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I don't know if this should go in the mental health forum or here, and I think that it applies to both sections equally, but I just think that this thread will get more hits here. Besides, it's the sex that I have a question with, not my eating disorder.

Okay, so, hello. I am Cali. <3 Seventeen year old girl.

Cody and I have been dating for almost two and a half years. We had sex very early on into our relationship. We were very active sexually for two full years, having intercourse two to six times a week. It was healthy and we both loved it; we both had orgasms every time. It was a steady sex life, up until...

Well, I developed an eating disorder last winter. It didn't start getting bad with the restricting, though, until this past August.

By February, I had lost over twenty pounds, and by period started to get a bit....funny. I have been on birth control, specifically Nuvaring, since last April. My periods started coming late and ending early. Before my ED started to have effects on my body, I would take my nuvaring out on a Thursday, get my period Saturday night, and the bleeding would not stop until I put a new ring in the following Thursday.

It is now late May, and I have lost 15 more pounds since February.
My BMI is 16.
I have reason to believe that I am only still getting my period because of my hormonal birth control. My period comes on Sunday, and lasts until Tuesday. Less than two days of spottage-type bleeding. I read that this is called "breakthrough bleeding" and isn't considered a real period.

Um, so my problem is that I have absolutely no interest in sex anymore. My boyfriend, Cody, is very respectful and understanding that my body and mind are a bit ******** up right now because my anorexia, and he doesn't push sex. We have sex maybe twice a month. I simply can not orgasm anymore, I can not get sexually aroused, I don't like him touching my body, and I don't like seeing his p***s too often.

Yeah, I'm having a lot of.... health issues with my body because of my eating disorder ( bruises everywhere, chest pain, hair thinning, major muscle weakness, etc...), but I am trying to eat more now and recover. I have been told that if I lose anymore weight, my heart will stop. So, I am trying to recover; my question is to you; why is my sex drive gone and how can I get it back? Note: I am trying to eat more, but I have no intention of gaining weight. I just can't lose anymore, and I believe that the only reason my body is so sick is because I haven't been feeding it.

Help? <3 Sorry for the long post! Yeah... it's long... oops. There's just a long of information, teehee. Um, thanks!

Thank you, Lorien, that is very helpful.

I have a question about infertility. I've read different things from different sides of the issue, but does lack of period really lead to not being able to conceive? Since, after all, there are pills out there that prevent a woman from having her period. But I suppose it's different if my body physically can't induce bleeding by itself....

I am very short, and have a very small body frame. ( um, i actually have a legit type of "taller" dwarfism, lol, but I won't get into that ). So I think that maybe my weight is actually okay, even though my BMI is way low. I still think that I'm just not getting enough calories and fuel and energy and nutrition....so if I feed myself a bit more, won't my body repair itself?

I am scared to ******** death of gaining weight. I can't even explain it. I still see blobs of fat on my body, so it's hard for me anyways to try and eat more to prevent from losing weight, when I still see my body as so unperfect.

Uh, I've been in psychiatric help for many many years, due to other mental illnesses. 3nodding My current doctor does not believe my ED is bad enough to really do anything about. Eh, I have my last appointment with her next month, and then I'm off to college where I'll join an ED support group and get a specialist and all.

.....I just have to make it to then, lol. xp
[yeah, i know it's serious, but i don't like to make it into a big deal because everyone else does. >.>]

Many women with eating disorders lose their period or have an abnormal period when their weight is low. This means they may not be able to get pregnant. But it isn't a guarantee either, so of course you still want to be using birth control.

From what I have heard, most women will get their fertility and period back once they reach a normal weight again. But some women never regain their fertility after their battle with an eating disorder.

That's because not getting a period due to an eating disorder is different than not getting a period due to birth control. Eating disorders can actually permanently damage internal organs (including reproductive organs), whereas birth control usually does not (as far as we know).

Like Niko said, asking a doctor about it would be best if you're curious. Although I might recommend waiting and asking the specialist or the support group since it sounds like your current doctor might not know a whole lot about ED.


Hopefully.

Some damage may be permanent. So eating disorders can be a lot more serious than many people think because it's not always a matter of, "Oh, my body is having a fit right now, but it will be fine again if I ever get my weight back up."

But, yes, most women are able to come out of it ok and feel a lot better once they start eating more and putting on some weight.


Like Niko said, putting on weight doesn't mean you're getting fat. In fact, if you look at two women of the same height, the heavier one will often look thinner if that weight is from muscle. That's because muscle can make you look firmer, healthier, more toned, and less flabby. If you don't have any muscle, then you can actually look flabby, floppy, and really out of shape even if your weight is really low!

So if your issue is flab, you're probably better off trying to build yourself some muscle.


I don't know anyone who truly has a perfect body. Even the top models on magazine covers have been airbrushed!

I'd recommend browsing through the Positive Body Image Subforum if you haven't already. There are a lot of pictures and articles about what most women really look like, about airbrushing in magazines, about plus size models who are actually average size, etc. It's some really interesting stuff that can make you feel a lot better about yourself!

There are also tips for healthy eating over there.


If it's bad enough that you're truly losing hair, having abnormal periods, and are terrified of gaining weight, then I think your doctor is wrong and that something needs to be done about it. So it's great to hear that you'll be joining a support group and seeing a specialist before long. 3nodding