Is it possible to cure anorexia

Antidepressants should not be offered as the only treatment for anorexia. But you may be offered an antidepressant, such as fluoxetine Prozac , in combination with therapy, to help you manage other conditions such as:. Most people with anorexia will be able to stay at home during their treatment. You'll usually have appointments at your clinic and then be able to go home.

However, you may be admitted to hospital if you have serious health complications. For example, if:. Your doctors will keep a careful eye on your weight and health if you're being cared for in hospital. They'll help you to reach a healthy weight gradually, and either start or continue any therapy. Once they're happy with your weight, as well as your physical and mental health, you should be able to return home. Occasionally, someone with anorexia may refuse treatment even though they're seriously ill and their life is at risk.

In these cases, doctors may decide, as a last resort, to admit the person to hospital for compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act. This is sometimes known as "sectioning" or "being sectioned". You should have checks of your weight at least once a year, as well as of your mental and physical health. This will usually be done by your GP, but it may be with an eating disorder specialist. Joining a self-help support group, such as the Beat online support group for people with anorexia, may also be helpful.

Page last reviewed: 15 January Next review due: 15 January Treatment - Anorexia. Treatment for anorexia is slightly different for adults and those under 18 years old. Treatment for adults A number of different talking therapies are available to treat anorexia.

Many people struggle with slips and relapses as well. Have faith in the recovery process and check in with your treatment team if you aren't making the progress that you had hoped for.

Your treatment team should be comprised of professionals who have years of training and experience with eating disorders. Listen to them when they recommend specific changes, even when it might seem scary to you. Changes such as adding a medication, adopting a meal plan, or considering a higher level of care can be important and necessary changes to your treatment plan.

Recovery from an eating disorder requires facing situations that you may have been avoiding, such as eating certain foods, tolerating feelings of fullness, and tolerating feelings of anxiety when you do not exercise. Work with your treatment team to develop a plan to gradually face these situations. An eating disorder is a complex mental illness that requires professional care. While there is certainly helpful reading material out there, it can't replace the care of a qualified treatment team.

Always consult with your providers before making any changes to your treatment plan. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Eating disorders. Published Berrettini W. The genetics of eating disorders. Psychiatry Edgmont. Halmi KA. Salient components of a comprehensive service for eating disorders. World Psychiatry. PMID: Detection, evaluation, and treatment of eating disorders the role of the primary care physician.

J Gen Intern Med. Too often, however, people who have anorexia are successful at hiding their disease for months to years and only submit to inpatient care at the pleading or demand of loved ones. The common misconception that anorexia is only about restricting food intake overlooks the compulsive behaviors characteristic of the disease.

Diagnostically, patients are either restrictive, meaning they lose weight through excessive dieting or fasting, or purging, meaning they induce vomiting or abuse laxatives or diuretics to maintain a low body weight. Both types may engage in excessive exercise to burn off what little food they consume.

People with anorexia are routinely described by experts and loved ones as obsessive, high achieving, perfectionistic, highly intelligent, and competitive. Descriptions of living with the disease are harrowing.

In a Quora post , Liu described her early teen years:. I got up in the middle of the night to pace the bedroom or stand on tiptoe. I sat on the edge of the seat — determined not to relax and let my fat recline and absorb into my body. Before I knew it, the only thing I was doing in my life was starving and exercising. Philip S. Mehler, provide care for severely ill adult patients whose disease has progressed so far that they require life-saving interventions.

Admission criteria require that patients be less than 70 percent of their ideal body weight, or have a body mass index BMI below A BMI of Gaudiani and Mehler are the only internal medicine physicians to hold Certified Eating Disorder Specialist certification in the United States. Like Liu, Gaudiani believes the specialization is crucial to treating patients with the disease.

You have to have competent, experienced communicators who know the medical and emotional side of this. Anorexia treatment is generally seen as the duty of psychiatrists and therapists. But with resulting malnutrition, medical intervention is often unavoidable. That leaves patients in a perilous limbo, according to Gaudiani. Severe episodes of hypoglycemia from not eating can cause loss of consciousness and even death. American Family Physician. Brockmeyer T, et al.

Advances in the treatment of anorexia nervosa: A review of established and emerging interventions. Psychological Medicine.

In press. Davis H, et al. Pharmacotherapy of eating disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. Herpertz-Dahlmann B. Treatment of eating disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry. Fogarty S, et al. The role of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of eating disorders: A systematic review. Eating Behaviors. Eating disorders. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Lebow J, et al. Is there clinical consensus in defining weight restoration for adolescents with anorexia nervosa?

Eating Disorders. Accessed Dec. The effect of atypical antipsychotic medications in individuals with anorexia nervosa: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders. Five things to know about safety of dietary supplements for children and teens. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Accessed Feb. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Learn more about this top honor.