My Struggle with Bulimia | Teen Ink

My Struggle with Bulimia MAG

By Anonymous

Being supervised by my 13-year-old sister is weird. It’s even weirder that she’s watching me go to the bathroom. Well, okay, she’s actually just waiting outside the stall. But I knew she would follow me, I knew she would wash her hands, and I knew she would linger. When I open the door, she’s just standing there casually. “What are you doing?” I ask, even though I know.

“Just waiting for you.”

“Oh, okay.” And I’m not supposed to be mad, even though the situation is awkward and I can’t get any privacy when I’m using the bathroom. Of course, this only happens when I go after lunch.

Rewind to late May: I’m so near death that I can brush it with my eyelashes. My boyfriend, Jon, and I are competing to lose weight and I can’t shake off his saying, “It’s okay if you don’t lose as much weight as me, Lindsay. After all, I’m a guy.” I don’t like losing anything except weight, 20 pounds of which disappears in a month and a half. But 10 pounds is all it took for me to forget about beating Jon and winning the $200 bet.

Hey, I look good; I look damn good. I should keep this up. I’m convinced, though, that it isn’t enough to just keep exercising and scraping by on water, hard-boiled egg whites, and salad (which is actually just lettuce and tomatoes – no dressing, croutons, or even corn because of the carbs). If I want to be tinier with every glance in the mirror, I’ll need a better strategy. So I become a double-barreled bulimic; I’m the purging type and the non-purging type. Purging is just a nicer way of saying “self-induced vomiting.” It isn’t pleasant but people are convinced that I eat. Non-purging, also called exercise bulimia, is when I sweat off what little I’ve eaten and more. One website calls it “secretly vomiting,” but I think of it as added insurance.

I recommend bulimia for anyone self-deluded enough to ignore feeling terrible all the time: “This bottle of aspirin must be full of placebos because my headaches won’t go away. The doctor is insane; I’m not running too much, and my knee and hip pains can’t be early signs of arthritis. My esophagus isn’t corroded. My voice isn’t raspy. I can keep getting away with this. It’ll be worth it. I feel fine. I’m not bulimic.”

Then I’m wailing my confession to Jon about having bulimia and how much work it is to hide and how scared I am about not getting my period this month, and I hate myself for developing bulimia in the first place, and I’m sorry but I need to back out of our competition. He says that’s fine. We’ll fix it together. Plus, he misses pizza.

For the next month, I eat only with Jon so he can be sure I relearn to eat healthfully. At first I feel like a criminal exercising only once a day and eating food I can taste, but my complaints are short-lived.

It’s the end of July and I’m driving with my friend Kelli. She knows I helped stuff that guy’s mailbox with defective donuts from the Krispy Kreme dumpster. I’m the only person she told when she backed into a car. Secrets are only fun if you have a best friend to share them with.

There’s a lull in the conversation before she says, “You never told me who won that thing between you and Jon.”

The saltiness of my fingertips floods my tongue and tickles my throat. “I called it off.”

“Really? Why?”

Lie, don’t lie, lie, don’t lie, lie, don’t lie, lie, don’t lie, don’t lie. Why would you lie to your best friend? “Because I became bulimic.”

“Oh, Lindsay.” She turns her head from the road and looks at me. I’ve never heard Kelli say my name in that disappointed tone before.

“I’m okay now. Really. Jon and I worked through it and I’m fine.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I believe you.” Good. There are times when you should be honest. This wasn’t one of them.

Kelli comes by the next afternoon. She starts sobbing when she sees me. She says that she cried all day yesterday while researching bulimia and calling eating disorder hotlines. She doesn’t understand why I have a negative body image. She insists that I don’t need to lose weight. She is scared for me.

Didn’t I tell her that I was fine? Why didn’t she believe me?

“Lindsay, you have to tell your parents.”

WHAT? “What? Why?! It isn’t a problem anymore. I don’t want them to worry over something that’s in the past.”

“I know, but they need to know.”

“No. No, they don’t, actually.”

“Lindsay, if you don’t tell them, I will. If something happens to you and they find out I knew, I won’t be able to live with that.” Since when is this about you, Kelli? “I’ll give you time to tell them. If you don’t do it within that time frame, I’ll tell them. But, I’ll warn you before I do it.”

You’ll warn me? Are you trying to strike a deal with me? I knew I should have lied.

“I’m doing this for your own good, Lindsay. You’re my best friend and I care about you.” I don’t feel myself hug her back. If you really cared, you’d let it go.

Kelli never brings up the subject again. I forget about this incident and figure she has too. The “your time is up so I’m telling on you” ultimatum disintegrates into an empty threat. I go back to school in September and don’t come home until October ends. I lost a few pounds by eating healthier and my family is happy for me. On the way to the airport, my dad says, “You look great, honey, really, you do. This probably isn’t the best time to bring it up … but you didn’t lose weight by being bulimic, did you?”

Oh my God. “She TOLD you?!”

