AIMEE MOORE HAS PASSED AWAY
A reader of my blog advised me today that Aimee had passed away.
Rest in peace, Aimee
Below is Aimee's obituary:
Surrounded by family and friends, Aimee Patricia Moore, age 39, of Stratford, went home to be with her Saviour Jesus Christ on Monday, April 8, 2019. Aimee passed away peacefully at the Stratford General Hospital as the song, “In the Presence of Angels” was playing softly.
Born in Stratford, beloved daughter of David Moore and the former Patricia Thwaites and sister of Aaron. She also leaves behind aunts and uncles, Rob (Adaris) Thwaites and Carole (George) Bland; cousins Derek (Michelle) and Jeff Thwaites and Leah Bland. Aimee was predeceased by her grandparents, Harold (Pat) and Olive Thwaites; Phyllis, Orville and Evelyn Moore.
Although we are saddened by our loss, we rejoice in knowing that Aimee is finally at peace and completely restored after a long, arduous, and courageous battle with anorexia and bulimia. Though her battle was not won in the land of the living, she has received total victory in Jesus for all eternity.
A Celebration of Aimee’s Life will be held at Bethel Church, 2988 Highway 7 & 8, Stratford, on Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 1 pm with Mac Crummer, Senior Leader of CityGate Church, Stratford officiating. A private interment has taken place at Avondale Cemetery. As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations in remembrance of Aimee may be made to Healing Rooms of Stratford or CityGate Church, Stratford Building Fund through the W. G. Young Funeral Home, 430 Huron Street, Stratford. 519.271.7411 www.wgyoungfuneralhome.com
**********
Aimee Moore and her mother, Pat Moore
Aimee Moore
Aimee Moore
UPDATE #19 (August 20, 2017)
So many people have contacted me, asking if I had an update on Aimee. I received the following comment from Kimalosa on this post in July, 2016:
After searching online this weekend, I came across this photo of Aimee and her Mom, Pat, which she posted on Facebook over a year ago (August 10, 2016). The last two photos were posted in July, 2011, after my previous update in April, 2011.
Sadly, it's evident in Aimee's photo taken in August, 2016, that she was still battling anorexia and bulimia. :( Should I find out how she is currently doing, I will update this post once again.
- Amy is incarcerated at a Windsor, Ontario jail. She is hospitalized
in the jail's infirmary and has been for several months as she still
suffers with her eating disorder. I believe she was convicted on theft
charges.
After searching online this weekend, I came across this photo of Aimee and her Mom, Pat, which she posted on Facebook over a year ago (August 10, 2016). The last two photos were posted in July, 2011, after my previous update in April, 2011.
Sadly, it's evident in Aimee's photo taken in August, 2016, that she was still battling anorexia and bulimia. :( Should I find out how she is currently doing, I will update this post once again.
Aimee - August, 2016
Aimee - August, 2016
Aimee- July, 2011
Aimee - July, 2011
UPDATE #18 (April 28, 2011)
Pat Moore, Aimee's mom, posted on Facebook this update on Aimee on April 26, 2011:
Link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-for-Aimee-Moore/155903407783204
UPDATE #17 (March 13, 2011)
I can't tell you how excited and relieved I was when I recently received these photos of Aimee from a reader. The photos were apparently taken in late 2010, showing Aimee looking healthy and happy. Congratulations, Aimee! Keep fighting! We're all pulling for you.
Aimee
UPDATE #16 (August 2, 2010)
"Aimee is still in treatment in South Florida, the same treatment center I was at, and she is doing really well!"
(an anonymous comment received on this post on July 31, 2010)
What wonderful news! Thanks, Anonymous, for the update on Aimee. Much appreciated!
UPDATE #15 (December 9, 2009)
I have just received a comment from a reader that Aimee is presently in a residential treatment facility in South Florida. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear this news.
UPDATE #14 (September 17, 2009)
Aimee is not doing well. (see below for full update)
UPDATE #13 (January 2, 2009)
Aimee returns to Canada after being discharged from Magnolia Creek for purging.
UPDATE #12 (December 6, 2008)
Aimee Moore returns to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre this week. See below for this update.
UPDATE #11 (September 19, 2008)
After continuing to purge, Aimee back in Alabama hospital. Please see below for this update.
UPDATE #10 (September 6, 2008)
Aimee could return to Magnolia Creek on Monday, September 8, 2008. Please see below for this update.
UPDATE #9 (September 1, 2008)
Aimee released from Alabama hospital and staying in a motel with her mother, Pat. Please see below for this update on Aimee's condition.
UPDATE #8 (August 29, 2008)
Aimee released from Alabama hospital and staying in a motel with her mother, Pat. Please see below for this most recent update on Aimee's condition.
UPDATE # 7 (August 25, 2008)
Aimee's kidneys fail. Please see below for this update on Aimee's admission to the Intensive Care Unit in an Alabama hospital.
UPDATE # 6 (August 13, 2008)
Aimee has suffered a setback. Please see below for this update on Aimee's transfer to the Magnolia Creek treatment facility.
UPDATE # 5 (August 5, 2008)
See below for this update on Aimee's transfer to the Magnolia Creek treatment facility in Alabama.
UPDATE # 4 (July 8, 2008)
See below for this update on Aimee's condition.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fading away
TheRecord.com - CanadaWorld
Anne KellyRECORD STAFF
I have just received a comment from a reader that Aimee is presently in a residential treatment facility in South Florida. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear this news.
UPDATE #14 (September 17, 2009)
Aimee is not doing well. (see below for full update)
UPDATE #13 (January 2, 2009)
Aimee returns to Canada after being discharged from Magnolia Creek for purging.
UPDATE #12 (December 6, 2008)
Aimee Moore returns to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre this week. See below for this update.
UPDATE #11 (September 19, 2008)
After continuing to purge, Aimee back in Alabama hospital. Please see below for this update.
UPDATE #10 (September 6, 2008)
Aimee could return to Magnolia Creek on Monday, September 8, 2008. Please see below for this update.
UPDATE #9 (September 1, 2008)
Aimee released from Alabama hospital and staying in a motel with her mother, Pat. Please see below for this update on Aimee's condition.
UPDATE #8 (August 29, 2008)
Aimee released from Alabama hospital and staying in a motel with her mother, Pat. Please see below for this most recent update on Aimee's condition.
UPDATE # 7 (August 25, 2008)
Aimee's kidneys fail. Please see below for this update on Aimee's admission to the Intensive Care Unit in an Alabama hospital.
UPDATE # 6 (August 13, 2008)
Aimee has suffered a setback. Please see below for this update on Aimee's transfer to the Magnolia Creek treatment facility.
UPDATE # 5 (August 5, 2008)
See below for this update on Aimee's transfer to the Magnolia Creek treatment facility in Alabama.
UPDATE # 4 (July 8, 2008)
See below for this update on Aimee's condition.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fading away
TheRecord.com - CanadaWorld
Anne KellyRECORD STAFF
March 29, 2008
"The voice of Aimee Moore's eating disorder is all she hears after years of starving herself.
"And it screams at her," says Aimee's desperate mother, Pat.
Twenty-eight-year-old Aimee weighs just 63 pounds. During a recent appearance on TV's Dr. Phil show, she described herself as fat, ugly and evil. Show host Phil McGraw told the audience her case is the worst he's seen. Aimee has been battling anorexia and bulimia for 15 years.
Now, parents Dave and Pat Moore wait anxiously at their home in Stratford as Aimee enters her sixth week of treatment at an Alabama centre for eating disorders. The treatment was organized by the show.
Before that, Aimee routinely gorged on massive amounts of pasta, ice cream, cake, milk, sugar, ketchup and pickles. Her mother estimates Aimee consumed up to 15,000 calories a day, more than seven times the recommended amount for a woman her age. Then she'd throw it all up, purging as many as 150 times a day.
Aimee's potassium level is so low, her heart is in danger of stopping. She takes a daily potassium supplement, but when she can't keep it down, it makes her esophagus bleed on the way back up.
She's already been hospitalized for kidney failure. Advanced osteoporosis has left her bones as brittle as those of a 90-year-old and she's lost an inch and a half from her five-foot-five-inch frame.
She has no body fat; her muscles have eroded as her body feeds on itself. Her body mass index is just over 10. Normal is 19 to 24.
"She is like a skeleton with skin," Pat says in an interview at her home in Stratford.
Aimee's brain is so starved, it's as if she's brain dead, Pat says. She's made several failed attempts at treatment in Ontario and the United States. Dave and Pat are hoping intensive therapy at the Magnolia Creek Treatment Centre near Birmingham will put Aimee on the road to recovery.
The Dr. Phil segment, called Deadly Thin, was shown Feb. 25, the same day she entered Magnolia Creek, which is treating Aimee free of charge. An e-mail she sent to the show in December caught the attention of a producer.
"I am out of control and my physical and emotional health are very fragile," she wrote, inspired by another sick young woman, who gained 40 pounds in treatment after appearing on the show. "I have come to the end of myself and if I don't get help soon I don't think I'm going to survive."
It's unclear how long Aimee will be at Magnolia Creek and staff declined a request for interviews.
"She's doing everything she's been asked to do," says Pat, who visited Aimee recently during a parents' weekend.
The centre is proceeding cautiously while Aimee's body becomes used to a new regime. She is now keeping breakfast and an afternoon snack down. Though purging only once or twice a day, she has yet to gain any weight. She is experiencing severe stomach cramps and constipation, her mother says.
