effort and you have no energy.
But low energy is not the only symptom. Unhealthy pale skin is common and so are gray bags under the eyes. It makes you look and feel like a zombie.
3. Lanugo (body and facial hair growth)
Of all the symptoms of bulimia, lanugo has to be the most embarrassing. His body begins to grow more hair to keep warm. And when I say “more hair” I mean a lot more. It grows on the face, arms, back, and legs. Anywhere you can so your body stays as warm as possible.
I remember looking at the photos the other day from my bulimia days. My eyebrows almost met my hairline! These could have been the early stages of Lanugo. Yuck! Thank goodness I discovered an amazing lady from Iraq who plucked her eyebrows…she was my saving grace!
4. Red eyes or blood in the eyes
The high pressure from forcing yourself to vomit can rupture the blood vessels in your eyes. This looks awful and will make you feel like a freak.
When this happens, it will happen quickly and give you quite a scare. It can also take years to heal if you actually burst a blood vessel.
5. Sores in the mouth
Mouth sores look gross. They are sore, red and angry. I had so many mouth sores when I was bulimic and they made me feel so ugly… But worse than the ugly appearance of them is the excruciating pain they cause. Imagine trying to binge and purge when you have a oozing dollar-sized sore in your mouth!
Bulimics get mouth sores for 2 main reasons.
The first is stomach acid. When you purge, stomach acid moves up your throat and onto your mouth and lips. It burns all the soft tissue in this area, giving rise to painful sores. The more purging that occurs, the more damage is done and the bigger the sores become.
The second reason is poor nutrition. Bulimics often binge on foods that have almost zero nutritional value. They lack vitamins and minerals and are not compatible with the body. On top of that, the nutrients they swallow just end up being thrown up again. This is a recipe for disaster and leaves the body in a weakened state, perfect for these painful sores. (Wow, you’d think we’d have enough to deal with already!)
Those are 5 of the visible symptoms of bulimia. They look horrible and make you feel the same. I’ve been through them all, and if you’re bulimic, chances are you can relate!
The good news is that all of these symptoms are reversible. Once I started my recovery journey, I started to look much healthier. My skin became more vibrant and my eyes started to sparkle again. For the first time in 10 years I began to see that I was pretty.