Jeanine could not control her voracious appetite. She was painfully conscious of her body image but when the compulsion to eat occurred she felt powerless to stop it.

When she began eating she couldn't stop, not until she felt literally sick to the stomach and filled with self-disgust.

Jeanine never let anyone witness her binges. When she ate with others she would adopt a different eating pattern, an imitation of normal eating behavior. Once the eating stopped it was replaced by a different kind of torture. Her distended body felt unbearably disgusting.

The cycle was self-perpetuating. Jeanine could no more control her desire to binge than she could control her subsequent compulsion to be rid of the food she had just gorged on.

Bulimics typically vomit following a binge, sometimes up to several times a day, but this is not the only way that they seek to compensate for their excess. Often excessive exercising, laxatives, enemas and diuretics are also used in an effort to keep the weight down.

Unlike sufferers of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimics tend be within the normal range of body weight. Though they cannot control their behavior around food they are normally aware that their condition is not normal. They may suffer from extreme guilt, shame and fear. These emotions tend to exacerbate the whole cycle.

Experts have failed to come up with a cause for this eating disorder though they have isolated a particular perfectionist personality as being particularly at risk. Perfectionism, Type A personality and an overemphasis on physical appearance tend to be present.

Treatment focuses on breaking the binge purge cycle often with behavior modification techniques coupled with individual, family or group therapy. Support groups offer 24/7 assistance for the recovering bulimic.