Sometimes Aimee calls Pat, saying she wants to quit the program. At the same time, she is attending more group therapy sessions. "It's up and down, moment to moment," Pat says.
The centre doesn't usually take patients as sick as Aimee but made an exception. Its medical director had initially asked that she enter hospital in Ontario to gain some weight before being admitted in Alabama.
But her treatment team in Stratford didn't feel the hospital there was equipped to treat her, and she would have waited months to get into the Toronto or Mississauga hospitals that treat eating disorders. She wouldn't have qualified for admission to Guelph's Homewood Health Centre, which also has a program, because her body mass index was too low and her health too unstable.
Disturbing behind-the-scenes footage, broadcast on the Dr. Phil show, portrays her vicious cycle of binging and purging. Her mother says the binges can last two or three hours with breaks to purge. The process continues through the night, since Aimee sleeps only about two hours at a time.
She's been in and out of hospital for treatment since age 14, including stays at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto General and Stratford General Hospital.
Two stints in American facilities in the past three years were funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health. She completed neither program, leaving one early and being discharged from another for non-compliance.
At about age 18, Aimee was referred to Homewood, which has a leading eating-disorders program. By the time a bed was available 18 months later, she'd moved to the United States.
Her family has spent thousands of dollars on private counselling. "We're kind of out of options," Pat says.
Aimee began life an outgoing, happy child. Her outlook changed when she was sexually abused at age seven by teenagers at a campground, Pat says. Dave's reaction, based on the limited information he had at the time, left Aimee feeling ashamed. Her self-esteem suffered, and at age 10, she began cutting her arms. Four years later, she was abused again, this time by an acquaintance at a party.
Shortly after the second incident, Aimee began eating less and over-exercising. She wore a hole in the carpet doing aerobics in front of the television. That year, she was diagnosed with anorexia.
Aimee didn't tell her mother about the sexual abuse until she was 17. At about that time, she started to binge and her weight climbed to 140 pounds. Disgusted by the weight, she began purging.
When she was 19, Aimee eloped with a San Francisco man she met on the internet. He had no health insurance, and her eating disorder was raging, Pat says. After three years, they split up and she moved home, feeling like a failure again.
In addition to the eating disorders, Aimee has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies.
She's had periods of recovery from bulimia but they've never lasted more than six months. And after every stay in a treatment facility, her illness has worsened.
"I have over-medicated myself with sex, drugs and even my prescription medications," Aimee wrote to Dr. Phil.
She is now on a disability pension. When money runs out, she resorts to stealing food from stores or scrounging it from garbage cans, her mother says. She takes a baby bottle filled with a nutritional supplement to bed at night but often purges it later.
April Gates, co-ordinator of the eating disorders program at Homewood, says some people use food to comfort themselves because they have other emotional problems. "It becomes like an emotional anesthetic," Gates says. Mental illness or addictions make eating disorders particularly complex and challenging to treat, she says.
Aimee told Dr. Phil her eating disorder doesn't comfort her any more, that she feels overwhelmed. "It numbs me and occupies time so I don't have to think and feel. I've always thought people would care about me more if there was something wrong with me."
Aimee's illness is heart-breaking for her family. Last December, Dave suffered a heart attack, then a brain hemorrhage. He had angioplasty and has returned to work full time at his factory job.
"It's like our daughter has been abducted by a rapist or terrorist who is torturing her day after day," Pat says. "We get to see it, but we can't do anything about it.
"Food addiction is one of the most difficult to treat. It's not like drugs and alcohol. You can stay away from those and the people who do that. But everybody has to eat."
~~~~~~~~~~
"And it screams at her," says Aimee's desperate mother, Pat.
Twenty-eight-year-old Aimee weighs just 63 pounds. During a recent appearance on TV's Dr. Phil show, she described herself as fat, ugly and evil. Show host Phil McGraw told the audience her case is the worst he's seen. Aimee has been battling anorexia and bulimia for 15 years.
Now, parents Dave and Pat Moore wait anxiously at their home in Stratford as Aimee enters her sixth week of treatment at an Alabama centre for eating disorders. The treatment was organized by the show.
Before that, Aimee routinely gorged on massive amounts of pasta, ice cream, cake, milk, sugar, ketchup and pickles. Her mother estimates Aimee consumed up to 15,000 calories a day, more than seven times the recommended amount for a woman her age. Then she'd throw it all up, purging as many as 150 times a day.
Aimee's potassium level is so low, her heart is in danger of stopping. She takes a daily potassium supplement, but when she can't keep it down, it makes her esophagus bleed on the way back up.
She's already been hospitalized for kidney failure. Advanced osteoporosis has left her bones as brittle as those of a 90-year-old and she's lost an inch and a half from her five-foot-five-inch frame.
She has no body fat; her muscles have eroded as her body feeds on itself. Her body mass index is just over 10. Normal is 19 to 24.
"She is like a skeleton with skin," Pat says in an interview at her home in Stratford.
Aimee's brain is so starved, it's as if she's brain dead, Pat says. She's made several failed attempts at treatment in Ontario and the United States. Dave and Pat are hoping intensive therapy at the Magnolia Creek Treatment Centre near Birmingham will put Aimee on the road to recovery.
The Dr. Phil segment, called Deadly Thin, was shown Feb. 25, the same day she entered Magnolia Creek, which is treating Aimee free of charge. An e-mail she sent to the show in December caught the attention of a producer.
"I am out of control and my physical and emotional health are very fragile," she wrote, inspired by another sick young woman, who gained 40 pounds in treatment after appearing on the show. "I have come to the end of myself and if I don't get help soon I don't think I'm going to survive."
It's unclear how long Aimee will be at Magnolia Creek and staff declined a request for interviews.
"She's doing everything she's been asked to do," says Pat, who visited Aimee recently during a parents' weekend.
The centre is proceeding cautiously while Aimee's body becomes used to a new regime. She is now keeping breakfast and an afternoon snack down. Though purging only once or twice a day, she has yet to gain any weight. She is experiencing severe stomach cramps and constipation, her mother says.
Sometimes Aimee calls Pat, saying she wants to quit the program. At the same time, she is attending more group therapy sessions. "It's up and down, moment to moment," Pat says.
The centre doesn't usually take patients as sick as Aimee but made an exception. Its medical director had initially asked that she enter hospital in Ontario to gain some weight before being admitted in Alabama.
But her treatment team in Stratford didn't feel the hospital there was equipped to treat her, and she would have waited months to get into the Toronto or Mississauga hospitals that treat eating disorders. She wouldn't have qualified for admission to Guelph's Homewood Health Centre, which also has a program, because her body mass index was too low and her health too unstable.
Disturbing behind-the-scenes footage, broadcast on the Dr. Phil show, portrays her vicious cycle of binging and purging. Her mother says the binges can last two or three hours with breaks to purge. The process continues through the night, since Aimee sleeps only about two hours at a time.
She's been in and out of hospital for treatment since age 14, including stays at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto General and Stratford General Hospital.
Two stints in American facilities in the past three years were funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health. She completed neither program, leaving one early and being discharged from another for non-compliance.
At about age 18, Aimee was referred to Homewood, which has a leading eating-disorders program. By the time a bed was available 18 months later, she'd moved to the United States.
Her family has spent thousands of dollars on private counselling. "We're kind of out of options," Pat says.
Aimee began life an outgoing, happy child. Her outlook changed when she was sexually abused at age seven by teenagers at a campground, Pat says. Dave's reaction, based on the limited information he had at the time, left Aimee feeling ashamed. Her self-esteem suffered, and at age 10, she began cutting her arms. Four years later, she was abused again, this time by an acquaintance at a party.
Shortly after the second incident, Aimee began eating less and over-exercising. She wore a hole in the carpet doing aerobics in front of the television. That year, she was diagnosed with anorexia.
Aimee didn't tell her mother about the sexual abuse until she was 17. At about that time, she started to binge and her weight climbed to 140 pounds. Disgusted by the weight, she began purging.
When she was 19, Aimee eloped with a San Francisco man she met on the internet. He had no health insurance, and her eating disorder was raging, Pat says. After three years, they split up and she moved home, feeling like a failure again.
In addition to the eating disorders, Aimee has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies.
She's had periods of recovery from bulimia but they've never lasted more than six months. And after every stay in a treatment facility, her illness has worsened.
"I have over-medicated myself with sex, drugs and even my prescription medications," Aimee wrote to Dr. Phil.
She is now on a disability pension. When money runs out, she resorts to stealing food from stores or scrounging it from garbage cans, her mother says. She takes a baby bottle filled with a nutritional supplement to bed at night but often purges it later.
April Gates, co-ordinator of the eating disorders program at Homewood, says some people use food to comfort themselves because they have other emotional problems. "It becomes like an emotional anesthetic," Gates says. Mental illness or addictions make eating disorders particularly complex and challenging to treat, she says.
Aimee told Dr. Phil her eating disorder doesn't comfort her any more, that she feels overwhelmed. "It numbs me and occupies time so I don't have to think and feel. I've always thought people would care about me more if there was something wrong with me."
Aimee's illness is heart-breaking for her family. Last December, Dave suffered a heart attack, then a brain hemorrhage. He had angioplasty and has returned to work full time at his factory job.
