What causes electrolyte imbalance in anorexics?

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And heart conditions?

I'm looking for an answer more specific than "Because they don't eat anything".
Heart conditions are a result of the muscle degeneration that results from starvation. When a person doesn't give his or her body enough calories, the body begins to use fat for energy, but when in a state of severe starvation, the body also uses muscle to provide energy. This means that the body's muscle is slowly being "eaten away" by the body. Since the heart is also a muscle, the heart muscle begins to weaken, causing heart problems such as arrhythmias.
Bradycardia, or a slow heartbeat, is caused because the body does not have enough energy to properly pump blood throughout the body, and having a slow heartbeat conserves energy.
Electrolyte imbalances and low blood pressure can also result in serious damage to the heart.
Electrolytes are made up of minerals that ensure the health of the body. Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, especially potassium, can cause problems with electrolytes. Many people with eating disorders do not have the proper amount of vitamins and minerals, especially when laxatives or diuretics are used. Also, it is more difficult for the body to absorb vitamins and minerals without food, which results in further deficiencis.
An electrolyte imbalance can also be caused by excessive "water-loading" (drinking large amounts of water before a doctor's appointment to appear to weigh more) which throws off the body's balance of electrolytes.  (+ info)

can anyone tell me if an extreme case of nervousness could be caused by an electrolyte imbalance?

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also muscles constantly twitching, feelings of weakness, fatigue, dehydration.

what would be the best course of action?
There are many chemicals in your blood stream that regulate important functions of our bodies. These chemicals are called electrolytes.

Electrolyte Imbalance can cause a variety of symptoms.

Normal Adult Values
Calcium: 4.5-5.5 mEq/L
Chloride: 97-107 mEq/L
Potassium: 3.5-5.3 mEq/L
Magnesium: 1.5-2.5 mEq/L
Sodium: 136-145 mEq/L

What are some symptoms of electrolyte imbalance to look for?

As described, an electrolyte imbalance may create a number of symptoms. The symptoms of electrolyte imbalance are based on which of the electrolyte levels are affected.
If your blood test resluts indicate an altered potassium, magnesium, sodium, or calcium levels, you may experience muscle spasm, weakness, twitching, or convulsions.
Blood test results showing low levels may lead to: irregular heartbeat, confusion, blood pressure changes, nervous system or bone disorders.
Blood test results showing high levels may lead to: weakness or twitching of the muscles, numbness, fatigue, irregular heartbeat and blood pressure changes.

So the answer to your question is yes. nervousness can be one of the symptoms of electrolyte imbalance.

The best course of action would be :


Treatment of an electrolyte imbalance:

Identifying and treating the underlying problemcausing the electrolyte imbalance.
Intravenous fluids, electrolyte replacement.
A minor electrolyte imbalance may be corrected by diet changes. For example; eating a diet rich in potassium if you have low potassium levels, or restricting your water intake if you have a low blood sodium level.  (+ info)

What kind of fluid and electrolyte imbalance is expected from someone who is deceased?

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Only living organisms can exhibit electrolyte imbalance. Someone who is dead can not have imbalanced electrolytes.


Electrolyte Imbalance
Overview
Electrolytes are chemicals in the body that regulate important physiological functions. Examples of electrolytes are sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Electrolyte imbalance causes a variety of symptoms that can be severe. Electrolyte imbalance is commonly caused by loss of body fluids through prolonged vomiting, diarrhea, sweating or high fever. The most serious forms of electrolyte imbalance in cancer patients include high blood calcium levels, called hypercalcemia, or a disorder called tumor lysis syndrome that results in electrolyte imbalance from the killing of cancer cells. Both of these can be life-threatening if not managed appropriately.  (+ info)

Why is dehydration and electrolyte imbalance a danger in regards to burns?

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With a burn wound electrolytes are lost due to dehydration. When the body loses 20% of it's water electrolyte balance changes and water can not move through the body cells and it can be fatal.  (+ info)

electrolyte imbalance - how long for sports drink to take effect?

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I'm pretty sure I whacked up my electrolytes last night. Feeling kinda weak/fatigued, twitchy, occasionally mild lightheadedness.
I concocted my own version of a sports drink with a little salt and sugar, and I've been eating things with potassium and calcium.

Just wanted to know how long this might take to take effect and making me feel a little better?
  (+ info)

is there a chance of electrolyte imbalance? what would this do?

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for roughly 3 years now, ive been an 'on and off bulimic' id say, if this makes sense.
like, sometimes i can go a month with only purging once, then there will be times where im purging up to five times a day, so i dont think i quite fit the criteria to be a full blown bulimic.
but with this, what are the chances of having an electrolyte imbalance, and what are the effects of this?


thanks.
Going to refer you to another post just a while ago asking the same thing really.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Atel72lIBTwaDe9nKTbaaM_sy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090319124958AAHBrXY&show=7#profile-info-x1Bxehhcaa

Stop making yourself puke girls.. if you think being fat is unattractive.. wait til you have a tracheostomy sticking out of your neck, or at the very least dont have any teeth. Talk about unattractive.  (+ info)

Does having a minor heart attack from electrolyte imbalance mean your heart is weak?

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There is little or no blockage of the arteries, but low potassium. Does this mean that your heart is weak, permanently? Or just that things went crazy because the body's electric signals were temporarily messed up?
Problems caused by low potassium should be completely reversible if the potassium levels are corrected, unless there is a cause for ongoing potassium loss. If present, that also will need to be corrected. If the heart had stopped for a long time due to this, there could be residual problems after restarting. Only the treating physician will be able to assess this.  (+ info)

my brother died 1965 at 2months old,death record says from electrolyte imbalance,i have colonrectalcancer?

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in my moms side of family my 2uncles ,grandmother had stomach cancer,mom had lung cancer,they are dead now,and i have colon rectal cancer t3,2tumors. could my brother be another link to our cancers, still have 2more people with blood cancer,doing bad?
Fewer than 10% of all cancer cases are hereditary. And cancer diagnosed after the ge of 50 is even less likely to be hereditary.

Several family members having had different types of cancer is not hereditary; with one in three women and one in two men developing cancer over a lifetime of 80+ years, it's an unusual extended family that doesn't have a number of members with unrelated, non-hereditary cancers.

A sign that cancer MAY be hereditary within a family is when several members of the same family have had the SAME type of cancer, especially if some developed it at a younger than usual age.  (+ info)

How do you treat diarrhea with suspected electrolyte imbalance.?

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Young adult female, diarrhea for three days, has been eating, stomach cramps and dizziness, may have eaten some bad sandwich meat.
Gatorade for the elcrolyte imbalance wich will help you not be so dizzy. Water replacement for your lost water in general. What to do for your cramps? I don't know.  (+ info)

why does patients with community acquired pneumonia has electrolyte imbalance?

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Pneumonia is known to cause dehydration in some people thus throwing off the electrolytes.  (+ info)

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