Carla Lamb on dealing with anorexia, bulimia and now lupus

A Newfoundland woman who lives with the effects of various eating disorders is now having to learn how to manage her condition coupled with a recent diagnosis of lupus.

Carla Lamb has been living with anorexia and bulimia for about a decade, but the medication she has to now take to manage the auto-immune disease is a catch-22.

“When I found out that I had to go on Prednisone that was a mental [stressor] immediately,” said Lamb.

“You put on a lot of weight.”

Lamb now needs to take five pills per day to treat her lupus, pills that will have made her gain weight. It is a few extra pounds that Lamb is having to mentally deal with.

Dealing with new condition, extra weight

“I weighed myself once in over a year and I was still under 100 pounds, I’d imagine now that I am probably 110 pounds,” she said.

“Going for walks, doing any of these things, brushing my hair, getting a shower, oh my goodness, it is so painful,” Lamb said referring to her dry and cracking skin, a product of the mixed effects of years of malnutrition and medication.

Lamb said since being diagnosed with lupus she has had at least five fractures, and that doing things that many take for granted, like going out into the garden or wearing normal clothes, is difficult for her.

“I literally had to take a hospital gown from the hospital when I was admitted because that is the only thing that I can wear around the house.”

Lamb said now that she has been diagnosed with lupus she has a whole team of doctors, something she said she found difficult to find when seeking help for her eating disorders.

Those eating disorders make it harder for Lamb’s wounds to heal.

The weight gained from the medication she now needs to treat lupus is exaggerating the effects of having to live with anorexia and bulimia.

All things considered, Lamb said she will take a break from the lupus medication soon and hopes she is strong enough to maintain a healthy weight.