Anorexia Nervosa Patient
An anorexia nervosa patient is in for a long drawn out treatment of medications, special diet and psychological help. Once the damage is done to the body and the patient decided to get help it takes a long time to get them back where they need to be in order to be healthy. Sometimes all of the damage cannot be reversed and sometimes the patient has health problems for the rest of their lives or if the damage is severe enough the victim may lose their life. Anorexia is a very serious disease as is other eating disorders. Thirty years ago it was discovered that the disease was more popular than researchers and scientists knew it was. They began to see the need for more study about it after Karen Carpenter (famous singer in the 70's and 80's) died in 1983 from anorexia after she had been treated for some time. Some felt that she about had the disease beat when her heart failed her and she died from a sudden heart attack. Karen was only 32 years old. There have been others who have followed and some have died or committed suicide and some have received treatment and recovered. Some do not recover completely. It depends on the damage that is done and to what extent. Anorexia can damage every vital organ in the body if it is not diagnosed and treated soon enough. The heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and lungs are usually the main organs damaged. The victim tries to lose weight as fast as they can and often stops eating or eats very little (crash diets) and often exercises excessively. The body is not made to handle this type of treatment and soon there is not only weight loss but there is also brain damage, etc. The victim feels they are fat no matter how underweight they are. Every time they look in a mirror (and they do this often), they see themselves as fat. They weigh themselves often, make excuses not to eat, have trouble concentrating, have a lack of emotion, are tired, sometimes dizzy and sometimes faint.
There are many signs and symptoms to anorexia nervosa. The public should be educated about it so they can detect a problem if a family member has an eating disorder. The victim will often try to hide their symptoms by wearing layered or baggy clothing. In many cases the family does not detect the problem until the victim begins having health issues that require medical attention. By this time there is sometimes severe damage to the vital organs. The key is to catch the problem before the damage gets severe so it can be treated successfully. There are treatment centers for eating disorders across the United States and in Britain. There are also support centers for those who need to talk to someone about their problem but do not feel comfortable talking to their family or friends.
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