# Drive-by Bulimia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339 "2008-05-23T05:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/1 "2008-05-23T05:25:39Z")
Earlier tonight, Mrs. WeHaveCookies and I were in the car waiting to turn right at a busy 6 lane intersection. The lane we were turning into was full of bumper-to-bumper traffic that wasn’t moving an inch. So we were pretty much looking directly at the passenger side window of a black car in front of us. Into this window appeared a thin, pale girl in her late teens or early 20s, wearing a pony-tail. She seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with the driver of the car, whom I could not see. She laughed and said something over her shoulder at the driver, leaned further out the window, shoved her whole hand into her mouth, puked onto the crosswalk in front of Og and everyone as if all she was doing was sneezing, and then promptly went back to her giggling conversation without missing a beat. Truly a professional, and truly not what I wanted to be looking at. But it all happened so fast and casually that my neurons didn’t even have a chance to fire and direct my gaze elsewhere. Perhaps I am just ignorant of some of the subtleties of conditions such as Bulimia, but is such a public display something that can be considered common? I could really only see her head and neck and part of the arm attached to the hand that she shoved down her throat, and while she was thin, she wasn’t visibly skeletal or anything. I know that not all Bulimics are super-skinny, but if I had not witnessed what had occurred immediately prior to and after the puking, I would’ve just figured she’d had some bad scallops for dinner or something. Just a bizarre moment that has become a vivid and uninvited guest in my memory. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/2 "2008-05-23T10:10:45Z")
That is bizarre. But do you think maybe she was just some college aged girl trying to puke out her drink? I’ve seen some co-eds do that in my business - make themselves throw up to get sober. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/3 "2008-05-23T12:31:16Z")
My younger sister use to do that–go to an all-you-can-eat place, stuff herself, go to her car, slug straight vodka, then lean over and puke. One day as her left arm was outside her car she got broadside and her arm was crushed! She almost lost it and she was left-handed. ---
**Author:** ![Jpal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a698b9/32.png) [@Jpal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/4 "2008-05-23T12:48:24Z")
It is odd but I never see dudes puking in public, just girls. Maybe it’s because I’m always looking at women and doing my best to ignore men. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/5 "2008-05-23T12:57:12Z")
Just drop by one of our football games and you will see a veritable landscape of vomit. Night games are the worst as everyone starts boozing at 7:30AM. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/6 "2008-05-23T13:04:24Z")
Gross! I puked out of a car once when I had a stomach bug, but I was definitely not laughing at the time. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/7 "2008-05-23T13:08:12Z")
Recovering bulimic here. That’s odd, usually people hide their eating disorders. The only thing I can conclude is that she was either drunk, and trying to purge to sober up a bit, or bulimia has become a fad of sorts. Either way, it’s disturbing. I also should add that the majority of bulimics are at a healthy weight or overweight. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/8 "2008-05-23T14:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=EmAnJ] I also should add that the majority of bulimics are at a healthy weight or overweight. [/QUOTE] [Example.](http://www.johnbakersblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/prescott.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/9 "2008-05-23T14:25:22Z")
My own personal experience. I occasionally suffer from what’s called a esophageal spasms which the result that whatever I am eating piles up in my esophagus rather than going into my stomach. The only solution at that point is a finger to the back of the throat. One time some friends and I were out and we went through the Subway drivethrough. After a couple of bites I knew I was having trouble. I pulled over, leaned out the door, did my thing and drove on. Friends were suitable mortified, even after I explained. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/10 "2008-05-23T14:25:44Z")
As mentioned by EmAnJ, most bulimics go to great lengths to hide their illness. There’s a component of shame and self-loathing that tends to come hand-in-hand with most eating disorders. I lived with a bulimic roomie for two years, and it didn’t become obvious what was going on until a year and a half in when things escalated to the point that she was too depressed to hide her habits effectively. Binges were usually confined to middle of the night when the rest of us were asleep, and vomiting was disguised as an “allergic reaction” (of course, how much of this was rationalisation on her part and how much was conscious attempts to lie about her illness is unknown). Even at its worst, I never ever saw her binge openly, let alone induce vomiting so casually before returning to a conversation. That’s downright bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/11 "2008-05-23T14:33:50Z")