"It's like our daughter has been abducted by a rapist or terrorist who is torturing her day after day," Pat says. "We get to see it, but we can't do anything about it.
"Food addiction is one of the most difficult to treat. It's not like drugs and alcohol. You can stay away from those and the people who do that. But everybody has to eat."
~~~~~~~~~~
A race against time for bulimic woman
TheRecord.com
By Anne Kelly, Record staff
By Anne Kelly, Record staff
April 14, 2008
"STRATFORD — Aimee Moore has spent much of her time binge eating and purging since her early departure Thursday from an Alabama eating disorders treatment centre.
Returning to her bulimic ways has relieved the unbearable pain in the Stratford woman’s belly, caused in treatment by food backing up in her stomach and forming gas pockets, rather than moving normally through her digestive system.
But the vomiting has also made her lose five of the 10 pounds she gained during seven weeks at the Magnolia Creek Treatment Center in Alabama, which offered to treat her for free after she appeared on the Dr. Phil show.
Show host Phil McGraw, said Moore’s 14-year struggle with anorexia and bulimia is the worst he’s seen.
She now purges up to 75 times a day, down from 150 before treatment.
She spends nights at the Stratford home of her parents, Dave and Pat, where she feels safer. But she returns to her apartment daily to eat and throw up her "binge foods,” which include ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, canned pasta and chocolate bars.
Now, at 68 pounds, Moore hopes to see a Kitchener gastroenterologist this week to determine what can be done to fix the digestive problem, so she can return to Magnolia Creek.
Her mother said if the wait is long for the diagnosis and treatment here, she’ll take her daughter back to an Alabama hospital, even though the family’s finances have already been drained by years of private therapy and prescription drugs to help keep Moore alive.
With her health so fragile, it is a race against time. Moore said she’d rather die than eat normally and endure the crushing stomach pain.
"I’ll fundraise, I’ll make an appeal to the community,” Pat said. "I’m not going to stand by and do nothing."
The exhausted 28-year-old said in a late night interview at her parents’ home Saturday that Magnolia Creek is "the best place in the world.”
Her blue jeans hang on her skeletal frame and the hood of a sweater covers her thinning hair. She clutches a heated bag to her stomach because, with no body fat, she is always cold. Her vision is deteriorating and her once strong white teeth are eroded and discoloured.
At first, Moore answers questions eloquently, then becomes agitated and pulls out the medication she delays taking until just before bed, since she keeps nothing down all day. She downs liquid potassium to keep her heart functioning and 14 other medications to battle a raft of problems, including anxiety, nausea, psychosis, depression, mood swings. Some of the pills cost $100 each and aren’t covered by her disability support program.
She apologizes for her moodiness, even though she can’t help it. Moore also suffers from borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive tendencies and post-traumatic stress disorder from past sexual abuse.
It was her decision to leave Alabama. A trip this week to an emergency department of a hospital determined that her stomach wasn’t emptying properly and more investigation was needed. She had no insurance to cover a hospital stay there.
"I get really scared when I don’t know what’s going on with myself,” said Moore, who also missed her mother terribly. Parents are only allowed to visit Magnolia Creek every six weeks. A doctor at the centre is trying to find a way to have her mother stay nearby if Moore returns.
Holding her head in her hand, Moore said nobody understands her like her mother does.
"She keeps my focused on why I want to live.”
Moore wants a chance to return to Magnolia Creek and experience all that it has to offer. Therapists there determined what she needed most, besides nutrition, was sleep. She made progress, eating five healthy meals and snacks a day. Her purging decreased to two or three times a day.
But since so much of her time was spent sleeping or "running around screaming in pain,” she missed out on experiences with the other nine residents, such as going out for a lunch once a week, getting pedicures and manicures, playing games, and shopping at a grocery store.
She also missed most of the group therapy sessions that could help her hope with the intense self-hatred that makes her want to starve herself.
"I want to disappear,” she said. "I want to be so small that nobody sees me because of everything I’ve done that has hurt people. I would like to be hidden. I’ve always felt like I was a failure. I can’t stick to anything. I can’t stay in treatment, can’t eat, can’t function normally.”
Moore longs for a normal life, to silence the voice of the eating disorder that constantly tells her what to do.
"I liked to experience things again — friendships, relationships, going out for coffee, going to the mall with my mom, going on trips.”
But now the disorder comes first. "If I’m hungry, get out of my way. I’m like a feral animal.”
Moore has been in and out of treatment over the years, having once undergone forced tube feeding, which was disastrous. The Ontario Ministry of Health has paid for two stints at U.S. treatment facilities in the past few years. Moore left one early and was discharged early from another for non-compliance.
She would be willing to try a liquid diet, if it is determined this would be best, but she won’t undergo feeding by tube or intravenous line.
"I don’t want to get fat without the pleasure of being able to eat food.”
She is telling her story in hopes of warning others about the slippery slope of disordered eating.
"I don’t want other people to go through the same thing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 17, 2008
"STRATFORD — Aimee Moore has spent much of her time binge eating and purging since her early departure Thursday from an Alabama eating disorders treatment centre.
Returning to her bulimic ways has relieved the unbearable pain in the Stratford woman’s belly, caused in treatment by food backing up in her stomach and forming gas pockets, rather than moving normally through her digestive system.
But the vomiting has also made her lose five of the 10 pounds she gained during seven weeks at the Magnolia Creek Treatment Center in Alabama, which offered to treat her for free after she appeared on the Dr. Phil show.
Show host Phil McGraw, said Moore’s 14-year struggle with anorexia and bulimia is the worst he’s seen.
She now purges up to 75 times a day, down from 150 before treatment.
She spends nights at the Stratford home of her parents, Dave and Pat, where she feels safer. But she returns to her apartment daily to eat and throw up her "binge foods,” which include ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, canned pasta and chocolate bars.
Now, at 68 pounds, Moore hopes to see a Kitchener gastroenterologist this week to determine what can be done to fix the digestive problem, so she can return to Magnolia Creek.
Her mother said if the wait is long for the diagnosis and treatment here, she’ll take her daughter back to an Alabama hospital, even though the family’s finances have already been drained by years of private therapy and prescription drugs to help keep Moore alive.
With her health so fragile, it is a race against time. Moore said she’d rather die than eat normally and endure the crushing stomach pain.
"I’ll fundraise, I’ll make an appeal to the community,” Pat said. "I’m not going to stand by and do nothing."
The exhausted 28-year-old said in a late night interview at her parents’ home Saturday that Magnolia Creek is "the best place in the world.”
Her blue jeans hang on her skeletal frame and the hood of a sweater covers her thinning hair. She clutches a heated bag to her stomach because, with no body fat, she is always cold. Her vision is deteriorating and her once strong white teeth are eroded and discoloured.
At first, Moore answers questions eloquently, then becomes agitated and pulls out the medication she delays taking until just before bed, since she keeps nothing down all day. She downs liquid potassium to keep her heart functioning and 14 other medications to battle a raft of problems, including anxiety, nausea, psychosis, depression, mood swings. Some of the pills cost $100 each and aren’t covered by her disability support program.
She apologizes for her moodiness, even though she can’t help it. Moore also suffers from borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive tendencies and post-traumatic stress disorder from past sexual abuse.
It was her decision to leave Alabama. A trip this week to an emergency department of a hospital determined that her stomach wasn’t emptying properly and more investigation was needed. She had no insurance to cover a hospital stay there.
"I get really scared when I don’t know what’s going on with myself,” said Moore, who also missed her mother terribly. Parents are only allowed to visit Magnolia Creek every six weeks. A doctor at the centre is trying to find a way to have her mother stay nearby if Moore returns.
Holding her head in her hand, Moore said nobody understands her like her mother does.
"She keeps my focused on why I want to live.”
Moore wants a chance to return to Magnolia Creek and experience all that it has to offer. Therapists there determined what she needed most, besides nutrition, was sleep. She made progress, eating five healthy meals and snacks a day. Her purging decreased to two or three times a day.
But since so much of her time was spent sleeping or "running around screaming in pain,” she missed out on experiences with the other nine residents, such as going out for a lunch once a week, getting pedicures and manicures, playing games, and shopping at a grocery store.
She also missed most of the group therapy sessions that could help her hope with the intense self-hatred that makes her want to starve herself.
"I want to disappear,” she said. "I want to be so small that nobody sees me because of everything I’ve done that has hurt people. I would like to be hidden. I’ve always felt like I was a failure. I can’t stick to anything. I can’t stay in treatment, can’t eat, can’t function normally.”
Moore longs for a normal life, to silence the voice of the eating disorder that constantly tells her what to do.
"I liked to experience things again — friendships, relationships, going out for coffee, going to the mall with my mom, going on trips.”
But now the disorder comes first. "If I’m hungry, get out of my way. I’m like a feral animal.”
Moore has been in and out of treatment over the years, having once undergone forced tube feeding, which was disastrous. The Ontario Ministry of Health has paid for two stints at U.S. treatment facilities in the past few years. Moore left one early and was discharged early from another for non-compliance.
She would be willing to try a liquid diet, if it is determined this would be best, but she won’t undergo feeding by tube or intravenous line.
"I don’t want to get fat without the pleasure of being able to eat food.”
She is telling her story in hopes of warning others about the slippery slope of disordered eating.
