Symptoms:

People with anorexia may severely limit the amount of food they eat, or eat and then make themselves throw up. They may also use water pills (diuretics) and laxatives to lose weight.

Most individuals with anorexia nervosa do not recognize that they have an eating disorder.

Behaviors that may be noticed in a person with anorexia include:

• Cutting food into small pieces
• Exercising compulsively
• Going to the bathroom right after meals
• Quickly eating large amounts of food
• Restricting the amount of food eaten
• Using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics inappropriately in an effort to lose weight

Symptoms may include:

• Blotchy or yellow skin
• Confused or slow thinking
• Dental cavities due to self-induced vomiting
• Depression
• Dry mouth
• Extreme sensitivity to cold (wearing several layers of clothing to stay warm)
• Fine hair
• Low blood pressure
• No menstruation
• Poor memory or poor judgement
• Significant weight loss (15% or greater below normal weight)
• Wasting away of muscle and loss of body fat

Signs and tests:

A diagnosis of anorexia nervosa is not made until other causes of weight loss are ruled out. For example, extreme weight loss could be due to:

• Addison's disease
• Celiac disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Other metabolic, endocrine, digestive, or nervous system disorders

Tests will be done to help determine the cause of weight loss, or what damage the weight loss has caused. These tests may include:

• CHEM-20
• ECG
• LH response to GnRH
• Thyroid function tests
• Urinalysis