I had a migraine on Sunday during an outing with my husband. He drove us home very carefully, avoiding bumps and sudden stops, but it was a very, very close call if I was going to have to make him pull over so I could hurl by the side of the road. I surely wouldn’t have been laughing about it, though. I’ve thrown up out of my car before, in similar circumstances; I had migraines and was so sick I couldn’t make it to a private place. Once while driving the entire length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/12 "2008-05-23T15:09:03Z")
Nothing about the situation indicated that she was drunk, or that she was ill or uncomfortable, which is what made is so bizarre. The amount she blurbed up couldn’t have been more than a cup, all in one splat. There was no heaving or hanging out the window moaning and sluring about too many Long Island Iced Teas. No holding her head in pain. It was as if she was a laughing, puking pez dispenser. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/13 "2008-05-23T15:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] My own personal experience. I occasionally suffer from what’s called a esophageal spasms which the result that whatever I am eating piles up in my esophagus rather than going into my stomach. The only solution at that point is a finger to the back of the throat. One time some friends and I were out and we went through the Subway drivethrough. After a couple of bites I knew I was having trouble. I pulled over, leaned out the door, did my thing and drove on. Friends were suitable mortified, even after I explained. [/QUOTE] I have that too except I usually have to just stop eating and after several minutes I’m able to get the stuck food down with only some spitting up of ‘fluid’. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/14 "2008-05-23T15:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=Projammer] I occasionally suffer from what’s called a esophageal spasms which the result that whatever I am eating piles up in my esophagus rather than going into my stomach. The only solution at that point is a finger to the back of the throat. [/QUOTE] I’ve got a similar condition as the result of a fundoplication - if I eat too rapidly, or don’t chew sufficiently, food will sit on top of my stomach. Bread is a prime trigger for this. Thankfully, I’ve never had to forcibly eject any of it - if I stop what I’m doing, focus my attention on relaxing the stomach and taking a couple sips of water, that’s been enough to let things pass. But, “Hahaha, giggle giggle, scuse me, _hork_, haha teehee…” is just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/15 "2008-05-23T16:09:13Z")
Right-on. Esophageal spasm-ers of the world unite. It runs in my family–bread usual triggers it for us, too, though just sitting quietly for a minute solves it for us, too. I didn’t know that it could get so bad that the food would have to come back up. ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/16 "2008-05-23T18:00:20Z")
I had the esophagus-back-up problem too, but it’s mostly gone now. Nexium took care of most of it, and I also had a procedure done to stretch my esophagus. For me, it was triggered by spicy food. The first time it happened to me, I was at a Thai restaurant. I felt the familiar GERD discomfort and tried to drink some water to soothe it… but instead, my esophagus filled up with water! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/17 "2008-05-23T21:48:29Z")
This reminds me of the incident on a country road. A person hangs out the window and heaves for a couple minutes while the driver who was older kept driving at somewhere around 25 miles an hour. They were driving slow for a mile already, and didn’t slow down for the puking. I guess if they are not worried about vomit down the whole side of their car, or the person falling out the car while it’s moving I shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jhinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@jhinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhinman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/18 "2008-05-23T23:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies] laughing, puking pez dispenser. [/QUOTE] Band name ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/19 "2008-05-24T01:14:06Z")
Bloody hell, I thought life was bad because I get severely nauseated if someone \*spits \*in public near me. ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drive-by-bulimia/450339/20 "2008-05-24T01:39:36Z")
The only time I’ve ever puked out the car was a result of morning sickness, or more appropriately, “All Day Sickness, Especially Worse When Passing A Taco Bell.” Her driver had no reaction? gaaaah!