desperate for help!!

[Unregistered]

I've had anorexia for about 5 years now and have made a pretty good recovery with my weight stabilisiong at about bmi 18.however the last 3 months or so i have gained over 15lbs without raising my calorie intake or decreasing exercise etc.in fact i have been eating no more than 800 calories a day(definitely no more) and am scared by what is happening.is it possible to permanently damage your metabolism with an eating disorder meaning i gain weight on ridicuously low calorie intake?please help i am desperate for an answer.thanks.

[Unregistered]

Hi. It's conceviable that you permanently altered your metabolism, however what you describe (because it is so recent) sounds more like a thyorid problem which, of course, alters the metabolism. Go to a doctor and ask them to run a complete blood panel, as well as test for thyroid functions; eating disorders can unfortunately do a lot of damage to the body, everything from bone loss to early menopause to vision problems, etc.

Also, why are you eating 800 calories a day? It hardly seems like enough energy and might be the reason that your metabolism still isn't back to normal.

[Unregistered]

i find it extrmely hard to eat more than 800 calories a day,i don't have an appetite at all and have sort of lost touch with how to eat that much.i went to the doctor who just congratulated me for gaining weight and ignored my asking for a thyroid test.any ideas where i should go from here?

[Unregistered]

There are medications that can act as appetite stimulants I think. But you need to make sure you are eating lots of healthy foods, not just junk otherwise it's possible to gain weight. What are you eating now? Not accusing you of anything, but if you came off of an eating disorder (with an altered metabolism) and then ate nothing but fast food, it would make sense that your body might have a harder time processing the food and so it would cause weight gain.

Your doctor should not be ignoring a request for a test. I would go to a differerent doctor (or just go straight to an endocrinologist) and ask them to order the test.

[Unregistered]

It is always possible to get a blood test done privately, without doctors permission. For example, in London, there are several private laboratories that I could go to to have various tests without my doctor being involved.....Also, why not contact a support group for your "condition" ?