"I don’t want other people to go through the same thing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 17, 2008
Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
"As a weakening Aimee Moore waits to learn if she can receive prompt treatment here for complications of her eating disorder, a fund has been created to send her to the U.S. if necessary.
RECORD STAFF
"As a weakening Aimee Moore waits to learn if she can receive prompt treatment here for complications of her eating disorder, a fund has been created to send her to the U.S. if necessary.
Until a digestive issue is resolved, the 28-year-old Stratford woman cannot resume free treatment at an Alabama facility for extreme anorexia and bulimia.
Life Church International in Woodstock, the non-denominational Christian church attended by Moore and her family, will collect donations and issue tax receipts to donors.
All money donated will be available to the family and accessible when they submit bills for treatment-related costs, including travel for Moore and her mother, Pat.
"My heart goes out to Aimee," said the leader of the 400-member congregation. "She knows we really love and care about her."
Pat Moore said the help is much appreciated.
"We are so grateful," she said. "Time is of the essence."
Aimee Moore made an early departure last Thursday from Magnolia Creek Treatment Centre near Birmingham, where she spent seven weeks after appearing on the Dr. Phil show.
Moore was rushed twice during her stay to a Birmingham emergency department twice for extreme stomach pain. Her stomach muscles can't contract enough to empty food normally into her digestive tract, resulting in large gas pockets.
Now home, and weighing 68 pounds, she has returned to binge eating and purging.
Her mental state is deteriorating and she is not willing to be fed by tube or intravenous.
Moore's family doctor is trying to get an appointment for her with a gastroenterologist in Kitchener to treat what the doctor believes is gastroparesis.
But, fearful her daughter may die while waiting, Pat Moore is investigating the possibility of returning to the Alabama hospital for more timely help.
Moore's treatment over the past 14 years has drained the family's finances. They have yet to receive bills for the two visits to the Birmingham emergency department.
Aimee Moore is eager to return to Magnolia Creek, which will continue to treat her at no charge. The facility's medical director has agreed her mother should accompany her and is trying to find accommodation.
During her stay, Moore made progress, gaining 10 pounds. She ate five healthy meals and snacks a day and decreased her purging to two or three times a day from 150 times.
But the pain was unbearable and medication was ineffective.
Moore and her family have been touched by the show of support since telling her story,
A 15-year-old girl from Kitchener sent letters of encouragement and cartoon drawings she made while in hospital being treated for anorexia.
As well, a kennel owner and animal rescuer near Brussels offered the animal-loving Aimee a chance to meet the animals. "
~~~~~~~~~~
Aimee's story is so heartbreaking I am at a loss for words.
Please, if you have an eating disorder or are considering the pro ana/mia lifestyle, seek help immediately.
There was a comment on YouTube that Aimee recently passed away but I have been unable to confirm this. As more information on Aimee is released, I will update this blog post.
UPDATE #1 (May 25, 2008):
The comment on YouTube to which I referred in my original post about Aimee's passing was this:
TOKIOHOTELFORIMMER (1 week ago)
She is dead. she die 3 weeks after the show :(
I am so sorry for her.
i wan't to help her, but i can't do anything.
(sorry for my bad English)"
Since then, the following comments (in reverse chronological order) were posted on YouTube on May 21, 2008. I have, as yet, been unable to substantiate them.
"alanna0001 (4 days ago)
she is not dead.
she lives close to me.
shes in alabama state getting major treatment. she will hopefully overcome this. on the last update we got, she was 63 pounds, but it critical condition.
she lives close to me.
shes in alabama state getting major treatment. she will hopefully overcome this. on the last update we got, she was 63 pounds, but it critical condition.
alanna0001 (4 days ago)
yeah she's still alive.
shes in very critical condition though, but thats not surprising.
hopefully she will make it through this.
it's a terrible disease. i know the town and surrounding towns, like where i am from are definetly rooting for her.
shes in very critical condition though, but thats not surprising.
hopefully she will make it through this.
it's a terrible disease. i know the town and surrounding towns, like where i am from are definetly rooting for her.
bloemetje1707 (4 days ago)
oohhh she's still alive? I read somewhere that she died about 3 weeks after the dr. phil show... I would really want to know if she will be able to recover..
It's so terrible..
It's so terrible..
alanna0001 (4 days ago)
this girl lives about 20min away from me. We are constantly getting updates and whatnot, she is currently in her 6th week at the Alabama centre for eating disorders. she is VERY sick, but she is trying her best to recover. She weighs 63pounds."
LINK TO YOUTUBE VIDEO & COMMENTS:
UPDATE # 2 (May 26, 2008):
Anorexic woman puts hope in intravenous feeding
TheRecord.com
by Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD (Ontario)
by Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD (Ontario)
"Aimee Moore, the Stratford woman with an extreme eating disorder, is now seeking intravenous feeding to nourish her starving body.
Moore, who spent seven weeks in an Alabama treatment facility after being featured on the Dr. Phil show, has continued to battle anorexia and bulimia since her early departure from the facility April 10.
She recently began investigating options for intravenous feeding after learning from doctors that little else can be done to treat gastroparesis, a digestive disorder which causes her extreme pain when she eats normally.
Medication hasn't been effective.
"It took me a while to process everything they were trying to tell me, but they convinced me I need this," the 68-pound Moore said last week.
With gastroparesis, the stomach takes too long to empty its contents, because of damage to a nerve which controls the movement of food from the stomach through the digestive tract.
Eating disorders are among the causes of gastroparesis. Intravenous feeding delivers nutrients directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system.
It is hoped that as Moore's body is nourished, its condition will improve and she will be able to eat more comfortably.
Moore's desire to seek the treatment was bolstered by a visit from Heather Coburn, a Waterloo woman with anorexia who has successfully undergone treatment at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.
"She was really encouraging me," said Moore, 28. "She is convinced that life is worth living and she is really enjoying life."
"I just wanted to offer her a fresh perspective," explained Coburn, 36. She has returned to work as a chartered accountant four days a week and attends the outpatient part of the Credit Valley program once a week.
"I feel like a kid again," said Coburn. "I'm just having so much fun."
In Alabama, Moore could receive intravenous therapy on an outpatient basis, but the cost of treatment, as well as accommodation for her and her mother, is beyond what the family can afford.
Facility staff are looking into other funding sources, including the Dr. Phil show, Moore said. She has also inquired about the possibility of intravenous feeding at Credit Valley and is waiting to hear back.
The Alabama facility will re-admit Moore at no charge, if she can get the digestive issue under control. It was the extreme pain that prompted her to leave."
Moore, who spent seven weeks in an Alabama treatment facility after being featured on the Dr. Phil show, has continued to battle anorexia and bulimia since her early departure from the facility April 10.
She recently began investigating options for intravenous feeding after learning from doctors that little else can be done to treat gastroparesis, a digestive disorder which causes her extreme pain when she eats normally.
Medication hasn't been effective.
"It took me a while to process everything they were trying to tell me, but they convinced me I need this," the 68-pound Moore said last week.
With gastroparesis, the stomach takes too long to empty its contents, because of damage to a nerve which controls the movement of food from the stomach through the digestive tract.
Eating disorders are among the causes of gastroparesis. Intravenous feeding delivers nutrients directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system.
It is hoped that as Moore's body is nourished, its condition will improve and she will be able to eat more comfortably.
Moore's desire to seek the treatment was bolstered by a visit from Heather Coburn, a Waterloo woman with anorexia who has successfully undergone treatment at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.
"She was really encouraging me," said Moore, 28. "She is convinced that life is worth living and she is really enjoying life."
"I just wanted to offer her a fresh perspective," explained Coburn, 36. She has returned to work as a chartered accountant four days a week and attends the outpatient part of the Credit Valley program once a week.
"I feel like a kid again," said Coburn. "I'm just having so much fun."
In Alabama, Moore could receive intravenous therapy on an outpatient basis, but the cost of treatment, as well as accommodation for her and her mother, is beyond what the family can afford.
Facility staff are looking into other funding sources, including the Dr. Phil show, Moore said. She has also inquired about the possibility of intravenous feeding at Credit Valley and is waiting to hear back.
The Alabama facility will re-admit Moore at no charge, if she can get the digestive issue under control. It was the extreme pain that prompted her to leave."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE # 3 (June 8, 2008):
Sad saga of Aimee Moore continues
Subject of Dr. Phil Show agrees to new treatment but can't find a doctor who will help
by LAURA CUDWORTH, Staff Reporter
Stratford Beacon Herald
June 3, 2008
"Treatment for Aimee Moore's severe eating disorder is in a holding pattern five months after she appeared on the Dr. Phil Show.
The 28-year-old Stratford woman taped an episode of the show in January and was offered free treatment at Magnolia Creek in Alabama.
She agreed to go and was beginning to gain some weight, but severe stomach pain, because her stomach won't contract to move food out of her system, required medical treatment not covered by either OHIP or the show.
She decided to return home in April. Since then, she has lost any weight she gained at the treatment centre and her compulsion to binge and purge is as strong as ever.
Last month, Aimee agreed to a form of intravenous feeding known as total parenteral nutrition (TPN) provided she would be able to do it as an outpatient. TPN is often used when a person's digestive system has shut down.
"To me it's huge. This is what we were all waiting for," said Aimee's mother Pat Moore.
The doctor helping care for her in the United States wanted her to have some intravenous feeding before she was admitted to the centre because she was so fragile, but at the time she refused.
