Medication to Stop Binge Eating

From time to time, we all are guilty of overindulging in food. This is normal and does not mean you binge eat. But if you overeat all the time and feel like you have to eat, you are binge eating. Binge eaters utilize food to help deal with stress and other types of emotions. Their compulsion to overeat usually results in them feeling worse. With medications and support, binge eating can be a thing of the past.

Definition

• A binge eating disorder is described as a compulsion to overeat where individuals eat large amounts of food while feeling like they cannot stop. A binge eating incident usually lasts for about two hours, but some can last as long as all day; off and on. Binge eaters often consume food when they are not hungry and will keep eating even after being very full. They will usually eat at a very rapid pace and not even realize what they are doing.

Symptoms

• Individuals who binge eat are usually ashamed and embarrassed of how they eat and will usually try to hide what they are doing and eat alone. A lot of binge eaters are overweight but there are those who maintain an average weight. Symptoms that a person is binge eating include, not being able to stop eating or what you eat, quickly devouring large amounts of food, continuing to eat past being full, hiding food to eat later alone, consuming normally when among others and then stuffing your face when you are alone, eating all day long with no meal times planned.

Emotional Effects

• Binge eaters will feel a lot of different emotions due to not being able to control what they eat and where they eat it. Their emotional scale can go from feeling a lot of stress that is only relieved by consuming more food to feeling embarrassed about the amount that is consumed, feeling nothing while eating, never having the feeling of satisfaction no matter what is consumed, feeling guilt, disgust and depression about how much they have eaten, and being obsessed with trying to get their weight under control.

Physical Effects

• Binge eating will at some point lead to obesity. Obesity raises a lot of medical issues. Common physical effects of binge eating can be type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain forms of cancer, osteoarthritis, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal issues, and sleep apnea.

Medication

• There are many types of medicine that can help to stop a binge eating disorder. Research has shown that many medications have reduced the number of binge eating occurrences.
  Anti-depressants have been shown to limit binge eating within individuals with bulimia. Studies show that using anti-depressants can help binge eating, but the relapse rate is very high. Anti-depressants are often used in correlation with therapy to help halt the behavior and reduce triggers. By monitoring what causes the desire to binge, it is possible to replace binge eating habits with more healthy approaches to stress or other triggers.
  Appetite suppressants such as Meridia have been used to help limit the number of binge eating occurrences and it also helps to reduce weight.
  Topamax is an anti-seizure drug that has been shown to help limit binge eating and promote weight loss. This drug has side effects such as fatigue, dizziness and burning sensations through the body.
  Many physicians will recommend a combination of medication and therapy in order to promote healthy weight and lifestyle choices.