“Lindsay, don’t be mad. She was really scared to tell.”

I’m not mad at Kelli, I’m furious. “When?”

“Right before you guys left for school. She called and said she had something important to tell us. Your mom and I went to her house. She was sitting in the living room with her parents and crying because she wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing. She didn’t want to lose your friendship.”

I’m thankful when they let me walk through security with sunglasses on. I’m not looking forward to Thanksgiving anymore.

*
*
*


My parents have argued in the garage for years because they don’t think my sister and I can hear them in there. They forget that my bedroom is directly above the garage.

“It’s your fault Lindsay turned bulimic! You always pushed her too hard! It didn’t matter if she was valedictorian or tennis team captain or a concert pianist, she was never good enough for you.” “At least I wasn’t babying her all the time! I just wanted my daughter to grow up strong. It was your coddling that made her cave in like that!”

*
*
*


Even though I’m finished with bulimia, it isn’t finished with me. A common side effect is gastroesophageal reflux, where my gag reflex fires involuntarily and my stomach contents come up. This looks incredibly suspicious to people who know I have a history with bulimia.

I’m looking at Christmas ornaments with my dad and sister a few days later. I can’t decide if this one is a gingerbread man or a really tan starfish when my stomach tightens. This is the worst, because my stomach is empty of anything except acid. I imagine this is what it would be like to iron the inside of my throat with a pair of flaming soccer cleats.

I’m bent over like I’m trying to cough my throat out onto the floor (which I wouldn’t have minded) as the scorching gets worse. I’m pretty sure everyone in the store is staring so I scramble outside. I’m trying to calm down by taking deep breaths but the frozen air ironically makes the burning worse, so I attempt to casually stroll into a nearby restaurant and ask in a horribly raw voice for a glass of water. The girl smiles because she thinks I’m a chain smoker and fills a cup and I thank her while trying to control myself because I’d gladly drink all 32 ounces in one gulp. My throat cools but is still itchy.

My dad and sister are asking what happened and I say I coughed up acid, so we get ice cream to neutralize it. I claw maniacally at a frozen cylinder of Phish Food with a flimsy plastic spork the whole way home, where I finally microwave the block into submission. I’m halfway done when my stomach protests the unexpected influx of food by sending the ice cream back up (at least it doesn’t burn) and I’m running again, this time to the nearest toilet.

Winter break becomes a laborious game of avoiding anything that could make me look like I’m still bulimic. I don’t eat too much because I’ll vomit. I don’t eat too little because I’ll seem anorexic. I’m afraid of soda because burping can trigger refluxes. I snack on Tums between meals. My workouts are light so I won’t lose weight. You’d think even if my parents didn’t know I used to be bulimic, they would still be suspicious.

Kelli and I exchange Christmas gifts one night. I haven’t told her I know she snitched on me, but she probably has figured it out since I’ve barely spoken to her for the past two months. As she turns to leave, she asks, “Are we okay?”

No. “Yeah.” I want to tell her I’ve lost my parents’ trust, that she’s lost mine. That I will never believe anything she says again.

*
*
*


I’m more frustrated than grateful that everyone is too concerned to trust me. I ask my dad why no one believes me when I say I’m not bulimic. He says they do – they’re just making sure I’m okay. So no one believes me.



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This article has 186 comments.


on Sep. 14 2009 at 7:22 pm
I Can Relate. Alot. Hey, This Is A Great Article. What Happen in the past will slowly fade away, you'll have a better future i know ive have.

on Sep. 14 2009 at 7:21 pm
wordweaver96 PLATINUM, Winchester, Kentucky
37 articles 2 photos 254 comments

Favorite Quote:
" It is not our abilities but our choices that show who we truly are. "
Albus Dumbledore


See, we really DON'T have anything to fear but fear itself!

u should do a follow up sequel. like where u r now.

on Sep. 14 2009 at 7:20 pm
wordweaver96 PLATINUM, Winchester, Kentucky
37 articles 2 photos 254 comments

Favorite Quote:
" It is not our abilities but our choices that show who we truly are. "
Albus Dumbledore


See, we really DON'T have anything to fear but fear itself!

oops i meant really

on Sep. 14 2009 at 7:18 pm
this is a really good website for teens

on Sep. 14 2009 at 6:17 pm
wordweaver96 PLATINUM, Winchester, Kentucky
37 articles 2 photos 254 comments

Favorite Quote:
" It is not our abilities but our choices that show who we truly are. "
Albus Dumbledore


See, we really DON'T have anything to fear but fear itself!

yeah. you're very right. most people think, 'i'm so sorry that happened! but it's all better now! so let's move on and not think about it!' but that's not how it reakky works.

on Sep. 14 2009 at 3:54 pm
Annabelle7614, Nunyabusiness, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 97 comments

Favorite Quote:
This is my favorite personal quote.