She will gain weight through intravenous feeding which is any anorexic/bulimic's nightmare, so her mother was relieved when she finally agreed.
"That was huge that she got to that point," Ms. Moore said.
Unfortunately, getting Aimee to agree to intravenous feeding may not be the biggest hurdle. The problem now is finding someone to do it. Generally, doctors are reluctant to insert a PICC line into an eating disorder patient who is then free to leave the hospital, Ms. Moore explained.
When Aimee went into treatment in Alabama she weighed just 63 pounds and was binging and purging 150 times a day. Aimee hasn't been weighed since she returned home.
"She's worse than she's ever been," Ms. Moore said. "There's that part of her that hopes she'll die in her sleep and there's the part of her that wants to live."
Even if Aimee gains a few pounds, she's far from cured. The mental illness still requires treatment.
The doctor affiliated with Magnolia Creek in Alabama wants her to go back there. He has offered to treat her for free and has managed to get the nutrients donated that she would be fed intravenously.
"It's a question of getting there and the cost of living. We're not sure if that door will open," Ms. Moore said.
The family has one income, as Ms. Moore stays home to care for Aimee and her brother. Aimee's father is the sole provider and has also had serious health problems.
The Dr. Phil Show has been contacted but is in hiatus and there has been no response so far, Ms. Moore said.
The family's church, Life Church International in Woodstock, has set up a fund to help the family pay for medical bills already acquired and to help with other expenses.
To donate go to www.lifeinyou.com or call the church at 1-519-537-7700 and ask for Nancy."
Stratford Beacon Herald
June 3, 2008
"Treatment for Aimee Moore's severe eating disorder is in a holding pattern five months after she appeared on the Dr. Phil Show.
The 28-year-old Stratford woman taped an episode of the show in January and was offered free treatment at Magnolia Creek in Alabama.
She agreed to go and was beginning to gain some weight, but severe stomach pain, because her stomach won't contract to move food out of her system, required medical treatment not covered by either OHIP or the show.
She decided to return home in April. Since then, she has lost any weight she gained at the treatment centre and her compulsion to binge and purge is as strong as ever.
Last month, Aimee agreed to a form of intravenous feeding known as total parenteral nutrition (TPN) provided she would be able to do it as an outpatient. TPN is often used when a person's digestive system has shut down.
"To me it's huge. This is what we were all waiting for," said Aimee's mother Pat Moore.
The doctor helping care for her in the United States wanted her to have some intravenous feeding before she was admitted to the centre because she was so fragile, but at the time she refused.
She will gain weight through intravenous feeding which is any anorexic/bulimic's nightmare, so her mother was relieved when she finally agreed.
"That was huge that she got to that point," Ms. Moore said.
Unfortunately, getting Aimee to agree to intravenous feeding may not be the biggest hurdle. The problem now is finding someone to do it. Generally, doctors are reluctant to insert a PICC line into an eating disorder patient who is then free to leave the hospital, Ms. Moore explained.
When Aimee went into treatment in Alabama she weighed just 63 pounds and was binging and purging 150 times a day. Aimee hasn't been weighed since she returned home.
"She's worse than she's ever been," Ms. Moore said. "There's that part of her that hopes she'll die in her sleep and there's the part of her that wants to live."
Even if Aimee gains a few pounds, she's far from cured. The mental illness still requires treatment.
The doctor affiliated with Magnolia Creek in Alabama wants her to go back there. He has offered to treat her for free and has managed to get the nutrients donated that she would be fed intravenously.
"It's a question of getting there and the cost of living. We're not sure if that door will open," Ms. Moore said.
The family has one income, as Ms. Moore stays home to care for Aimee and her brother. Aimee's father is the sole provider and has also had serious health problems.
The Dr. Phil Show has been contacted but is in hiatus and there has been no response so far, Ms. Moore said.
The family's church, Life Church International in Woodstock, has set up a fund to help the family pay for medical bills already acquired and to help with other expenses.
To donate go to www.lifeinyou.com or call the church at 1-519-537-7700 and ask for Nancy."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE # 4 (July 8, 2008):
"Family relieved as eating disorder patient enters hospital
"Family relieved as eating disorder patient enters hospital
July 08, 2008
Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD
Aimee Moore, the Stratford woman with a severe eating disorder, has been admitted to a Mississauga hospital for tube feeding.
The 28-year-old is expected to remain at Credit Valley Hospital for two months to nourish her 68-pound body and try to heal her damaged digestive system.
"This is really the only choice, or she is not going to survive," Moore's mother, Pat, said yesterday as she and her husband, Dave, drove their daughter to the hospital. "She's scared, but there is some excitement there and some relief."
Aimee, who did not feel up to being interviewed yesterday, was featured on the Dr. Phil show in February. Host Phil McGraw said her anorexia and bulimia was the worst he'd seen.
After taping the show, she entered Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Center in Alabama, which was treating her at no charge. However, Aimee left the centre after seven weeks. A damaged nerve in her stomach wouldn't allow it to properly empty food to her bowels, which left her in excruciating pain.
Aimee has battled eating disorders since age 14 and has tried other treatments without success. At Credit Valley, which has an eating disorder program, she will have a tube running from her nasal passage through her esophagus to her stomach, her mother said. It will slowly provide nourishment. Initially, she will be sedated and will not be able to eat anything for the first month. In the second month, small amounts of food will be introduced, Moore said.
If this is successful, Magnolia Creek is willing to readmit Aimee at no charge, she said.
Her daughter had hoped for intravenous feeding, but doctors rejected the idea, prompting Aimee to finally accept tube feeding. "Their feeling is in order to get the stomach working again, you need to use it," Moore said.
Moore worries about the physical pain and emotional torment Aimee may experience but is thankful she has experts to deal with complications. "I'm feeling hopeful that the treatment will work and Aimee will be able to persevere through this."
~~~~~~~~~~
Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD
Aimee Moore, the Stratford woman with a severe eating disorder, has been admitted to a Mississauga hospital for tube feeding.
The 28-year-old is expected to remain at Credit Valley Hospital for two months to nourish her 68-pound body and try to heal her damaged digestive system.
"This is really the only choice, or she is not going to survive," Moore's mother, Pat, said yesterday as she and her husband, Dave, drove their daughter to the hospital. "She's scared, but there is some excitement there and some relief."
Aimee, who did not feel up to being interviewed yesterday, was featured on the Dr. Phil show in February. Host Phil McGraw said her anorexia and bulimia was the worst he'd seen.
After taping the show, she entered Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Center in Alabama, which was treating her at no charge. However, Aimee left the centre after seven weeks. A damaged nerve in her stomach wouldn't allow it to properly empty food to her bowels, which left her in excruciating pain.
Aimee has battled eating disorders since age 14 and has tried other treatments without success. At Credit Valley, which has an eating disorder program, she will have a tube running from her nasal passage through her esophagus to her stomach, her mother said. It will slowly provide nourishment. Initially, she will be sedated and will not be able to eat anything for the first month. In the second month, small amounts of food will be introduced, Moore said.
If this is successful, Magnolia Creek is willing to readmit Aimee at no charge, she said.
Her daughter had hoped for intravenous feeding, but doctors rejected the idea, prompting Aimee to finally accept tube feeding. "Their feeling is in order to get the stomach working again, you need to use it," Moore said.
Moore worries about the physical pain and emotional torment Aimee may experience but is thankful she has experts to deal with complications. "I'm feeling hopeful that the treatment will work and Aimee will be able to persevere through this."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #5 (August 5, 2008):
"Aimee Moore hopes to head back to Alabama treatment centre Monday
Posted By LAURA CUDWORTH
Posted By LAURA CUDWORTH
Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 2/08
The flight has been booked and Aimee Moore could be on a plane back to an eating disorder treatment centre in Alabama Monday.
Should she end up on that flight, it will represent a big step in her long-time battle with severe anorexia and bulimia.
In early July she agreed to go into Credit Valley Hospital for tube feeding and stick it out for a month.
"It's huge what Aimee has done here, really, and one day she'll realize it," said mom Pat Moore from Aimee's hospital room.
The game plan is for Aimee, accompanied by her mom, to go directly from the hospital to Magnolia Creek in Alabama to keep her from falling into binging and purging habits at home.
Aimee was featured on an episode of the Dr. Phil Show last February. At the time the 28-year-old weighed just 63 pounds.
She was admitted to Magnolia Creek for treatment and stayed seven weeks, but returned home when she experienced severe stomach pain as her digestive system tried to cope with solid food passing through her body normally.
Provided Aimee's blood samples are stable, doctors have cleared her to go back into treatment in Alabama.
If her blood work is not stable she'll stay in hospital and the Moores will have to pay $175 on each of two tickets to change the flight. Because Aimee has a pre-existing medical condition, the family was unable to get flight cancellation insurance, Ms. Moore said.
Aimee has not eaten solid food yet, but has been suffering with nausea and cramping in recent days. It's common in eating disorder patients but increases the desire to purge in order to stop the pain."
Posted Aug 2/08
The flight has been booked and Aimee Moore could be on a plane back to an eating disorder treatment centre in Alabama Monday.
Should she end up on that flight, it will represent a big step in her long-time battle with severe anorexia and bulimia.
In early July she agreed to go into Credit Valley Hospital for tube feeding and stick it out for a month.
"It's huge what Aimee has done here, really, and one day she'll realize it," said mom Pat Moore from Aimee's hospital room.
