Anorexia Nervosa (cont.)

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms and Signs

• With anorexia nervosa, sufferers have an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat and/or might picture themselves as being highly overweight despite the fact that they may be significantly underweight.
• People with anorexia nervosa may use one or more of the following methods to lose weight.
• Under eating
• Excessive exercise
• Vomiting
• Laxative use
• Diuretic use (increases amount of urination)
• Use of appetite-suppressant medications
• Usually people do these things secretively. For instance, if eating with others, a person with anorexia may move food around on a plate or place some food in a napkin to hide it. If confronted by these unusual behaviors, the person may deny or refuse to discuss them.
• Some of the following physical signs may also be brought about by starvation or by weight-reduction methods:
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Menstrual periods stop or puberty is delayed
• Hand injuries from inducing vomiting
• Decayed teeth from stomach acid
• Yellowing of skin
• Hair thinning
• Kidney stones
• Depression or irritability
• Premature aging