|
9:54 PM |
No Comments |
* Lynne Lang was diagnosed with the eating disorder when she was 15
* Within 18 months her illness had spiralled out of control
* At her lowest point, Lynne weighed just five stone putting pressure on her body and causing her heart to almost stop
An anorexic teenager whose weight plunged so low her heart almost stopped is on the road to recovery – thanks to her love of cheerleading.
At 17, Lynne Lang, who is now 21, was diagnosed with anorexia, after her grandmother noticed she still had the body of a 15-year-old girl despite being much older.
Within 18 months, her eating habits had spiralled out of control and her weight continued to plunge to just five stone.
Motivated by her desire for cheerleading, Miss Lang was able to leave hospital after gaining weight and now maintains a healthy weight of eight stone
In 2012 Miss Lang, who has been cheerleading since age 11, was admitted to hospital with a dangerously low heart rate where she was told by doctors her heart would shut down if she didn’t gain weight and change her eating habits immediately.
With her heart on the brink of failure, Miss Lang, from Renfrew in Glasgow, was rushed to the local infirmary with a BMI of 12.5 – six units below the recommended healthy range.
It was there she was hooked up to a heart monitor and kept in hospital overnight with a worryingly low heart rate of 32 beats per minute (bpm).
Previously refusing to admit she had a problem, being put on a heart monitor turned out to be the wakeup call she needed.
She said: ‘I never realised anything was wrong until I got transferred to the royal infirmary, that’s when I knew it was serious.’
While Miss Lang (pictured left and right) is on the road to recovery, one in five of those with an eating disorder will die prematurely
At her lowest Miss Lang (pictured above) weighed just five stone, and had a BMI of 12.5 – six units below the recommended healthy range
‘There was a breakdown in communication and that was part of the illness.’
Though she had competed in cheerleading competitions in Florida, Glasgow, Liverpool and Nottingham, Miss Lang was now was banned from any form of physical activity – barring her from cheerleading indefinitely.
‘I lost everything, my friends, my family, my cheerleading; I lost my life,’ she said of the ordeal.
‘I was cold twenty four seven, unhappy, and exhausted, it was a constant struggle and when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, I had frequent blood tests and intensive therapy.
ANOREXIA WARNING SIGNS
* Mood swings – personality changes and mood swings are often experienced: these can be far more extreme and unpredictable than normal teenage moodiness
* Eating habits – rigid or obsessive eating habits – cutting food into tiny pieces and refusing to eat in front of anyone except close family members
* Clothing – many layers of loose baggy clothing both hide weight loss and keep the sufferer warm
* Vomiting/laxative use – these are signs of anorexia as well as bulimia
* Exercise – excessive exercise to prevent weight gain at the very least and sometimes to induce further weight loss
* Restlessness and hyperactivity
‘It put such a strain on my family, the list of my troubles could go on.’
Around 1.6 million people in the UK are affected by eating disorders, according to figures from Beat, a charity which helps people with eating disorders.
Mary George, a spokesperson for Beat, said that anorexia is often a coping mechanism for negative emotions of experiences, and shouldn’t be thought of as a conscious choice.
She said: ‘Eating disorders are not a diet gone wrong or a fad or fashion – someone doesn’t “choose” to have an eating disorder; they’re serious mental illnesses which are often a way of coping with difficult thoughts, emotion or experiences.’
She added: ‘Although we know many people make a full recovery from their eating disorder, one in five of those affected by an eating disorder will die prematurely – the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.’
Miss Lang was one of those who recovered. Shattered by the thought of never being able to cheerlead again, she managed to battle her life-threatening eating disorder to make an amazing recovery.
She said: ‘The thought of never cheerleading again was heart breaking though, nobody could imagine how much I missed it.’
* Within 18 months her illness had spiralled out of control
* At her lowest point, Lynne weighed just five stone putting pressure on her body and causing her heart to almost stop
An anorexic teenager whose weight plunged so low her heart almost stopped is on the road to recovery – thanks to her love of cheerleading.
At 17, Lynne Lang, who is now 21, was diagnosed with anorexia, after her grandmother noticed she still had the body of a 15-year-old girl despite being much older.
Within 18 months, her eating habits had spiralled out of control and her weight continued to plunge to just five stone.
Motivated by her desire for cheerleading, Miss Lang was able to leave hospital after gaining weight and now maintains a healthy weight of eight stone
In 2012 Miss Lang, who has been cheerleading since age 11, was admitted to hospital with a dangerously low heart rate where she was told by doctors her heart would shut down if she didn’t gain weight and change her eating habits immediately.
With her heart on the brink of failure, Miss Lang, from Renfrew in Glasgow, was rushed to the local infirmary with a BMI of 12.5 – six units below the recommended healthy range.
It was there she was hooked up to a heart monitor and kept in hospital overnight with a worryingly low heart rate of 32 beats per minute (bpm).
Previously refusing to admit she had a problem, being put on a heart monitor turned out to be the wakeup call she needed.
She said: ‘I never realised anything was wrong until I got transferred to the royal infirmary, that’s when I knew it was serious.’
While Miss Lang (pictured left and right) is on the road to recovery, one in five of those with an eating disorder will die prematurely
At her lowest Miss Lang (pictured above) weighed just five stone, and had a BMI of 12.5 – six units below the recommended healthy range
‘There was a breakdown in communication and that was part of the illness.’
Though she had competed in cheerleading competitions in Florida, Glasgow, Liverpool and Nottingham, Miss Lang was now was banned from any form of physical activity – barring her from cheerleading indefinitely.
‘I lost everything, my friends, my family, my cheerleading; I lost my life,’ she said of the ordeal.
‘I was cold twenty four seven, unhappy, and exhausted, it was a constant struggle and when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, I had frequent blood tests and intensive therapy.
ANOREXIA WARNING SIGNS
* Mood swings – personality changes and mood swings are often experienced: these can be far more extreme and unpredictable than normal teenage moodiness
* Eating habits – rigid or obsessive eating habits – cutting food into tiny pieces and refusing to eat in front of anyone except close family members
* Clothing – many layers of loose baggy clothing both hide weight loss and keep the sufferer warm
* Vomiting/laxative use – these are signs of anorexia as well as bulimia
* Exercise – excessive exercise to prevent weight gain at the very least and sometimes to induce further weight loss
* Restlessness and hyperactivity
‘It put such a strain on my family, the list of my troubles could go on.’
Around 1.6 million people in the UK are affected by eating disorders, according to figures from Beat, a charity which helps people with eating disorders.
Mary George, a spokesperson for Beat, said that anorexia is often a coping mechanism for negative emotions of experiences, and shouldn’t be thought of as a conscious choice.
She said: ‘Eating disorders are not a diet gone wrong or a fad or fashion – someone doesn’t “choose” to have an eating disorder; they’re serious mental illnesses which are often a way of coping with difficult thoughts, emotion or experiences.’
She added: ‘Although we know many people make a full recovery from their eating disorder, one in five of those affected by an eating disorder will die prematurely – the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.’
Miss Lang was one of those who recovered. Shattered by the thought of never being able to cheerlead again, she managed to battle her life-threatening eating disorder to make an amazing recovery.
She said: ‘The thought of never cheerleading again was heart breaking though, nobody could imagine how much I missed it.’
0 nhận xét:
Post a Comment