How to Conduct a Physical Exam to Detect Anorexia

Like almost any disorder, anorexia (self-starvation in an effort to get thin) has physical symptoms. Some cause starvation, while others are caused by starvation. Most doctors will conduct a physical exam to detect anorexia before confirming the diagnosis. Prepare for this examination by learning what the doctor is looking for and how he will conduct the test.

Things You'll Need

• Written list of your symptoms
• Doctor's appointment

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Instructions

Prepare for a Physical Exam to Detect Anorexia

• 1

  Make a written list of your symptoms. Include the physical (weight loss), as well as the psychological (depression) and the social (withdrawal from friends and family). This will help the doctor to conduct the examination properly.

• 2

  Preview the five-question SCOFF, a common diagnostic test, at the Family Practice Notebook website (see Resources below).

Take a Physical Exam to Detect Anorexia

• 3

  Fill out the questionnaire. When you arrive for your appointment, you will probably be given a form that may have as few as four or as many as 50 questions. Read them carefully and answer them accurately.

• 4

  Cooperate fully with all medical procedures, including height and weight measurement, urinalysis, blood tests, gait (walking), eye movement, bone density and others.

• 5

  Answer the doctor's questions. She may ask you about your bowel movements, your menstrual period, whether you have dizziness, bloating or cramps or even how you are doing in school. All these questions are necessary and important.

• 6

  Go over your list of symptoms with the doctor, even those that you aren't 100-percent certain result from anorexia.