Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by severe food restriction and a very low body weight. Individuals with anorexia often have a distorted body image, perceiving themselves as overweight even when severely underweight. It leads to numerous physical complications, including nausea.
How Anorexia Affects Digestion
Anorexia nervosa significantly impacts the digestive system, a key cause of nausea. Prolonged malnutrition and severe calorie restriction can lead to gastroparesis, or delayed gastric emptying. Here, stomach muscles, responsible for moving food into the small intestine, do not function effectively. Food remains in the stomach longer, causing uncomfortable fullness, bloating, abdominal pain, and nausea, even after small meals.
Starvation adapts the body, slowing digestion. Limited nutrient intake conserves energy by reducing non-essential functions, including gastrointestinal motility. Digestive tract muscles, including stomach muscles, weaken or atrophy from chronic underuse and poor nutrition. Impaired muscle function affects the vagus nerve, which controls digestion, contributing to delayed food movement and worsening nausea and vomiting.
Other Factors Contributing to Nausea
Beyond direct digestive impairment, several other factors can contribute to or worsen nausea in individuals with anorexia. Electrolyte imbalances, such as low potassium or low sodium, are common complications due to restricted intake, purging behaviors, and malnutrition. These imbalances can disrupt normal muscle and nerve function throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, leading to symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and muscle weakness.
Refeeding syndrome can also cause nausea during nutritional rehabilitation. It occurs when nutrition is reintroduced after prolonged starvation, causing rapid shifts in fluids and electrolytes. The body’s metabolic system struggles to adapt, leading to nausea, vomiting, fluid retention, and cardiac issues. Psychological stress and anxiety associated with anorexia can also cause gastrointestinal distress, including nausea. Some medications used in treatment may also cause nausea.
Importance of Medical Evaluation
Experiencing nausea with anorexia nervosa requires medical evaluation. Nausea can indicate underlying medical complications like severe gastroparesis, electrolyte disturbances, or refeeding syndrome, all requiring professional diagnosis and management. These complications can be life-threatening if left unaddressed.
Healthcare professionals assess nausea’s causes through various diagnostic methods and develop tailored treatment plans. Addressing nausea is part of comprehensive anorexia care, typically involving a multidisciplinary team. This team includes physicians, dietitians, and mental health professionals who collaboratively address physical and psychological aspects, aiming for safe weight restoration and recovery. Seeking timely medical help empowers individuals to manage these complex health challenges effectively.