Immune system

[Fiction]

I think my eating disorder has messed up my immune system. The last time this happend it was around February time, after i'd been starving for around 6 months. It seems to have happened again but worse. After February I went through a period of recovery and I think my immune system was about back to normal. Then around April I relapsed again. I've not been eating properly since then, so around 6 months again.

I caught a cold just over 3 weeks ago. It was a very mild one, but it just hasn't got better. I guess it's slowly got worse and now i'm starting to have a slightly high temperature. In the time i've had it my friend caught it off me and recovered.

I guess my question is, is this my eating disorder weakening my immune system? And what should i do? Because I don't seem to be fighting this... :S

Also a side note, my fingernails are pretty much falling apart. I hadn't thought of it until the other day when a friend who knows nothing about my eating says "isn't that due to bad diet?" So.. is it?

[Kaius]

Eat more fruit, drink more fruit juice and take more vitamins. Thats all you can really do. Eating properly provides the stuff you need to get better and I know its not easy for you. It might be worth talking to the doctor when you make an appointment this week.

[Fiction]

Eat more fruit, drink more fruit juice and take more vitamins. Thats all you can really do. Eating properly provides the stuff you need to get better and I know its not easy for you. It might be worth talking to the doctor when you make an appointment this week.

Mmm I am trying >< I will mention it to my doctor if I still have it x

[FuzzyLittleNightmare]

Yes, it will definitely be weakening your immune system. When your body is not getting all of the nutrients it needs, it shuts down all non-essential functions in order to keep vital functions, such as the circulatory system running. Theses non-essential functions will be things like temperature control (not being able to warm up or cool down easilly), hormones (start skipping periods - or just having really painful ones) and your immune system.
Personally I think immune system should be an essential function but apparantly our bodies think differently! As a solution (until you manage to beat your eating disorder) would be to take supplements. Calcium, Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin B and (as a woman) Evening Primrose Oil, are all really important ones! You kind of feel strange popping a load of pills but you will soon feel much better. You'll still need to try and up your calorie intake (as long as it is with healthy foods) as this will help the most but the supplements are a great solution for now!

Oh and yes it will be affecting your nails too. Nails are made of Keratin, which is a type of protein. If you are not getting enough protein in your diet, it wont send it to your nails, it will deal with the vital stuff first. A great way to improve the strength of your nails is to soak them in healthy oils such as olive oil of avacado oil. The longer you soak them, the better, but even just a 10 minute soak a day while you are watching TV will make a noticable difference!

[Fiction]

Yes, it will definitely be weakening your immune system. When your body is not getting all of the nutrients it needs, it shuts down all non-essential functions in order to keep vital functions, such as the circulatory system running. Theses non-essential functions will be things like temperature control (not being able to warm up or cool down easilly), hormones (start skipping periods - or just having really painful ones) and your immune system.
Personally I think immune system should be an essential function but apparantly our bodies think differently! As a solution (until you manage to beat your eating disorder) would be to take supplements. Calcium, Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin B and (as a woman) Evening Primrose Oil, are all really important ones! You kind of feel strange popping a load of pills but you will soon feel much better. You'll still need to try and up your calorie intake (as long as it is with healthy foods) as this will help the most but the supplements are a great solution for now!

Oh and yes it will be affecting your nails too. Nails are made of Keratin, which is a type of protein. If you are not getting enough protein in your diet, it wont send it to your nails, it will deal with the vital stuff first. A great way to improve the strength of your nails is to soak them in healthy oils such as olive oil of avacado oil. The longer you soak them, the better, but even just a 10 minute soak a day while you are watching TV will make a noticable difference!

That actually explains a lot, thank you. My period has managed to be 3 days late and very painful this time. Although the thing that confuses me is i'm not drastically underweight? So there isn't really a reason for this to be happening? Thank you though anyway.

