Ask the Therapist
Bulimia Vs Bipolar
A few questions:
Aside from using medication how does one treat someone with Bulimia?
Can Bipolar I Disorder just occur at age 35, Could a life crisis have triggered it?
Or
Is it possible to have had it for 35 years but have managed the symptoms so well that the person never really noticed it. Because when they look back now, they see many depressed times and many manicky moments and periods of time.
Medication is generally used to manage the psychiatric symptomology underlying an eating disorder, not the eating disorder itself.
Late onset Bipolar is a possibility, but the scenario that you describe regarding long term management is more likely. Age, changes in body chemistry and other factors may make what were once manageable symptoms less manageable.
Also, if the bulimia was late onset, there is a trigger factor there, as the binge-purge cycle reeks havoc with one's body chemistry.
