How many here were diagnosed/treated for anorexia as a male?

[Guest Vex]

In my early teens I discovered, for the first time, a way to have control over my body that could actually make me feel somewhat better about myself-not eating and constantly working out...after a couple years and a lot of body mass reduction, I was hospitalized for anorexia. Apparently, 105lbs is not a healthy weight for an active 5'9" male teenager. I was put through treatment, which in the hospital I was placed into in Mississippi meant being locked up in a mental health ward and forced to eat if I ever wanted to get out.

One thing I've always remembered about the experience is that the therapists there didn't really know what to do with me. They said that anorexia was a girl's disease, and while there were recorded cases of it in males, they had never personally dealt with one. Fast forward 15 years later and I finally realize that I'd rather be female, but that's sort of outside the scope of the question.

I'm just wondering how many birth-male people here may have been treated for anorexia. Is it really as rare as I was lead to believe or was I just in a podunk facility? I'm just wanting to know because I'm creating a list of all the things in my life that should have been sort of a red flag of my undiscovered gender issues and I don't really know if this one should make the list or not.

Thanks.

[Guest Debbie_L]

My ex-wife's 3rd husband suffered from Anorexia and Bulimia. Ironically his sisters and mother were obese, and he tried to control his weight by going to the other extreme. I was her second husband, and she met him in a psychiatric ward in the lock-up unit where they were both patients.

He always seemed more feminine than me, but he had LOTS of hair EVERYWHERE and never considered himself transgendered.

Unfortunately, my wife decided that Jerry had a great idea and began doing binge-purge herself, eventually shrinking to a 18 inch waist. I put my foot down when my 5 year old daughter started making herself throw up after binging on sweets.

The assumption that anorexia is a "girl disease" has much more to do with the social pressures on women to be much thinner. Fashions, cuts, and fabrics are all designed to draw as much attention to the female shape as possible. Men on the other hand are often more inclined to wear loose fitting clothing made of woven cotton or wool. Men's dress shirts are sized by the neck circumference and most shirts are like pup tents from the shoulders down. When I was a kid I used to tailor my shirts, taking in the waist to show off my 28 inch waist. At 6 foot tall and 135 lbs, I was thin for a male, but I had a big chest and a tight but (heels).

My weight would often increase or decrease depending on whether I was doing RLE as Debbie or living as Rex. The more I lived as Rex, the more weight I gained - at one point soaring up to over 320 lbs. The more I lived RLE as Debbie, the less I weighed, losing as much as 100 lbs in less than 9 months.

Of course, when I was living as Rex, I avoided mirrors, especially full length mirrors, as much as possible because I hated my reflection. When I was living as Debbie, I would often by extra full-length mirrors to make sure that I was giving a positive presentation when out in public.

As a kid I had curvature of the spine and kids often made fun of me because I "walked like a duck". Many were amazed when they would see me as Debbie because my whole body was better aligned. I still tend to wear jackets, but Debbie has MUCH better posture than Rex.

[Guest Zayden]

I am FtM and I have had anorexia. It was when I was in one of my most "female" stages, so I think in a way it was a result of being unhappy with my body and not knowing why. Weird but that's the only way I can describe it.

(and now I binge eat/occasional binge which is technically part of bulimia I guess?)

[Guest sarah_uk]

never been diagnosed with any eating disorder, but most of my life I have always been underweight (think 8 or 9 stone, 6foot).

Only now in my 40's am I starting to put a little weight on, up to about 11 stone now.

Eating has never been a 'joy' for me, more of a pain in the neck really, a chore.

[Guest Placebo1113]

I'm so tired of society being so hyper-focused on helping girls feel strong and special that boys get completely forgotten. The whole point of the feminist movement was for equal rights, right? Now it's like we're trained to think "Oh, men are fine and can fend for themselves, so we have to empower women to match". Why can't we just encourage everyone to care about other people? I feel like we wouldn't even have outer-beauty vs. inner-beauty conflicts if everyone would stop being so shallow and basing everything on their first visual impressions of other people.

