Consult your physician for more information. Bulimia is usually treated with a combination of individual therapy, family therapy, behavior modification, and nutritional rehabilitation. Treatment should a lways be based on a comprehensive evaluation of the individual and family. Individual therapy usually includes both cognitive and behavioral techniques. The frequent occurrence of medical complications during the course of rehabilitative treatment requires both your physician and a nutritionist to be active members of the management team.
Families play a vital supportive role in any treatment process.
The neuroendocrine system regulates multiple functions of the mind and body. Research has shown that some patients with anorexia may respond well to antidepressant medication that affects serotonin function in the body. People with anorexia, or certain forms of depression, seem to have higher than normal levels of cortisol, a brain hormone released in response to stress. It has been shown that the excess levels of cortisol in both persons with anorexia and in persons with depression are caused by a problem that occurs in, or near, the hypothalamus of the brain. Levels of this hormone are elevated in patients with OCD, anorexia, and bulimia.