The game plan is for Aimee, accompanied by her mom, to go directly from the hospital to Magnolia Creek in Alabama to keep her from falling into binging and purging habits at home.
Aimee was featured on an episode of the Dr. Phil Show last February. At the time the 28-year-old weighed just 63 pounds.
She was admitted to Magnolia Creek for treatment and stayed seven weeks, but returned home when she experienced severe stomach pain as her digestive system tried to cope with solid food passing through her body normally.
Provided Aimee's blood samples are stable, doctors have cleared her to go back into treatment in Alabama.
If her blood work is not stable she'll stay in hospital and the Moores will have to pay $175 on each of two tickets to change the flight. Because Aimee has a pre-existing medical condition, the family was unable to get flight cancellation insurance, Ms. Moore said.
Aimee has not eaten solid food yet, but has been suffering with nausea and cramping in recent days. It's common in eating disorder patients but increases the desire to purge in order to stop the pain."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE # 6 (August 13, 2008):
"Anorexic Stratford woman suffers setback
TheRecord.com
Posted byApril Robinson
Aimee Moore and her mother flew to Alabama expecting to check in to a treatment centre for eating disorders Tuesday.
But weighing in at 65 pounds, Aimee was turned down at the door, her mother said.
Now, Aimee, a 28-year-old Stratford native who has suffered from severe anorexia and bulimia for 15 years, is being treated at a Birmingham hospital.
Her mother, Pat Moore, is overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment.
"I don't know how we're going to pay for this," she said, voice shaking, from Trinity Medical Center yesterday. "I'm sitting here thinking, 'What are we going to do?' "
Pat said Aimee had spent the past five weeks being tube-fed at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga. She said doctors discharged Aimee on Tuesday morning, saying she weighed 90 pounds, had good blood work and healthy vital signs.
But Pat said she got a different story when she reached Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Center Tuesday evening. Aimee weighed 65 pounds and was unstable.
Incoming patients require a letter and lab results from their doctor saying they're stable. But Pat said Credit Valley doctors didn't send the blood work results, and Aimee's health and weight were too risky, so the Alabama facility didn't admit her.
A spokesperson at Magnolia Creek would not elaborate on their admissions process.
Aimee already spent seven weeks at the facility in April after the Dr. Phil show featured her case. The centre was treating her for free, but Aimee left early because she had extreme stomach pain as her damaged organs tried to digest food.
Pat said treatment centre staff sent Aimee to the local hospital Tuesday night, where a doctor specializing in nutrition and eating disorders is now treating her.
But Pat claims the Mississauga hospital may have misled the Moores into thinking Aimee was more ready for treatment than she really was.
Wendy Johnson, a spokesperson from Credit Valley Hospital, said she could not comment on a patient's confidential case.
"If there's any concern between the mother and the doctor, we would be more than pleased to discuss that with the mother."
Pat said Aimee did purge three cans of a nutritional supplement drink she drank on the day she was discharged. But she said she suspects the hospital wanted to get rid of her.
"Aimee's very challenging," she said. She said the hospital posted a security guard and nurse to Aimee's room around the clock. "She can have the strength of an army."
In the Birmingham hospital yesterday, Aimee was heavily medicated and dozy, Pat said. She had been feeling a lot of anxiety and distress. Doctors hooked her up to an intravenous to feed her essential nutrients.
After she arrived in the Birmingham hospital, Aimee ate some bran cereal with milk, half an orange and a few bites of an apple, Pat said. But she threw it up right away.
"As soon as food is in her, it's like it needs to get out," Pat said.
Short on cash and energy, Aimee's mother is worried about what they will do next.
"Right now, there's just a million unanswered questions," she said. "The most important thing is Aimee's life. And as a mom, as a parent, you'll do anything.
"So I'll just take it one day at a time."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE # 7 (August 25, 2008):
"Woman with eating disorder suffers setback, costs mount
Record staff
STRATFORD
The mother of a Stratford woman who nearly died last week from her eating disorder is hoping her daughter will be discharged from an intensive care unit today. But Pat Moore said her family faces thousands in medical bills for the care Aimee Moore is receiving at an Alabama hospital. She went to the state hoping to be admitted for a second time to a treatment centre for eating disorders, but her condition was deemed too unstable. She was taken to an emergency room Friday when her kidneys failed."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #8 (August 29, 2008) :
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD
"Anorexic woman out of hospital
A Stratford woman who nearly died recently from her extreme eating disorder is out of an Alabama hospital and trying to gain enough weight to be readmitted to a residential treatment facility.
Aimee Moore and her mother, Pat, are staying at a motel in Birmingham, Ala., where she is receiving intravenous feeding and meal replacement drinks to try to gain at least 15 pounds.
If the 29-year-old complies with the therapy, her doctor predicts she could be ready to re-enter residential treatment in four weeks. The facility has agreed to resume her treatment for free.
Her mother said in an e-mail she doesn't know how the family will pay the mounting medical and accommodation bills, but that Good Samaritans in Alabama are trying to find them less costly accommodation."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #9 (September 1, 2008) :
"Aimee making slow progress in battle with eating disorder
Posted By LAURA CUDWORTH, Staff Reporter
Aimee Moore is battling her severe eating disorder in Alabama but not at the treatment centre.
She wasn't admitted to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre for Eating Disorders because when she arrived she was just 65 pounds and medically unstable, her mother Pat said in an e-mail. Instead, Aimee went to Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, where a doctor is giving her intravenous nourishment to try to get her well enough to go into treatment.
As a result, Mrs. Moore hasn't returned home to Stratford as planned but is staying with Aimee while she's in the hospital.
Aimee was briefly discharged from the hospital and went with her mother to the Trinity Inn, which is part of the hospital. The room cost is $91 a day -- an expense they didn't expect to pay. Treatment at Magnolia Creek is still free once she's admitted -- as a result of her appearance on the Dr. Phil Show in February.
On Aug. 22 Aimee had a close call when her muscles seized up due to low calcium and she went into kidney failure. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Aimee's kidneys are working fine now and she was discharged from the hospital Aug. 25.
If she continues with the intravenous feeding and takes meal supplement drinks without purging, her doctor in Alabama is hoping she could be admitted to Magnolia Creek in four weeks, Mrs. Moore said.
She needs to reach between 80 and 85 pounds to be admitted.
Mrs. Moore said the family has no idea how they will manage to pay for another four weeks in Alabama.
Church contacts in Canada are reaching out to their contacts in the United States to see if there's some less expensive accommodation available to the Moores while in Alabama.
A fund to help the family with expenses has been set up through Life Church International in Woodstock
Credit card donations can be made through the church's website at www.lifeinyou.com or by calling the church at 1-519-537-7700."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #10 (September 6, 2008) :
"Anorexia patient could return to treatment centre Monday
September 06, 2008
Record staff
STRATFORD
Aimee Moore could re-enter an Alabama treatment facility for eating disorders on Monday. The 29-year-old Stratford woman, who has an extreme eating disorder, has made great strides during four weeks in Alabama receiving outpatient intravenous nutrition, her mother Pat reported in an e-mail. Intravenous feeding is expected to end Monday, after which she is to be admitted to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre."
~~~~~~~~~~
September 06, 2008
Record staff
STRATFORD
Aimee Moore could re-enter an Alabama treatment facility for eating disorders on Monday. The 29-year-old Stratford woman, who has an extreme eating disorder, has made great strides during four weeks in Alabama receiving outpatient intravenous nutrition, her mother Pat reported in an e-mail. Intravenous feeding is expected to end Monday, after which she is to be admitted to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #11 (September 19, 2008) :
"Stratford woman with eating disorder back in hospital in U.S.
Record staff
A Stratford woman with an extreme eating disorder lasted less than a week in a U.S. treatment facility before landing back in hospital. Aimee Moore is now back on intravenous feeding and her mother, Pat, has returned to Alabama from her Stratford home to be with her.
The anorexic and bulimic is being kept alive intravenously until she is strong enough to return to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre.
This was Moore's second stint there, where she began receiving treatment for free last winter after appearing on the Dr. Phil show.
In an e-mail, Pat Moore said Aimee's doctor said she must return home if she doesn't stop purging in the next two to four weeks."
Record staff
A Stratford woman with an extreme eating disorder lasted less than a week in a U.S. treatment facility before landing back in hospital. Aimee Moore is now back on intravenous feeding and her mother, Pat, has returned to Alabama from her Stratford home to be with her.
The anorexic and bulimic is being kept alive intravenously until she is strong enough to return to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre.
This was Moore's second stint there, where she began receiving treatment for free last winter after appearing on the Dr. Phil show.
In an e-mail, Pat Moore said Aimee's doctor said she must return home if she doesn't stop purging in the next two to four weeks."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #12 (December 6, 2008)
"Woman back in treatment for severe eating disorder
December 06, 2008 RECORD STAFFSTRATFORD
A Stratford woman with an extreme eating disorder has entered an Alabama treatment centre for a third time. Aimee Moore, 29, returned to Magnolia Creek Residential Treatment Centre this week, having built her weight up to 84 pounds. Moore has been in Alabama since August, having intravenous feeding and fighting off complications, her mother Pat, said yesterday in a phone interview from the U.S."
