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When to seek medical advice
By Mayo Clinic staffAnorexia, like other eating disorders, can take over your life. You may think about food all of the time, spend hours agonizing over options in the grocery store, and exercise to exhaustion. You also may have a host of physical problems that make you feel generally miserable, such as dizziness, constipation, fatigue and frequently feeling cold. You may be irritable, angry, moody, sad, anxious and hopeless. You might visit pro-anorexia Web sites, refer to the disease as your "friend," cover up in layers of heavy clothing, and try to subsist on a menu of lettuce, carrots, popcorn and diet soda.
If you're experiencing any of these problems, or if you think you may have an eating disorder, get help. Remind yourself that you're not actually in control anymore — the anorexia is. If you're hiding your anorexia from loved ones, try to find a trusted confidante you can talk to about what's going on. Together, you can come up with some treatment options.
Unfortunately, many people with anorexia don't want treatment, at least initially. Their desire to remain thin overrides concerns about their health. If you have a loved one you're worried about, urge him or her to talk to a doctor. But unless you have legal authority to do so, you can't force loved ones to get treatment.
