health

Bulimia is usually diagnosed during an office visit to the patient’s primary
care doctor, although she or he may be sent to a psychiatrist for
an additional evaluation. Primary care doctors are now encouraged to
give a screening test to an adolescent or young adult who seems unusually
concerned about their weight or asks the doctor a lot of questions
about weight loss. These screeners are short sets of five questions about
eating habits that the patient can quickly answer. If the doctor thinks
that the patient may have bulimia, he or she can look for some of the
physical signs that accompany the disorder, such as whether the teeth
and salivary glands are normal. In most cases the doctor will order laboratory
tests of the patient’s blood and urine to make sure that her blood
chemistry is normal. Most doctors will also give the patient an electrocardiogram
(ECG) to check the patient’s heart rhythm. This test is important
because some types of chemical imbalances in the blood (from
vomiting or using diuretics) can lead to irregular heart rhythms.
Another important part of evaluating a patient for bulimia is a
mental status examination. The doctor will need to check the patient for
signs of anxiety disorders or depression, because a high proportion of
bulimics have a mood disorder. In addition, people with bulimia are
more likely to be treated successfully for their eating disorder when their
anxiety or depression is also being treated.