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #13 (January 2, 2009)
"Woman with eating disorder has another setback
January 02, 2009
Anne Kelly
RECORD STAFF
STRATFORD
Aimee Moore is back at her home in Stratford after a third unsuccessful stay at a centre for eating disorders in Alabama.
Pat Moore, the mother of the 29-year-old, says her daughter's health has deteriorated rapidly since her return to Canada.
"Aimee knows this is a life-and-death situation," Pat said.
Moore arrived in Alabama in August at 65 pounds and gained nearly 20 pounds through outpatient intravenous feeding.
She entered Magnolia Creek Treatment Centre on Dec. 1 and was progressing well. She was discharged Dec. 13 after purging a meal, a violation of the rules, while on 24-hour observation.
She and her mother, who had been with her during her stay in Alabama, arrived home Dec. 16. Moore weighed 94 pounds.
She is now eating little, continuing to purge and is growing weak. She has lost much of the weight she gained.
Pat said Magnolia Creek is willing to give her daughter one more chance at treatment free of charge if she can get her weight back up to 90 pounds, with a goal of reaching 105 pounds.
It has been 10 months since Moore appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, which linked her with Magnolia Creek. "
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #14 (September 17, 2009)
The latest news on Aimee is not good.
At the end of January,2009, Aimee was sleeping all the time and had lost the weight she had gained at Magnolia Creek in Alabama.
On April 30th, I received the following comment on one of my posts:
"Anonymous said...
I know Aimee and her mom and keep in touch with them via email. My last email from them was a few weeks ago, and as of then, she was alive, but not doing well. Before she can get well, she's really got to choose that she wants to recover and that she doesn't want the bingeing. Her desire to binge is so very strong. It's such a sad situation. Please pray for her and her family.
April 30, 2009 1:44 PM"
I have learned that Aimee's brother, Aaron, and father, Dave, have serious medical issues at this time, as well.
How Pat, Aimee's mother, is coping with all this tragedy is beyond me, especially with the passing of her (Pat's) father in July of this year.
As of this writing, Aimee is still alive.
~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE #15 (December 9, 2009)
I have just received a comment from a reader that Aimee is presently in a residential treatment facility in South Florida. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear this news.
~~~~~~~~~~
As news of Aimee comes in, I will continue to keep everyone updated on her condition.
THE DANGERS & DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF EATING DISORDERS
"Eating disorders profoundly impact an individual's quality of life. Self-image, relationships, physical well-being and day to day living are often adversely affected. Eating disorders are also often associated with mood disorders, anxiety disorders and personality disorders. Bullimia nervosa may be particularly associated with substance abuse problems. Anorexia nervosa is often associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The scope of related problems associated with eating disorders highlights the need for prompt treatment and intervention.
Medical issues:
The process of starvation associated with Anorexia Nervosa can affect most organ systems. Physical signs and symptoms include but are not limited to constipation, abnormally low heart rate, abdominal distress, dryness of skin, hypotension, fine body hair, lack of menstrual periods. Anorexia Nervosa causes anemia, cardiovascular problems, changes in brain structure, osteoporosis, and kidney dysfunction.
Self-induced vomiting can lead to swelling of salivary glands, electrolyte and mineral disturbances, and enamel erosion in teeth. Laxative abuse can lead to long lasting disruptions of normal bowel functioning. Complications such as tearing the esophagus, rupturing the stomach, and developing life-threatening irregularities of the heart rhythm may also result.
Physical Dangers:
Sometimes those suffering with Anorexia and Bulimia do not appear underweight — some may be of "average" weight, some may be slightly overweight, variations can be anywhere from extremely underweight to extremely overweight. The outward appearance of a person suffering with an eating disorder does not dictate the amount of physical danger they are in, nor does it determine the severity of emotional conflict they are enduring.
Symptoms:
Amennorrhea — loss of menstrual cycle.
Barrett's Esophagus — associated with Cancer of the esophagus and caused by Esophageal Reflux, this is a change in the cells within the esophagus.
Blood Sugar Level Disruptions:
Low Blood Sugar — can indicate problems with the liver or kidneys and can lead to neurological and mental deterioration.
Elevated Blood Sugar — can lead to diabetes, liver and kidney shut down, circulatory and immune system problems.
Callused fingers — caused by repeated use of the fingers to induce vomiting.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — crippling fatigue related to a weakened immune system.
Cramps, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, incontinence — increased or decreased bowel activity.
Death — caused by any of the following or any combination of the following: heart attack or heart failure, lung collapse, internal bleeding, stroke, kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis, gastric rupture, perforated ulcer, depression and suicide.
Dehydration — caused by lack of intake of fluids in the body.
Dental Problems — decalcification of teeth, erosion of tooth enamel, and severe decay.
Gum Disease — caused by stomach acids and enzymes from vomiting; lack of vitamin D and calcium, and hormonal imbalance.
Depression — mood swings and depression caused by physiological factors such as electrolyte imbalances, hormone and vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition and dehydration. Living with the Eating Disorder behaviors can cause depression. Depression can also lead the victim back into the cycle of the Eating Disorder (or may have initially been the problem before the onset of the ED). Stress within family, job and relationships can all be causes. There are also a percentage of people born with a pre-disposition to depression, based on family history.
Diabetes — high blood sugar as a result of low production of insulin. This can be caused by hormonal imbalances, hyperglycemia or chronic pancreatitis.
Digestive Difficulties — a deficiency in digestive enzymes will lead to the body's inability to properly digest food and absorb nutrients. This can lead to mal-absorption problems, malnutrition and electrolyte imbalances.
Dry Skin and Hair, Brittle Hair and Nails, Hair Loss — caused by Vitamin and Mineral deficiencies, malnutrition and dehydration.
Edema — swelling of the soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation. Most common in the legs and feet of Compulsive Overeaters and in the abdominal area of Anorexics and/or Bulimics (can be caused by Laxative and Diuretic use).
Electrolyte Imbalances — electrolytes are essential to the production of the body's "natural electricity" that ensures healthy teeth, joints and bones, nerve and muscle impulses, kidneys and heart, blood sugar levels and the delivery of oxygen to the cells. Bad circulation, slowed or irregular heartbeat, arrhythmias, angina, heart attack - There are many factors associated with having an eating disorder that can lead to heart problems or a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest can cause permanent damage to the heart, or instant death. Electrolyte imbalances (especially potassium deficiency), dehydration, malnutrition, low blood pressure, extreme orthostatic hypotension, abnormally slow heart rate, electrolyte imbalances, and hormonal imbalances can all cause serious problems with the heart.
Esophageal Reflux — Acid Reflux Disorders — partially digested items in the stomach, mixed with acid and enzymes, regurgitates back into the esophagus. This can lead to damage to the esophagus, larynx and lungs and increases the chances of developing cancer of the esophagus and voice box.
Gastric Rupture — spontaneous stomach erosion, perforation or rupture.
High Blood Pressure, Hypertension — elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90. Can cause: blood vessel changes in the back of the eye creating vision impairment; abnormal thickening of the heart muscle; kidney failure; and brain damage.
Hyperactivity — manic behavior; not being able to sit still.
Impaired Neuromuscular Function — due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and malnutrition.
Infertility — the inability to have children; caused by loss of menstrual cycle and hormonal imbalances. Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies can also make it impossible to succeed with a full-term pregnancy, and can increase the chances significantly of a baby born with birth defects.
Insomnia — having problems falling and/or staying asleep.
Iron Deficiency, Anemia — this makes the oxygen transporting units within the blood useless and can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, increased infections, and heart palpitations.
Kidney Infection and Failure — kidneys cleanse the poisons from your body, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance. Vitamin Deficiencies, dehydration, infection and low blood pressure increase the risks of and associated with kidney infection thus making permanent kidney damage and kidney failure more likely.
Lanugo — (soft downy hair on face, back and arms). This is caused due to a protective mechanism built-in to the body to help keep a person warm during periods of starvation and malnutrition, and the hormonal imbalances that result.
Liver Failure — the liver aids in removing waste from cells, and aids in digestion. Fasting and taking acetaminophen (drug found in over-the-counter painkillers) increases your risks for Liver damage and failure. Loss of menstruation and dehydration (putting women at risk for too much iron in their system), and chronic heart failure can lead to liver damage or failure.
Low Blood Pressure, Hypotension — caused by lowered body temperature, malnutrition and dehydration. Can cause heart arrythmias, shock or myocardial infarction.
Lowered body temperature — caused by loss of healthy insulating layer of fat and lowered blood pressure.
Malnutrition — caused by undereating or overeating. Malnutrition indicates deficiency for energy, protein and micronutrients (e.g. vitamin A, iodine and iron) either singularly or in combination. It can cause severe health risks including (but not limited to) respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and death.
Mallory-Weiss tear — associated with vomiting, a tear of the gastroesophageal junction.
Muscle Atrophy — wasting away of muscle and decrease in muscle mass due to the body feeding off of itself.
Orthostatic Hypotension — sudden drop in blood pressure upon sitting up or standing. Symptoms include dizziness, blurred vision, passing out, heart pounding and headaches.
Osteoporosis — thinning of the bones with reduction in bone mass due to depletion of calcium and bone protein, predisposing to fractures.
Osteopenia — below normal bone mass indicating a calcium and/or vitamin D deficiency and leading to Osteoporosis. Hormone imbalance/deficiencies associated with the loss of the menstrual cycle can also increase your risks of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia.