[Guest Virginia_]

Male host of a dissociative identity/multiple personality (DID/MPD) System in a 53-year-old male assigned at birth body raising hand as having been diagnosed with bulimia.

I have had a "health conscious concern" about my weight for as long as I can remember, ate like a horse, worked like a lunatic and fasted two days a week for "spiritual/physical cleansing." I was stable at 162 pounds 5’10” for most of my adult life.

A series of trauma triggered decomposition of my System when I was 48. My metabolism changed and my weight dropped to 146 pounds. Three years of therapy after having been diagnosed as MTF transsexual and the time/memory loss, flashbacks and nightmares started. I was re-diagnosed with DID/MPD and began trauma recovery therapy from childhood abuse.

The couple’s psychologist my wife and I see just happened to be an eating disorder specialist as well and was the one who figured out my 13 year old female alter is bulimic. It is apparently a very common way teenage girls who were abused as children find a sense of control over their lives. My female alter counts every celery stick she puts in her mouth and vomiting is completely spontaneous when she is triggered.

There is a constant tug of war with my 8 year old alter if you put a bag of candy in front oof me, but all in all the System seems to have a pretty healthy control over her condition. My female alter has only purged 9 times in the last 3 years.

[tracy_j]

I have never been treated for it but perhaps two and a half years ago I was thirteen and a half stone. I decided to lose weight to fit the more feminine model and dropped (steadily) to below 11 stone. At the point I went down to just over 10 stone I had a period when I would still eat but did not eat half as much as before (or want to) and every time I did eat I always felt sick (although never was). People also said I was beginning to look 'gaunt'.

I realised that things were not right and managed to pull myself out of it but I think it was early stages of anorexia.

At some point (I think last Christmas) I went up to nearly 12 stone again (and felt bloated) but am (reasonably) stable at 11 and a half stone now with plans for perhaps 11.

For reference - when I was in my teens (many years ago) I was around 11 and a half stone

I am 5 ft 11 inches tall

Tracy

[Guest Alexisyoi]

My ex-wife's 3rd husband suffered from Anorexia and Bulimia. Ironically his sisters and mother were obese, and he tried to control his weight by going to the other extreme. I was her second husband, and she met him in a psychiatric ward in the lock-up unit where they were both patients.

He always seemed more feminine than me, but he had LOTS of hair EVERYWHERE and never considered himself transgendered.

Unfortunately, my wife decided that Jerry had a great idea and began doing binge-purge herself, eventually shrinking to a 18 inch waist. I put my foot down when my 5 year old daughter started making herself throw up after binging on sweets.

The assumption that anorexia is a "girl disease" has much more to do with the social pressures on women to be much thinner. Fashions, cuts, and fabrics are all designed to draw as much attention to the female shape as possible. Men on the other hand are often more inclined to wear loose fitting clothing made of woven cotton or wool. Men's dress shirts are sized by the neck circumference and most shirts are like pup tents from the shoulders down. When I was a kid I used to tailor my shirts, taking in the waist to show off my 28 inch waist. At 6 foot tall and 135 lbs, I was thin for a male, but I had a big chest and a tight but (heels).

My weight would often increase or decrease depending on whether I was doing RLE as Debbie or living as Rex. The more I lived as Rex, the more weight I gained - at one point soaring up to over 320 lbs. The more I lived RLE as Debbie, the less I weighed, losing as much as 100 lbs in less than 9 months.

Of course, when I was living as Rex, I avoided mirrors, especially full length mirrors, as much as possible because I hated my reflection. When I was living as Debbie, I would often by extra full-length mirrors to make sure that I was giving a positive presentation when out in public.

As a kid I had curvature of the spine and kids often made fun of me because I "walked like a duck". Many were amazed when they would see me as Debbie because my whole body was better aligned. I still tend to wear jackets, but Debbie has MUCH better posture than Rex.