[SWMG]

Yes it probably has affected it a lot, you should have a lot of vitamin c and eat more fruits, vegetables and protein so that way your body gains back the strenght that you have been loosing due to your eating disorder

[Amaryllis]

Eat more fruit, drink more fruit juice and take more vitamins. Thats all you can really do. Eating properly provides the stuff you need to get better and I know its not easy for you. It might be worth talking to the doctor when you make an appointment this week.

Actually, Kathy... Eat whatever the hell you want. I mean, sweetheart, I can tell from your pictures that -anything- you eat will do you good. It's okay, hun. It's hard but it isn't impossible. Try your best to think of food as life, because that is what it is. Forget about the calories or which is "healthy" or "unhealthy". Just think of them as equal.

Whatever you wanna eat, eat it. That's how I recovered. Food isn't life. Looking good and being skinny isn't life. Yes, your immune system has most likely been weakened by your ED. Mine was. But after pretty much eating everything. I was fine. Your nails are an obvious sign that you're not eating enough. When your body doesn't get enough... Yes, calories. It will break down. You just gotta try your best to eat more. Try to not restrict. Don't you want to be free?

Eating disorders wreck havoc on your body. And sometimes, like with my eyes, permanent havoc. Work hard to recover ASAP, before it's too late. And recovering isn't just about recovering physically, it's about recovering mentally as well. For food to just be food. To rid yourself of all your obsessive behaviours and thoughts. To, maybe not love your body, but be okay with it. To face your true feelings and find other ways to express it.

You have a boyfriend, don't you? Talk to him. It's a better outlet for your pain. Good luck, sweetie :)

Love,
Faith and Trust

[FuzzyLittleNightmare]

That actually explains a lot, thank you. My period has managed to be 3 days late and very painful this time. Although the thing that confuses me is i'm not drastically underweight? So there isn't really a reason for this to be happening? Thank you though anyway.

You don't have to be drastically underweight for things like this to happen. The doctors keep on insisting that my E.D isn't bad because I am not drastically underweight, yet you can see most of my bone, even pinch both sides of my collar and hip bones. The problem with some people, including me, (or you may see it as a good thing) is that they will have a decent muscle mass. As muscle weighs more than fat and fat is easier for your body to burn than muscle, you may be skinny and have lost a lot of fat, but your muscle mass will mean that you really haven't lost a ton of weight!
It could also be that the foods you are eating don't contain enough of the necessary nutrients your body needs.

[Fiction]

Actually, Kathy... Eat whatever the hell you want. I mean, sweetheart, I can tell from your pictures that -anything- you eat will do you good. It's okay, hun. It's hard but it isn't impossible. Try your best to think of food as life, because that is what it is. Forget about the calories or which is "healthy" or "unhealthy". Just think of them as equal.

Whatever you wanna eat, eat it. That's how I recovered. Food isn't life. Looking good and being skinny isn't life. Yes, your immune system has most likely been weakened by your ED. Mine was. But after pretty much eating everything. I was fine. Your nails are an obvious sign that you're not eating enough. When your body doesn't get enough... Yes, calories. It will break down. You just gotta try your best to eat more. Try to not restrict. Don't you want to be free?

Eating disorders wreck havoc on your body. And sometimes, like with my eyes, permanent havoc. Work hard to recover ASAP, before it's too late. And recovering isn't just about recovering physically, it's about recovering mentally as well. For food to just be food. To rid yourself of all your obsessive behaviours and thoughts. To, maybe not love your body, but be okay with it. To face your true feelings and find other ways to express it.

You have a boyfriend, don't you? Talk to him. It's a better outlet for your pain. Good luck, sweetie :)

Love,
Faith and Trust

Thanks Z, I am trying to recover it's just really hard. I know it's mostly about recovering mentally, that's the problem i've had before. I've never really recovered mentally so I always end in a relapse.

