Anorexia Nervosa: When To Call A Doctor

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When To Call a Doctor

Call your health professional immediately if you (or someone you care about) have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and:

• Are not able to pass urine.
• Have a pounding heartbeat, skipping heartbeats, or a slower-than-normal heart rate.
• Have been fainting.
• Have severe belly pain; are vomiting up blood; or have black, sticky (tarry) stools. These signs may mean that there is bleeding in the digestive tract .
• Have severe pain anywhere in the body, such as the joints or torso.

Call your health professional if you (or someone you care about):

• Have signs of anorexia, including rapid weight loss, eating very little, and being overly concerned about weight and appearance.
• Have lost a lot of weight and cannot stop losing weight.
• Are fearful of gaining even a small amount of weight, and this interferes with eating healthy meals.
• Notice that you are secretive or lie about your eating habits.
• See yourself as fat and feel you must diet, even when other people say you look too thin.
• Have been making yourself vomit or are abusing laxatives or diuretics (bulimia).
• Are female and are not having menstrual periods when you should.
• Feel the need to exercise a lot, and do not give yourself healing or rest time when you are injured or exhausted.
• Have been diagnosed with anorexia and feel dizzy.
• Have insomnia or symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Watchful Waiting

Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. Watchful waiting is not a safe way to handle a possible eating disorder.

Getting early treatment improves your chances of overcoming anorexia. Even if you (or someone you care about) have only a couple of the signs of an eating disorder, see your health professional now. The sooner you start, the easier it will be to learn how to take charge of your body and mind in a healthy way.

Who To See

The following health professionals can help diagnose or treat an eating disorder:

• General practitioner
• Family medicine physician
• Pediatrician
• Internal medicine physician
• Nurse practitioner
• Physician assistant
• Registered dietitian
• Psychologist
• Licensed mental health counselor
• Psychiatrist

For severe anorexia, starvation, or life-threatening mental health problems, getting treatment in a hospital or an eating disorder treatment center is sometimes needed.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.

Last updated:	September 25, 2007
Author:	Jeannette Curtis
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, W. Stewart Agras, MD - Psychiatry
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC