Eating Disorders, Surgery and Trauma

November 13, 2008 at 11:29 pm | In Eating disorders, Father Snow, Memories, Useful Posts | 5 Comments
Tags: anorexia, depression, Eating disorders, psychiatry, recovery, stress, teeth, tonsils, trauma

I just received this post through on my Google Reader from Mental Health Update

My parents are still happily married so I’ll pass on the part about parental separation, and we’ll skip over the tired old subject of childhood trauma, but the oral surgery part is very interesting indeed.

..researchers speculated that oral surgery could make the mouth associated with trauma…

When I was a kid I had my tonsils and adenoids removed. I remember being in no small amount of post-operative pain, and refusing to eat anything at all for about two weeks afterwards. The only way my parents could get me to consume anything, was by my Dad sitting me on his lap, and coaxing me into eating some soft bread and drinking some warm milk.

Huh. If that’s not an ED in the making, I don’t know what is. I’m not sure about the “mouth being associated with trauma” theory, but the “getting attention by refusing to eat” hat, seems to fit.

Anyone else have similar experience of this? I don’t know how many people with ED’s read this blog, but if you do, please feel free to comment!

Lola x

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when you said that most of the time your eating disorder just feels like you it really hit a chord- i’d planned on writing three little essays drawing from my experiences with anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating and got hung up on bulimia. i might have to skip on to COE and come back because it’s been harder than i’d realized to separate myself from the bulimia while i’m in the thick of it.

Comment by vive42 — November 14, 2008 #

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I’ve had every orthodonture device known to dentist-kind pounded into my mouth (once with a rubber mallet, I kid you not), my wisdom teeth pulled (they were growing *sideways*), a gingival graft in which tissue was removed from the roof of my mouth and plastered over a particularly high receding gumline. And I also bit the tip of my tongue off once.

Did all this stop me from eating? Chewing, yes, often. Actually consuming food? Ehh, not really.

So, well, maybe my mouth has as bad a memory as I do . . .

I *so* fit the emotional abuse deal though . . . which is why I’m trying to be so careful with my girls.

Spoonfork

Comment by spoonfork38 — November 14, 2008 #

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V – It’s so insidious isn’t it. I do think eventually an ED becomes part of you, probably why all those loopy-hippy therapists try to get you to separate yourself from Mr ED. Nuts, if you ask me, sounds like a good excuse to not take resposniblity for ones own behaviour “awww it’s not my bad, I’m sick” yes well i mean I KNOW, that I do it too

It was a great idea you had, I hope you keep them coming – So I can keep stealing them

Comment by Lola Snow — November 14, 2008 #

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SF – I’d echo the emotional abuse but I’m still stuck at the “guilt for deserving the mean comments/considering them mean” stage ha ha. No I try not to harbour resentment, we’re all the result of our upbringing, and kids don’t come with an instruction manual. You seem to have a natural instinct when it comes to yours, or just you are hyper aware of any mistakes in the making!

The surgery thing is interesting, but as a contributing factor maybe. But then really every other factor is contributary as apposed to causation in entirety!

Comment by Lola Snow — November 14, 2008 #

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[...] Snow comments on a report that oral surgery may cause eating disorders. When I was a kid I had my tonsils and adenoids removed. I remember being in no small amount of [...]

Pingback by Mental Nurse · This Week in Mentalists (55) — November 15, 2008 #

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