When To Call a Doctor

Call your doctor 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 doctor 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 that 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.

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.

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 needed.

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