The conversation I had with my twin sister recently was- ED recovery is for life. Once the thoughts come up they can be triggered much easier, for her part she has been dealing with them since age 10, I would say I was around 14 with my most disordered behaviors in my 20s. And while certain people can have worse symptoms, the weight loss/compliment cycle certainly triggers the not wanting to eat thought. And I can’t imagine most of the people on the weight loss drugs have addressed the mental component of wanting a body that is more accepted by society at large.
Ok, thanks so much for this, Ragen. This topic is entirely in my wheelhouse: I have had Binge Eating Disorder (BED) since I was a toddler. I've weight-cycled my way through almost 6 decades of failed diets, exercise programs, supplements, healthcare-bias and every kind of mental and physica torture intentional weight loss can create. Here is the real truth I discovered 4 years ago: having BED is about having a disorder, it's not a character flaw and a lack of ability to diet and maintain weight loss. Data indicates that over 40% of people who seek weight loss treatment exhibit the diagnostic criteria for BED--so it doesn't surprise me that use of GLP-1's may "increase development of an eating disorder."
The reality is a significant number of these patients probably already had the disorder prior to seeking this latest wonder drug that will finally help them shrink their body and relieve what they believe to be the source of their shame: living in a larger body, and likely a body larger than nature intended if they'd never started weight cycling. I'm so tired of the industrial food/weight-loss/pharmaceutical industries promoting the big fat lie that weight is the problem and weight loss is the solution!!!
Binge eating disorder, as in the clinical definiton of the abuse of food to provide feelings of safety, security and pleasure, is a complex condition that is kicked off as a maladaptive trauma response. Over time, we transfer our pain to our bodies because society tells us that weight loss will heal our trauma and make us happy. So we begin the binge/restrict/ binge/restrict hell that is weight cycling.
IMHO, the only treatment for BED begins by recognizing and addressing the orgin of the trauma and the now twisted neuropathways and metabolic disruptions caused by seeking weight-loss as a viable treatment.
Whoof!!! Really hate the GLP-1's!!! Thanks for the space to rant, Ragen!
I have seen too many people with binge eating disorders say that they like using the GLP-1 drugs because the drugs "shut up the food noise." They seem to think that the drugs cure their ED. This is like saying that someone cured their cancer by taking strong pain relievers. It doesn't hurt anymore, so obviously it's cured, right?
People with binge eating disorder don't need to use medications to stop the food noise. They're not fixing the problem, it's just hiding it. Not eating doesn't cure your ED. It's just ramping it up and when you stop the drug, or the effects start to wear off, it may come back worse than before.
As for ED screening before prescribing GLP-1 drugs -- don't hold your breath. They used to deny WL surgery to people with EDs because of a risk the surgery would make the ED worse. Then they decided that WLS would "cure" EDs and that it was perfectly safe - and found a whole new pile of people to butcher.
It makes me so fucking angry- eating disorders are a mental health disorder and they are basing recommendations on external factors. In the late 90s, no one even thought it was possible my sister could have anorexia because she still had a normal BMI, and I think she didn’t tell anyone what her thought life was like until therapy in her 20s around 2010.
The conversation I had with my twin sister recently was- ED recovery is for life. Once the thoughts come up they can be triggered much easier, for her part she has been dealing with them since age 10, I would say I was around 14 with my most disordered behaviors in my 20s. And while certain people can have worse symptoms, the weight loss/compliment cycle certainly triggers the not wanting to eat thought. And I can’t imagine most of the people on the weight loss drugs have addressed the mental component of wanting a body that is more accepted by society at large.
Ok, thanks so much for this, Ragen. This topic is entirely in my wheelhouse: I have had Binge Eating Disorder (BED) since I was a toddler. I've weight-cycled my way through almost 6 decades of failed diets, exercise programs, supplements, healthcare-bias and every kind of mental and physica torture intentional weight loss can create. Here is the real truth I discovered 4 years ago: having BED is about having a disorder, it's not a character flaw and a lack of ability to diet and maintain weight loss. Data indicates that over 40% of people who seek weight loss treatment exhibit the diagnostic criteria for BED--so it doesn't surprise me that use of GLP-1's may "increase development of an eating disorder."
The reality is a significant number of these patients probably already had the disorder prior to seeking this latest wonder drug that will finally help them shrink their body and relieve what they believe to be the source of their shame: living in a larger body, and likely a body larger than nature intended if they'd never started weight cycling. I'm so tired of the industrial food/weight-loss/pharmaceutical industries promoting the big fat lie that weight is the problem and weight loss is the solution!!!
Binge eating disorder, as in the clinical definiton of the abuse of food to provide feelings of safety, security and pleasure, is a complex condition that is kicked off as a maladaptive trauma response. Over time, we transfer our pain to our bodies because society tells us that weight loss will heal our trauma and make us happy. So we begin the binge/restrict/ binge/restrict hell that is weight cycling.
IMHO, the only treatment for BED begins by recognizing and addressing the orgin of the trauma and the now twisted neuropathways and metabolic disruptions caused by seeking weight-loss as a viable treatment.
Whoof!!! Really hate the GLP-1's!!! Thanks for the space to rant, Ragen!
I have seen too many people with binge eating disorders say that they like using the GLP-1 drugs because the drugs "shut up the food noise." They seem to think that the drugs cure their ED. This is like saying that someone cured their cancer by taking strong pain relievers. It doesn't hurt anymore, so obviously it's cured, right?
People with binge eating disorder don't need to use medications to stop the food noise. They're not fixing the problem, it's just hiding it. Not eating doesn't cure your ED. It's just ramping it up and when you stop the drug, or the effects start to wear off, it may come back worse than before.
As for ED screening before prescribing GLP-1 drugs -- don't hold your breath. They used to deny WL surgery to people with EDs because of a risk the surgery would make the ED worse. Then they decided that WLS would "cure" EDs and that it was perfectly safe - and found a whole new pile of people to butcher.
It makes me so fucking angry- eating disorders are a mental health disorder and they are basing recommendations on external factors. In the late 90s, no one even thought it was possible my sister could have anorexia because she still had a normal BMI, and I think she didn’t tell anyone what her thought life was like until therapy in her 20s around 2010.