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Eating disorders - Management
What specialist treatments are recommended for bulimia nervosa?
- Psychological treatments are usually offered first-line, for example:
- Evidence-based self-help programmes.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa.
- Interpersonal psychotherapy (although this takes longer to achieve results than CBT).
- For people with bulimia nervosa who have not responded to, or do not want, CBT — other psychological treatments should be considered.
- As an alternative or additional first step to using an evidence-based self-help programme, adults with bulimia nervosa may be offered a trial of an antidepressant. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (specifically fluoxetine) are the only drugs recommended.
- Very few drugs are recommended for children and adolescents younger than 18 years of age; and they should not be initiated in primary care.
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