Looking for those battling anorexia

This may be of some help:

http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources

With regards to the family doctor...is the doctor that busy that they cannot fit in what should be an urgent appointment? Does the person making the appointment know the issue?

Hi there
My family encouraged me to seek treatment for Anorexia roughly 10 months ago. The first thing I recommend (and was suggested to me) was to see my GP and ask for a referral to see a clinical psychologist for an official diagnosis. My psychologist diagnosed me with AN and then we commenced the re-feeding and CBT treatment. My psychologist referred me to see a dietitian who specialized in ED cases who was able to develop a meal plan that was both comprehensive enough to put weight on quickly enough for my body to heal and also at a pace I could handle without completely freaking out. I was also placed on Lexapro to reduce ED related anxiety during the re-feeding process.

My psychologist also recommended a book to my Mum and partner which would make understanding my illness and caring for me easier, My mum really raved about it. It's called Skills-based Learning for Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder (New Maudsley method written by Treasure, Smith and Crane

I wish your daughter and your family luck with her recovery. Just remember it will get much harder before it get's better and recovery isn't a straight journey, there are plenty of bumps along the road.

Also! I forgot to add, please please please do not let her wait till April the sooner you tackle this the better. If she has confided in you and you're slow to react, I can tell you from experience, it will feed her ED and since it's highly psychological, may cause her to try and prove how sick she really is (With further restriction/Purging etc)

linanneasley wrote: »

Hi fellow MFP folks. I am turning to those in this site who are currently battling/conquering Anorexia/bulimia. My 12 year old daughter has finally confessed to me that she has been starving and purging. She says for the last 2 years, I am certain for the last 4 months I've seen major red flags. I'll do what ever I have to in order for her to be healthy. She's gone from 98lbs to 85lbs. I called our family doctor and he can't see her until April. I can't wait that long. I need to get her into some kind of treatment now. Now that she and I have opened dialog about her situation I'm asking from you, what helped. Counseling? Dietician? I don't think she's so far into it that she requires long term facility treatment. Suggestions.

I highly recommend checking out aroundthedinnertable.com!
They are a group of amazing caregivers for those with eating disorders, who will never give up. The site is extremely active.

linanneasley wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your comments and concern. Of course at this point, since I live in a small community, no one will see her. They don't do either 'young people' or 'body image issues'. I'm now looking farther out of town for some qualified help. In the meantime she and I will go to the book store and start reading together.

You will need to travel to get her the help she needs ASAP. Living in a small community isn't an excuse. Your daughter needs help and she needs it now.

If you can afford it, I'd look into an inpatient program.

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

linanneasley wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your comments and concern. Of course at this point, since I live in a small community, no one will see her. They don't do either 'young people' or 'body image issues'. I'm now looking farther out of town for some qualified help. In the meantime she and I will go to the book store and start reading together.

You will need to travel to get her the help she needs ASAP. Living in a small community isn't an excuse. Your daughter needs help and she needs it now.

If you can afford it, I'd look into an inpatient program.

Maybe you should read the rest of the posts before offering your input. OP has updated us. But of course, your contributions always bring a special...um..."something" to the conversation.

OP, you're doing a great job. Don't give up and follow your instincts. You know your daughter best. Continue to educate yourself and advocate for her. You're the hero she needs. Best of luck to you.

linanneasley wrote: »

clyn27 wrote: »

I have no experience with this I just wanted to tell you, you sound like an amazing mother. As a mom myself I know how important and uplifting it is to be reminded that you are doing a good job during those hard times. So I am here to tell you that you are doing a great job, keep up the good work and know that you are doing an amazing job taking care of your daughter.

Thanks so much, I just burst into tears at work. I'm freaking out with guilt and self blame. She has seen the doctor and is now down to 79 lbs. And the want to put her on prozac, which scares the hell out of me. But in the mean time, how am I suppose to get her to eat? I'm reading everything i can find and trying not to push but gently encourage. The doctor showed her her BMI chart she went from 75% to 3%, and it didn't register as a concern with her. He hooked me up with 2 more doctors to further continue her treatment, but of course thats another 2 weeks, so in the meantime I'm going to keep her talking with the lady I found on my own, who seems to understand my panic. Thanks so much to you all for the support. I'm trying to keep this really close the the chest until I know fully what I'm dealing with and how much I should talk about it, I appreciate this form as a way to vent and just get some of it out.

@linanneasley‌ Prozac is an SSRI which are fairly safe when compared to TCAs. Eating disorders are a complex disease because they have both psychological and physical components. Prozac is an anti-depressant but has been used to treat anorexia because it usually increases weight and improves mood. So it helps the physical components of anorexia. Whether it helps the actual anorexia behaviors/thoughts (psychological component) is dependent upon the patient taking the medication.

Give it a shot. It may help her.

Some_Watery_Tart wrote: »

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

Some_Watery_Tart wrote: »

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

linanneasley wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your comments and concern. Of course at this point, since I live in a small community, no one will see her. They don't do either 'young people' or 'body image issues'. I'm now looking farther out of town for some qualified help. In the meantime she and I will go to the book store and start reading together.

You will need to travel to get her the help she needs ASAP. Living in a small community isn't an excuse. Your daughter needs help and she needs it now.

If you can afford it, I'd look into an inpatient program.

Maybe you should read the rest of the posts before offering your input. OP has updated us. But of course, your contributions always bring a special...um..."something" to the conversation.

OP, you're doing a great job. Don't give up and follow your instincts. You know your daughter best. Continue to educate yourself and advocate for her. You're the hero she needs. Best of luck to you.

@Some_Watery_Tart‌ Excuse me?

If something I said was already repeated or the OP addressed it, my bad. I'm busy and don't always have the time to read through an entire thread.

Mental health facilities/treatment programs are scarce. Telling her that she will have to travel to get her daughter help is true. Saying she should look into inpatient programs is a good idea. So I'm not quite sure why you are being rude or giving me 'tude.

You know what they say… Unless you have something nice to say…..

Aw, there's that special "something" I mentioned.

I'm sorry you don't have time to read through 11 posts, but somehow have time to offer over 3400 comments to this forum. Perhaps, it is important to read through all of the posts (or all of the post by the OP, at least) before offering input on such a serious topic?

My comment was directed toward the fact that if you'd read *2 more comments*, you would have see that OP was successful in getting her daughter seen and has continued to aggressively advocate for her daughter. She made no excuses. She merely told us her situation. I found the tone of your reply, especially your statement "living in a small community is not an excuse", to be snarky given the OP's comments thus far.

Perhaps you might take a second look at how you present your opinion before hitting "post reply"? Because I certainly took what you said as critical toward the OP, and therefore offered my feedback on that.

OP, I won't derail the topic any further by continuing this side discussion. As the child of an anorexic, I understand your struggles and wish I could offer better insight. You do, however, have all my sympathies and best wishes for a full recovery for your daughter.

@Some_Watery_Tart‌ LOL. Pot meet kettle.

I'm honored you stalk me and know me so well. I can't say I've ever noticed you before. Since you follow me around so closely here, you should know I haven't posted in the forums in a while because I am busy with school, VP of PHS at my university, two jobs, internships, volunteering, etc. When I was very active in the forums, I didn't have as many commitments.

This is the internet. You cannot read emotion. So do not try to put an emotion on my comments.

But since you want to attack me… Your comments to me have been far from pleasant.

Hello , I'm also recovering from three years of anorexia . I am using P90X currently for muscle gain and increasing calories from 1800 ( baseline ) . Feel free to add .