I do talk to my boyfriend about it :)

You don't have to be drastically underweight for things like this to happen. The doctors keep on insisting that my E.D isn't bad because I am not drastically underweight, yet you can see most of my bone, even pinch both sides of my collar and hip bones. The problem with some people, including me, (or you may see it as a good thing) is that they will have a decent muscle mass. As muscle weighs more than fat and fat is easier for your body to burn than muscle, you may be skinny and have lost a lot of fat, but your muscle mass will mean that you really haven't lost a ton of weight!
It could also be that the foods you are eating don't contain enough of the necessary nutrients your body needs.

Mmm I guess you're right. Thank you :)

[Kaius]

Actually, Kathy... Eat whatever the hell you want. I mean, sweetheart, I can tell from your pictures that -anything- you eat will do you good. It's okay, hun. It's hard but it isn't impossible. Try your best to think of food as life, because that is what it is. Forget about the calories or which is "healthy" or "unhealthy". Just think of them as equal.

Whatever you wanna eat, eat it. That's how I recovered. Food isn't life. Looking good and being skinny isn't life. Yes, your immune system has most likely been weakened by your ED. Mine was. But after pretty much eating everything. I was fine. Your nails are an obvious sign that you're not eating enough. When your body doesn't get enough... Yes, calories. It will break down. You just gotta try your best to eat more. Try to not restrict. Don't you want to be free?

Eating disorders wreck havoc on your body. And sometimes, like with my eyes, permanent havoc. Work hard to recover ASAP, before it's too late. And recovering isn't just about recovering physically, it's about recovering mentally as well. For food to just be food. To rid yourself of all your obsessive behaviours and thoughts. To, maybe not love your body, but be okay with it. To face your true feelings and find other ways to express it.

You have a boyfriend, don't you? Talk to him. It's a better outlet for your pain. Good luck, sweetie :)

Love,
Faith and Trust

I wasn't saying she couldn't eat what she wanted. She just mentioned her immune system was low so I mentioned the stuff she should eat to start raising it again relatively quickly.

[Amaryllis]

I wasn't saying she couldn't eat what she wanted. She just mentioned her immune system was low so I mentioned the stuff she should eat to start raising it again relatively quickly.

I know you weren't. When I had my ED though, it wasn't so much that I couldn't. I just thought I shouldn't. Whenever someone said this was healthy or that was, I'd just use that as an excuse to eat something... Fewer in calories. It was like if I wanted to eat ice cream, I'd think "Why would I if I can eat yogurt?" and even with that, I could tell you the calories in every single brand and tub of yogurt. Hell, I counted the calories of 1 bite of chicken and 2/8 of a cucumber.

Then again, I had orthorexia as well. I'm just saying Kathy should think of all foods as equal. You're right there and probably reading, this, Kathy. Hi ;) Anywho, I'm going off topic here. I don't know what weight you are as of now but I got to a certain weight where healthy didn't get me anywhere. My body was just eating itself for fuel. But you'll be okay. As you recover mentally, you will physically. Said this before but good luck <3

Love,
Faith and Trust

EDIT: Oh another thing. You're less likely to relapse if you have a BMI of 20 and above. You'll actually -want- to starve when you're thin. For us with EDs, anyway. Hormones, genes, neurological pathways, they all contribute to it. I read some stuff somewhere... Brr, I did so much research when I was down there, now I just lost it all haha. If I ever find it, I'll get back to you :)

[screamtobeheard]

Like everyone else says, it probably is from your ED. I've been eating pretty normally recently, and I haven't been sick in a long while, but when I was starving myself, I got croup, the swine flu, and a million colds and sinus infections, and I've always been a really healthy kid. Yes, the fingernails falling apart is also probably due to a bad diet as well. If you aren't getting the right vitamins and such, your fingernails will become brittle.

[Ronaldas]

By doing yoga exercise you can improve your immune system. Yoga is very simple exercise and you can perform it easily at home without going outside. It also beneficial to prevent from cancer and many heart diseases.

[georgiamay]

Please don't bump old threads. :locked: