The ultimate goal in the treatment process is a regularization of the patient’s dietary pattern and also restoration of the patient’s health to normalcy.

As with anorexia, treating bulimia is never usually a one-man show. It requires inputs from a general physician as well as a psychiatrist or at least a psychologist. Who becomes the primary doctor depends on how serious the case is.

Again depending on the seriousness of the disease, a patient may be treated either as an outpatient at the treatment facility, or may be admitted. A patient is usually admitted to the facility if there are too many complications, or if the disease has reached a stage where it has become life-threatening.

Drug therapies

There are numerous drugs available nowadays that are actively used in the treatment of bulimia. These include antidepressants of different classes:

• SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (fluoxetine or Prozac).
• MAOIs or Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
• Tricyclic antidepressants
• Buspirone

Of all these, the most widely used medication are the SSRIs, as they have very negligent side effects.

Counselling is important

Besides medication, the patient requires continuous counselling to ensure that the deeper issues of self-esteem, control, etc. are resolved. Doing this is vital, as once the deeper problems are taken care of, the other problems become easy to handle. Besides, nowadays there are various support groups available whom the patient can turn to for help and encouragement during and after the recovery process.