[Eternal]

Originally Posted by ~CourageousSurvivor~

Firstly, I want to say that I am not trying to attack you by posting this I just wanted to point out some things that have been, in my opinion misconstrued and could potentially lead to someone being misinformed.

There have definitely been things that have said that in order for someone to be classified as an Anorexic they have to be underweight a certain amount but that is not the only factor in diagnosing someone with an eating disorder. The fact is that eating disorders do not discriminate and there can be someone out there who is struggling with restricting (i.e. Starving themselves) and has not yet reached the point of being classified as underweight. This does not mean they are not anorexic. When I was in my treatment center there was a girl there who suffered from anorexia and she did eventually get to the point where she was very severely underweight however she wasn't always that severely underweight in fact some 'doctors' might have considered her to be overweight.

There are numerous factors that contribute to diagnosing someone with an eating disorder a persons weight is just one of them. It is important to note that eating disorders do not take on two forms meaning a person is either bulimic or anorexic there are all types of in betweens. Some treatment centers/professionals would classify this as an EDNOS but others will simply say that the person restricts and purges. I believe that EDNOS is the diagnoses that Psychologists and Psychiatrist use when their patients don't fit properly into the DSM IV but most doctors will be more specific in regards to what their patients have.

Now, I have never really heard of a three month rule regarding diagnosing someone with an eating disorder but I would suspect that the reason a doctor would be doing this would be because they do not want to prematurely diagnose their patient. I suppose I might be a tad bit confused on that part, have you gone into your doctor and told them about your concerns and they told you to wait it out? If so I would suggest that you try calling them and expressing your concerns. However if you have not talked to a doctor about any of this and have just heard "through the grapevine" so to speak that you have to wait three months I would suggest that you talk to a doctor.

The thing that you need to consider is that yes, there is such thing as disordered eating and there is a chance that this disordered eating can go away before it becomes a full blown eating disorder and that would be absolutely amazing. However, disordered eating has a potential to lead to a full blown eating disorder and I would hate to see that happen to you (if you are suffering from disordered eating and not a eating disorder). The thing is if you can work out the reasons behind your disordered eating it would be a really good thing to do. The best way to do this is to seek counseling and let them know what is going on. Let them know what you are struggling and why you are struggling with it and go from there. You shouldn't have to have a diagnoses to get some type of counseling.

I really hope this helped in some way and if you need anything please feel free to pm me.

Being underweight is a pretty big part of being diagnosed as it leads to other problems that can be causes, it is also a serious thing to be diagnosed with.

• Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height: Weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight <85% of that expected or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected.
• Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though under weight.
• Disturbance in the way one's body weight or shape are experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.
• Amenorrhea (at least three consecutive cycles) in postmenarchal girls and women. Amenorrhea is defined as periods occurring only following hormone (e.g., estrogen) administration.

So I believe this is why doctors use EDNOS and they have the 3 month rule. Now here is criteria for EDNOS:

Eating disorder not otherwise specified includes disorders of eating that do not meet the criteria for any specific eating disorder. For female patients, all of the criteria for anorexia nervosa are met except that the patient has regular menses. All of the criteria for anorexia nervosa are met except that, despite significant weight loss, the patient's current weight is in the normal range. All of the criteria for bulimia nervosa are met except that the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory mechanisms occur less than twice a week or for less than 3 months. The patient has normal body weight and regularly uses inappropriate compensatory behavior after eating small amounts of food (e.g., self-induced vomiting after consuming two cookies). Repeatedly chewing and spitting out, but not swallowing, large amounts of food. Binge-eating disorder is recurrent episodes of binge eating in the absence if regular inappropriate compensatory behavior characteristic of bulimia nervosa.

Here is my source: http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/...ing-disorders/