Medical Center for Eating Disorders

10/06/2022

When your blood sugar drops too low, you may be at risk of experiencing a hypoglycemic episode 😬

Here are our three recommendations to prevent your blood glucose from going any lower:

1️⃣ Consume some form of simple sugar to bring up your blood glucose to an appropriate range. Simple sugar options include honey, juice, or fruit snacks.

2️⃣ Follow up the simple sugar snack after by eating a combination of carb + protein + fat. These options include a PB&J sandwich, peanut butter crackers, or a Boost.

3️⃣ Eat every 3 hours. Since the brain can't store its primary fuel (glucose) your body needs a continual supply.

Please note: if you are experiencing symptoms of a hypoglycemic episode such as fainting or having seizures, call 911.

08/15/2022

One of the most common questions we get asked is "Why do I feel so full so quickly even when I eat small amounts of food?"

Short answer: There’s a good chance it's due to a medical condition called Gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying).

Gastroparesis (Gastric= stomach, Paresis= paralysis) causes delayed stomach emptying and is a result of restriction of calories and weight loss. It can happen in bodies of all shapes and sizes. The stomach muscles paralyze to halt digestion and hold food in the stomach for much longer than normal periods of time. This slowing down of digestion helps to conserve energy during periods of restricted intake. It also gives the intestines more time to pull as much nutrition as possible out of the food that is coming in.

Symptoms: early fullness, bloating, abdominal distention, nausea, and only being able to eat small amounts of food at a time.

It can be quite painful and make eating very uncomfortable when it happens. It also can prolong and worsen malnutrition and weight loss if not treated quickly and appropriately.

The good news is that it is almost always reversible with increasing nutritional intake.

The pickle is 👉🏻 how to get more nutrition in when Gastroparesis causes eating to be so uncomfortable? 🤷🏼‍♀️ 🤔

There are a few prescription medications we use in combination with temporary changes to consistency and quantity of foods (liquid, soft, low fiber, etc.) that can help to reverse it.

05/24/2021

"You’re an athlete! That’s why your heart rate is low…”

Or is it?

In athletes with eating disorders, bradycardia (slow heart rate) is often mistaken to be a sign of an “athletic heart”.

A common presumption is the slow heart rate is due to having a high performing heart as a result of athletic activity.

In *true* athletic hearts, the muscle is strong, the heart pumps vigorously, the chamber size is larger, and the heart can pump out more blood per beat.

In a malnourished athlete with an eating disorder, the heart muscle can actually be breaking down. This is due to not eating enough and/or the amount of exercise exceeding the body’s capacity to replenish through food sources. Smaller weaker heart muscles are unable to handle the same workload and will therefore slow down to compensate.

A higher heart rate requires more energy (food) so in a malnourished state the body combats this by slowing down the heart rate, slowing the metabolism and conserving energy.

If the examining physician does not screen for clues of a malnourished heart, then the clinician may misinterpret the slow heart rate as a sign of “athletic heart syndrome."

05/11/2021

Waking up in the middle of the night sweating is abnormal.

In the presence of malnutrition, it is likely a symptom of hypoglycemia.

Why does low blood sugar make you wake up sweating?
Our blood sugars naturally drop the lowest in the the middle of the night. When your blood sugar drops too low, your body has a stress response that causes sweating. This will wake you up and alert you that you need to act quickly because hypoglycemic episodes are no joke and may lead to seizures or a coma (which we may not realize if we were sleeping!).

Here's something common we hear when discussing night sweats or hot flashes:
"I wake up in the middle of the night sweating, but it's probably just because I live in Texas... my comforter is too thick... I need to turn the fan on... etc."

While some of those may be true (we get it, we live in Texas too!), if it happens more than once or frequently, then chances are it's actually your body trying to wake you up from low blood sugar. This needs to be addressed before you fall back asleep with a carb/protein snack, such as a peanut butter sandwich or cheese and crackers. Make sure your medical provider and dietitian are kept in the loop if this is happening!

04/07/2021

What medical speciality actually treats eating disorders?

Those with eating disorders are in “A Medical No-Man’s Land” because:
👉Psychiatry refers to medical because of the physical/medical issues.
👉Medicine refers to psychiatry because of the psychiatric issues.

So where does that leave us? 😦

Right here. In Houston, TX. Bridging the gap at Medical Center for Eating Disorders. 🩺

03/20/2021

We aren't here to replace your primary care doc. We are here to be the specialists in eating disorders, collaborate with all of your providers on how to best support you, and advocate for you (because eating disorders aren't a required topic in medical school unless the speciality is adolescent medicine!).

We're here when you're ready!

03/16/2021

Here's your morning reminder that it's not normal to get dizzy when you stand up! 🥴

Why does dizziness happen when you have an eating disorder?

👉 Bradycardia
If we aren't consuming enough food (acutely or chronically!), systems in our body often start slowing down - including our heart rate. If you have a slow heart rate and then make sudden movements like going from lying to standing, it puts a lot of strain on the slowed heart to pump blood where it needs to go, including our brains, which may result in feeling dizzy or seeing spots until our body has enough time to catch up to the movement.

👉 Hypoglycemia
Another reason is hypoglycemia. Our brain relies on carbohydrates (specifically glucose!) to function properly. If we aren't consuming enough glucose or don't have enough glycogen stores, we may get dizzy with standing up, or anytime, because our brains don't have proper fuel.

👉 Dehydration
When you don't consume enough fluids, particularly non-caffeinated fluids, the volume of your blood decreases which results in lower blood pressure. With a lowered blood pressure, your brain may not be able to get enough blood which can result in feeling dizzy or lightheaded!

This is not an exhaustive list of reasons why dizziness may occur in someone with an eating disorder 🙅 but it's the most common reasons we see in our office!

03/04/2021

Did you know that eating disorders affect every organ system in our bodies?

Yep, you read that right.

When we engage in eating disorder behaviors that throw our body out of its homeostasis (such as restricting intake, purging, overexercising, taking laxatives, etc.), our whole body becomes aware of these changes and start making changes (that we may not even be aware of!) in order to keep us safe.

Our bodies are so smart 👏🏼

And our bodies may be able to maintain these changes for a short period, but what our bodies truly want is to be back in homeostasis where everything is functioning as normal.

If eating disorders behaviors aren't changed, eventually we will start to become aware of these changes, especially if we really pay attention to what our body is telling us.

What are some ways the systems in our body are impacted? Slowed heart rate, slowed metabolism, retention of water, hair loss, acrocyanosis (or bluish/purpleish fingers and toes), and abnormal labs just to name a few.

06/06/2020

05/30/2020

We hope you find a little happiness today! ❤

05/28/2020

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