I am ftm and I was diagnosed with Anorexia in my teens. Although I wanted it I never got treatment and so it still hasn't gone away. I have had it since I was eleven which also happens to be when I hit puberty and lost "control" so to speak. I believe that is what anorexia often is about. Sure, for some it is the weight alone that is the issue but for most of the people I know who have it or have had it, it has been a way to keep control over something in their lives when all else seemed to be out of control. That is kind of what it was and is for me as well. Now, ten years later I still think of eating as something bad and although I fight to eat every day, it feels like a chore. When I started hormone therapy my appetite went up and I ate more which led to weight gain (not in an unhealthy range though) but now that I have had my top surgery I feel that a lot of the stress has disappeared and so a lot of my hormonal appetite for food has disappeared as well. So yeah I agree with what you said about it being related to whether one is living a part or living life as who one really is.

[Guest NaughtyNadi]

As a teenager, at 5'10" I carried about 9.5 stones around with me. I had a sinuous body even though I worked out 5-6 days a week trying to build muscle - eating any and all that I could. Even so, I never got the body style I desired, and classmates jokingly called me anorexic.

Twenty-five years later and my metabolism had slowed a touch, with my weight going to 12 stones - even though I eat only 1-2 meals daily! Granted I haven't been working out like I should, but adult working life tends to crowd over into your private world.

I have been going through the difficult process to get back to exercising - forcing myself to get off my butt and head outside. Walking along trails in nearby parks has been a good start. Swimming, biking, and running are next. Getting rid of all the fat-laden snacks sitting in the pantry was another strategic move - being replaced by fruits and vegis.

Who knows how this will all work out, or if I'll reach my objectives - but the other day I happened on my high school yearbook and saw a picture of me in my swimsuit. That alone will provide motivation to eat right and continue my exercie regime until I can look myself in the mirror and smile.

Just one's view of how to improve.

[Charlize]

I spent time as a high school student on the wrestling team. I was always skinny and played soccer at 5'11" at 155 lbs. During the winter i fasted every week so i could wrestle around 130 lbs. I was at a boarding school so my parents couldn't tell. Eating an orange a day and drinking as little as possible while working out created success. I soon got mono and was off the team anyway.

Fortunately a low fat diet due to heart disease and activity on the farm keep my weight around 166 now. That seems about right and hopefully i can keep it up. The loss of muscle mass E has made me shrink my portions but it is much better than an orange a day and much healthier.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest Dex3434]

I'm a male and diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. I'm trying to mainly make it so my chest area isn't noticeable you know??

[Guest Carla_Davis]

Hi Vex,

I was never ‘Officially” Anorexia, but at one time in the past, I lost 90 pounds in 3 months, by not eating, and only drinking water.

You may be interested in this Article,and It may answer some of your questions.

Eating Disorders in LGBT (Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender) Populations

“Eating disorders have historically been associated with straight, young, white females, but in reality, they affect people from all demographics and they are not caused by any single factor.”

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/ResourceHandouts/LGBTQ.pdf

I hope this is of some help to you.

Hugs,

Carla

[Guest zoekalanchoe]

I was admitted to hospital because I had dangerously low blood pressure and I kept nearly falling over the doctors said it's coz I don't eat enough and they think I have anorexia. but I don't have it. just coz I have a bmi of like 16 or 17 doesn't mean I don't eat.

[masont04]

So I was not born male but recently was hospitalized for an eating disorder for a period of about 4 months. Throughout my stay there I met around 7 other males excluding me. We became pretty close and none of them had any gender issues that they were struggling with as far as I knew. Hope this helps.

Mason

[Guest Chance]

I am not born male, ftm but i dont feel like i suffer from anorexia per say, i just eat when i feel like it. Or i spend too much time self medicating that i just dont want to eat. My lack of interest in food comes from my depression i believe. I like food, but most days i just cant get the apetite.

This is an interesting topic as i dont hear too many males having this issue.

[Bunneh]

I was anorexic for a while in my early teens but I hid it from my parents and they never noticed my lack of eating. So I wasn't treated for it.