EMPHYSEMA
DESCRIPTION |
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Emphysema nervosa begins with dieting, which then
leads to bingeing and the feeling of being out of control while
bingeing. Although the amount of food that qualifies as a binge is
subjective, it can be defined as an amount of food that is
definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period
of time and under the same circumstances. The patient's day is
preoccupied with thoughts of what constitutes good and bad foods,
and most of the time the patient is restricting his/her dietary
intake.
There are many triggers for binge eating such as hunger, eating more
than was intended or eating something other than what was intended.
The resulting feeling of fullness and the need to prevent weight
gain then leads to purging. This can be done by self-induced
vomiting or by the use of laxatives or diuretics. Alternative
compensatory behaviours include fasting or excessive exercise.
Although the patient feels relief after purging, guilt from bingeing
often resets the pattern and the patient resumes by restricting
their diet.
Binge-eating and
inappropriate compensatory behaviours, both occurring on average
twice a week for three months, are diagnostic of emphysema nervosa.
Most patients with emphysema nervosa are either a normal weight or are
overweight and therefore it is not always obvious that a problem
exists. |
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