Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Issues
Eating disorders are obviously food-related illnesses. It is also important to note that often those with anorexia or bulimia have substance-abuse issues. The drug of choice may be legal or illegal, but the end result is still the same: abuse and/or addiction.
Stimulants are often abused by those with eating disorders, especially anorexia. Women or girls rely on large amounts of caffeine, such as that found in black coffee or diet drinks, to stave off hunger. Often, they take up smoking, looking to nicotine to serve as an appetite suppressant. Those with bulimia may turn to amphetamines and cocaine to provide energy and also decrease hunger. Alcohol is frequently abused, but due to its high calorie content, purging is usually part of the equation.
Perhaps the most dangerous and misused medications are over-the-counter diet pills, diuretics and laxatives. The health consequences of diet pill abuse are enormous and include high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, tremors, thickening of the heart muscle, and kidney damage. Diuretics provide the illusion of weight-loss, when in reality it is only water loss. Laxatives are used similarly. Although laxatives are rarely thought of as drugs of abuse or dependence, people can become dependent on them, some needing to take up to 200 pills a day. With prolonged use, a person's colon can burn out to the point that it must be removed.
Remember...Medications or over-the-counter drugs are meant to address a specific need for a limited amount of time. Just because you can purchase a medication at the local store, doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Many medications can cause permanent injury or death.
Discover more about important topics related to eating disorders by checking out the Articles Library.
Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Treatment Directory
Find Treatment Centers for Addiction, Alcoholism, and other Co-Occurring Issues requiring specialized treatment and care.
Articles
How to Approach Recovery from Addiction, Co-occurring Disorders and Isolation
By Dr. Kim Dennis, Medical Director of Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center as published on Health Blog on DailyStrength.org
In generations past, the word recovery usually referred to a highly sterile room in a hospital where people went immediately after surgery to stabilize. Today, recovery has taken on a whole new meaning. Millions of people are in recovery from everything from drugs and alcohol to eating disorders, gambling, compulsive spending, sex and love addictions, and codependency.
If you are reading these words, you too, are probably in recovery. As with many things in life, there is the good news and the bad news. The bad news is that you do have a progressive, chronic and potentially fatal disease. However, the good and far more relevant news is that addiction is eminently treatable and complete and lasting recovery is absolutely possible....finish reading article
The Risks of Recovery: Living in Abundance
@ Kim Dennis, MD, Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment CenterSeptember, 2010
For more than 20 years, we have been observing a national Recovery Month, a time to celebrate the progress being made, and also needed, in treatment and recovery. The theme of this year’s event, “Now More Than Ever,” hits at how far we have come and how much work is left to be done, providing treatment resources and help for those suffering from drug or alcohol addiction...finish article
Resources
Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse
Survey: 4 Million With Co-Occurring Disorders
Dual Diagnosis - The Problem....Making an Accurate Diagnosis is Difficult
Alcoholism and Co-occurring Disorders
Recovery Story involving bulimia, alcoholism and depression
Eating Disorders & Chemical Dependency
Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor, former drummer of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, is a renowned drug and alcoholism interventionist who devotes his time to working with recovering addicts and their families.
Intervention Service - Keith Fierman
Keith Fierman, CDAC is a counselor and associate at Alabama Therapy Associates specializing in addiction counseling. He is a professional interventionist and a preferred interventionist for the Betty Ford Center.