Pancreatitis — when the digestive enzymes attack the pancreas; caused by repeated stomach trauma, alcohol consumption or the excessive use of laxatives or diet pills.
Peptic Ulcers — caused by increased stomach acids, cigarette smoking, high consumption of caffeine or alcohol.
Pregnancy problems — including potential for high-risk pregnancies, miscarriage, still born babies and death or chronic illnesses from minor to severe, in children born (all due to malnutrition, dehydration, vitamin and hormone deficiencies).
Swelling — in face and cheeks (following self-induced vomiting).
Seizures — increased risk of seizures in Anorexic and Bulimic individuals may be caused by dehydration. It is also possible that lesions on the brain caused by long-term malnutrition and lack of oxygen-carrying cells to the brain may play a role.
Tearing of Esophagus — caused by self-induced vomiting.
TMJ "Syndrome" — degenerative arthritis within the tempero-mandibular joint in the jaw (where the lower jaw hinges to the skull) creating pain in the joint area, headaches, and problems chewing and opening/closing the mouth. Vitamin deficiencies and teeth grinding (often related to stress) can both be causes.
Weakness and Fatigue — caused by generalized poor eating habits, electrolyte imbalances, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, depression, malnutrition, heart problems."
Medical issues:
The process of starvation associated with Anorexia Nervosa can affect most organ systems. Physical signs and symptoms include but are not limited to constipation, abnormally low heart rate, abdominal distress, dryness of skin, hypotension, fine body hair, lack of menstrual periods. Anorexia Nervosa causes anemia, cardiovascular problems, changes in brain structure, osteoporosis, and kidney dysfunction.
Self-induced vomiting can lead to swelling of salivary glands, electrolyte and mineral disturbances, and enamel erosion in teeth. Laxative abuse can lead to long lasting disruptions of normal bowel functioning. Complications such as tearing the esophagus, rupturing the stomach, and developing life-threatening irregularities of the heart rhythm may also result.
Physical Dangers:
Sometimes those suffering with Anorexia and Bulimia do not appear underweight — some may be of "average" weight, some may be slightly overweight, variations can be anywhere from extremely underweight to extremely overweight. The outward appearance of a person suffering with an eating disorder does not dictate the amount of physical danger they are in, nor does it determine the severity of emotional conflict they are enduring.
Symptoms:
Amennorrhea — loss of menstrual cycle.
Barrett's Esophagus — associated with Cancer of the esophagus and caused by Esophageal Reflux, this is a change in the cells within the esophagus.
Blood Sugar Level Disruptions:
Low Blood Sugar — can indicate problems with the liver or kidneys and can lead to neurological and mental deterioration.
Elevated Blood Sugar — can lead to diabetes, liver and kidney shut down, circulatory and immune system problems.
Callused fingers — caused by repeated use of the fingers to induce vomiting.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — crippling fatigue related to a weakened immune system.
Cramps, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, incontinence — increased or decreased bowel activity.
Death — caused by any of the following or any combination of the following: heart attack or heart failure, lung collapse, internal bleeding, stroke, kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis, gastric rupture, perforated ulcer, depression and suicide.
Dehydration — caused by lack of intake of fluids in the body.
Dental Problems — decalcification of teeth, erosion of tooth enamel, and severe decay.
Gum Disease — caused by stomach acids and enzymes from vomiting; lack of vitamin D and calcium, and hormonal imbalance.
Depression — mood swings and depression caused by physiological factors such as electrolyte imbalances, hormone and vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition and dehydration. Living with the Eating Disorder behaviors can cause depression. Depression can also lead the victim back into the cycle of the Eating Disorder (or may have initially been the problem before the onset of the ED). Stress within family, job and relationships can all be causes. There are also a percentage of people born with a pre-disposition to depression, based on family history.
Diabetes — high blood sugar as a result of low production of insulin. This can be caused by hormonal imbalances, hyperglycemia or chronic pancreatitis.
Digestive Difficulties — a deficiency in digestive enzymes will lead to the body's inability to properly digest food and absorb nutrients. This can lead to mal-absorption problems, malnutrition and electrolyte imbalances.
Dry Skin and Hair, Brittle Hair and Nails, Hair Loss — caused by Vitamin and Mineral deficiencies, malnutrition and dehydration.
Edema — swelling of the soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation. Most common in the legs and feet of Compulsive Overeaters and in the abdominal area of Anorexics and/or Bulimics (can be caused by Laxative and Diuretic use).
Electrolyte Imbalances — electrolytes are essential to the production of the body's "natural electricity" that ensures healthy teeth, joints and bones, nerve and muscle impulses, kidneys and heart, blood sugar levels and the delivery of oxygen to the cells. Bad circulation, slowed or irregular heartbeat, arrhythmias, angina, heart attack - There are many factors associated with having an eating disorder that can lead to heart problems or a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest can cause permanent damage to the heart, or instant death. Electrolyte imbalances (especially potassium deficiency), dehydration, malnutrition, low blood pressure, extreme orthostatic hypotension, abnormally slow heart rate, electrolyte imbalances, and hormonal imbalances can all cause serious problems with the heart.
Esophageal Reflux — Acid Reflux Disorders — partially digested items in the stomach, mixed with acid and enzymes, regurgitates back into the esophagus. This can lead to damage to the esophagus, larynx and lungs and increases the chances of developing cancer of the esophagus and voice box.
Gastric Rupture — spontaneous stomach erosion, perforation or rupture.
High Blood Pressure, Hypertension — elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90. Can cause: blood vessel changes in the back of the eye creating vision impairment; abnormal thickening of the heart muscle; kidney failure; and brain damage.
Hyperactivity — manic behavior; not being able to sit still.
Impaired Neuromuscular Function — due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and malnutrition.
Infertility — the inability to have children; caused by loss of menstrual cycle and hormonal imbalances. Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies can also make it impossible to succeed with a full-term pregnancy, and can increase the chances significantly of a baby born with birth defects.
Insomnia — having problems falling and/or staying asleep.
Iron Deficiency, Anemia — this makes the oxygen transporting units within the blood useless and can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, increased infections, and heart palpitations.
Kidney Infection and Failure — kidneys cleanse the poisons from your body, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance. Vitamin Deficiencies, dehydration, infection and low blood pressure increase the risks of and associated with kidney infection thus making permanent kidney damage and kidney failure more likely.
Lanugo — (soft downy hair on face, back and arms). This is caused due to a protective mechanism built-in to the body to help keep a person warm during periods of starvation and malnutrition, and the hormonal imbalances that result.
Liver Failure — the liver aids in removing waste from cells, and aids in digestion. Fasting and taking acetaminophen (drug found in over-the-counter painkillers) increases your risks for Liver damage and failure. Loss of menstruation and dehydration (putting women at risk for too much iron in their system), and chronic heart failure can lead to liver damage or failure.
Low Blood Pressure, Hypotension — caused by lowered body temperature, malnutrition and dehydration. Can cause heart arrythmias, shock or myocardial infarction.
Lowered body temperature — caused by loss of healthy insulating layer of fat and lowered blood pressure.
Malnutrition — caused by undereating or overeating. Malnutrition indicates deficiency for energy, protein and micronutrients (e.g. vitamin A, iodine and iron) either singularly or in combination. It can cause severe health risks including (but not limited to) respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and death.
Mallory-Weiss tear — associated with vomiting, a tear of the gastroesophageal junction.
Muscle Atrophy — wasting away of muscle and decrease in muscle mass due to the body feeding off of itself.
Orthostatic Hypotension — sudden drop in blood pressure upon sitting up or standing. Symptoms include dizziness, blurred vision, passing out, heart pounding and headaches.
Osteoporosis — thinning of the bones with reduction in bone mass due to depletion of calcium and bone protein, predisposing to fractures.
Osteopenia — below normal bone mass indicating a calcium and/or vitamin D deficiency and leading to Osteoporosis. Hormone imbalance/deficiencies associated with the loss of the menstrual cycle can also increase your risks of Osteoporosis and Osteopenia.
Pancreatitis — when the digestive enzymes attack the pancreas; caused by repeated stomach trauma, alcohol consumption or the excessive use of laxatives or diet pills.
Peptic Ulcers — caused by increased stomach acids, cigarette smoking, high consumption of caffeine or alcohol.
Pregnancy problems — including potential for high-risk pregnancies, miscarriage, still born babies and death or chronic illnesses from minor to severe, in children born (all due to malnutrition, dehydration, vitamin and hormone deficiencies).
Swelling — in face and cheeks (following self-induced vomiting).
Seizures — increased risk of seizures in Anorexic and Bulimic individuals may be caused by dehydration. It is also possible that lesions on the brain caused by long-term malnutrition and lack of oxygen-carrying cells to the brain may play a role.
Tearing of Esophagus — caused by self-induced vomiting.
TMJ "Syndrome" — degenerative arthritis within the tempero-mandibular joint in the jaw (where the lower jaw hinges to the skull) creating pain in the joint area, headaches, and problems chewing and opening/closing the mouth. Vitamin deficiencies and teeth grinding (often related to stress) can both be causes.
Weakness and Fatigue — caused by generalized poor eating habits, electrolyte imbalances, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, depression, malnutrition, heart problems."
LINKS:
http://www.gurze.com/client/client_pages/ads/magnoliacreek.html http://news.therecord.com:80/article/454834
http://news.therecord.com:80/News/Local/article/466009
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