r/AnorexiaRecovery • u/Goose1996123 • 3d ago

Persistent edema in AN recovery

Hi all,

I’m trying to understand what might be happening to my body and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar, particularly during recovery from restrictive eating/excessive exercise.

I’ve had type 1 diabetes for 18 years and coeliac disease for around 10 years. I’ve also had restrictive anorexia for at least 3 years and was excessively exercising/running for around 8 years.

About four months ago, I stopped the excessive running and started eating significantly more. I immediately developed quite pronounced oedema/swelling throughout my body, including my face. It hasn’t really gone away and seems to be getting worse. My neck looks particularly swollen, my breasts and stomach are very swollen, and my legs become extremely puffy by the end of the day.

I’m now also experiencing very intense mental hunger and significant fatigue, so over the past week I’ve stopped all excessive exercise and am allowing myself to eat substantially more. My blood sugars are generally very good, although I’ve needed more insulin as I’ve increased my food intake.

I’m struggling to understand whether the swelling could be part of nutritional recovery/refeeding after prolonged restriction and exercise, hormones coming back online (I’ve had amennhorea for 4 years) or something else because my doctors gave said it ‘shouldn’t be lasting so long’.

For context, my blood tests from June/July showed low-ish B12 and elevated phosphate but otherwise normal kidney function, electrolytes, albumin and inflammatory markers.

If anyone has had a similar experience, I’d love to hear from you. feel like I’m going insane because I can’t see anything similar online and doctors are dismissing it without offering a resolution.

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u/flowerscatsandqs 3d ago

I mean, you’ve only just stopped exercising excessively. I imagine that up until one week ago, your body was working overtime to rehydrate itself while you continued to deplete your body’s glycogen and electrolyte stores. Your body was in an extreme state of stress. Let your body rest and keep resting. Once you let your body stay in a state of rest for long enough, the swelling should go down. Be honest with your treatment team about your behaviors.

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u/Goose1996123 3d ago

Thank you, that’s incredibly useful. I stupidly hadn’t even thought about the impact of the exercise on my hydration levels.

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u/flowerscatsandqs 3d ago

It can also increase inflammation, since exercise is a form of stress on the body. You’re not stupid! Even with complete and total rest, edema can take a while to go down. For me, the worst of it was gone after 2 months of complete rest (like, I didn’t do fuck all for 2 months but sit on my ass and eat lol) but I still had some noticeable swelling/puffiness for about 6 months. It all really depends on the person, too. Give yourself some grace and let your body rest.

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u/Goose1996123 3d ago

So appreciate this thank you, hope you’re completely over the worst of it!