I like how this article is written because it isn't the classic "I was bulimic then I wasn't and now all is good". It is very truthful and inspiring, and I hope you feel better soon, but I'm sure you hear that enough from your parents, so let me make it special. In all my years, I have never heard a more personal and detailed essay and I think you should send it in to chicken soup for the soul. I feel like I know you personally now and I really hope this horrid condition leaves you alone, because you really don't deserve to feel this horrible.

Keep writing!

Kit-Kat SILVER said...
on Sep. 14 2009 at 2:39 pm
Kit-Kat SILVER, Nashua, New Hampshire
6 articles 0 photos 19 comments
I really enjoyed that this was such a truthful artical, and I love your writing voice- it is very natural sounding and almost conversational :) good work!!!!

Sunshineyday said...
on Sep. 14 2009 at 9:55 am
excellent work!

on Sep. 14 2009 at 7:07 am
wordweaver96 PLATINUM, Winchester, Kentucky
37 articles 2 photos 254 comments

Favorite Quote:
" It is not our abilities but our choices that show who we truly are. "
Albus Dumbledore


See, we really DON'T have anything to fear but fear itself!

this is really good. i've felt like you before, but i knew parents would kill me if i became bulimic or anorexic.

on May. 30 2009 at 3:47 am
practicerandomkindness, Rindge, New Hampshire
0 articles 0 photos 46 comments
Very well written. I agrre, your friend was only doing it for your own good. This article has probably heloed a lot of people, and has made me never want an eatind disorder.

on May. 23 2009 at 1:55 am
Great article! I have Female Athlete Triad, and it was very encouraging to know there's someone else that knows what I'm dealing with.

on Apr. 21 2009 at 2:46 am
Courtney.Firestone BRONZE, Thornhill, Ontario, Other
1 article 0 photos 22 comments
What really strikes me is the number of people who are coming out and commenting, "I'm bulemic too". Although I can't say my life has been touched by something like this, I see the inspiration you are to so many, and that in turn inspires me.



Woderful writing! Good job!

recovering said...
on Apr. 11 2009 at 1:34 pm
yeah i was the vomit type of bulimia excpet i used laxatives i still strugle not to reach in the cabnit and get them back out i am glad you have gotten this far maybe one day all "former" bulimics can have the strentgh to say no i will not do that everyone should read this piece best i've ever read

on Apr. 4 2009 at 2:35 pm
this is a story that is a lesson.im sorry you had to experenice this but it makes me never want an eating disorder. so in a way thank you.

on Jan. 31 2009 at 5:53 pm
I know how you feel, and then again I don't. I have made myself puke before because I feel like I ate to much, or because I ate something I shouldn't, but I try no to do that since I know how bad it is. For you to write this for everyone is inspirational. You didn't make it seem like it was easy, you gave us the truth of what you felt without holding back. Even though you feel like you have no one else to look to, remember you always have your self, because in the ends that's all we really have right?

ellen said...
on Jan. 13 2009 at 4:52 am
I have that acid reflex to, but i didn't get it from being bulimic, i got it from being anorexic, but i throw up, or am able to throw up any thing i eat just because of my reflexes.

on Jan. 12 2009 at 1:40 pm
I can understand where you're coming from. I had the same disorder, and while I don't engage in that behavior anymore, it stillis a probl;em and I'm glad you are able to speak out about it. Its seen as the family secret and embarrassment by those who help instill( sp?) it in our lives, ironic? Anyways, best of luckn and I hope you continue to work hard to fight it!

rayzay123 said...
on Jan. 7 2009 at 3:35 pm
I do believe you. You may not believe me when i say that but having a sibling with an eating disorder makes you unabe not to belive. I can't live you life for you but please for your friends sake, i know it might feel like she betrayed you. Just try and realise a few things

1, she did warn you

2, even tho it dosn't seem like it she did it 4 ur own health

But i don't think what your doing to your friend is horrible. It's natural. And I don't think it's right but i'm hoping someday you will realise why she did what she did.. even if right now you are thinking YAH RIGHT.



but this isn't about your friend its about you. It is no ones fault, not your friend, not your boyfriend (even if that bet never should have taken place), not your parents, and least of all yours. I know probably the last thing you want to do is talk to your parents or a doctar. But stomach problems while may be after affects of bulimia are very different from bulimia. Seeing a doctar alone, with your sister, with a friend, or your parents while may seem horrible is a good idea. Either before or after you need to let your parents know u went to the doctor. The sooner this gets dealt with the sooner you will feel you don't have to hide or try to make it look like one thing or another. In the meantime try not to hide instead explain to people (including although the thought is not fun your parents) that you have fully worked through you bulimia and that you simpley have a gastronomical upset or problem. Good luck and try to stay healthy!

sunnysall said...
on Dec. 22 2008 at 9:57 pm
thats a horrible thing your doing to your friend she told because she cares about u but that was well written ... great job

on Oct. 1 2008 at 8:41 pm
Great story! Well written, interesting and something I'll always remember. Fabulous!!!!