Reversible myopathy secondary to abuse of ipecac in patients with major eating disorders

BINGE—PURGE eating behavior is characteristic of two major eating disorders: anorexia nervosa and the more recently described syndrome of bulimia nervosa. Patients with these disorders rapidly consume foods with a high caloric content, then purge themselves by various methods, including self-induced vomiting and the use of laxatives or diuretic medications. Abuse of such substances as alcohol, diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics is frequently cited as a medical complication of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. 1 , 2 The use of ipecac to induce vomiting, however, is seldom emphasized, although the drug may frequently be abused. The major attractions of ipecac to patients with . . .