Is there anyone I can ask for a referral to that might be able to help my daughter?

[Donatella]

She is 13 and has had a fairly restricted diet for many years. She goes through phases where she will eat more but most of the time it is very limited. Her usual daily diet is
B - eggy bread (bread dipped in beaten egg with a little milk and fried)
L - often doesn't eat as she isn't really hungry but if she's at school might buy a snack from the canteen like potato wedges, chicken goujons, or a pain au chocolat
D - generally either pasta, plain with a bit of spread, with sweetcorn or carrot sticks, or chicken dippers with oven chips/new potatoes and baked beans. Sometimes sausages, or if I've Ben able to get to Iceland she'll have their Gregg's sausage rolls.
Snack - chocolate chip brioche/toast

So basically a lot of white carbs and processed meat with minimal veg. She'll have an occasional apple, but doesn't like any other fruit (or even anything fruit flavoured like squash/sweets/fruit juice). I can't get her to take vitamins as the chewable ones are fruit flavoured, she tried swallowing a tablet once and found it difficult so won't try again. She won't even take pain killers when needed as calpol have changed the taste of Calprofen and she doesn't like anything else.

We had a chat last night (at her instigation) and she is quite upset about it. She gets quite anxious about a lot of things (was seen by CAMHS for a while a few years ago), and health is one of them. She knows it isn't healthy, and wants to eat more, but gets too anxious that she won't like it. I want to try and help her with the psychological side of things but I'm not sure how. She is a healthy weight (about 5'3 and under 8st) so it's not an immediate physical issue but I'm worried about general health long term and also about how much it is upsetting her. A couple of years ago she was having issues with frequent nausea and the GP referred to paediatrics, they suggested going dairy free as milk seemed to be a trigger (we had tried lactose free which had helped a bit) and that did help the nausea quite a bit but didn't get rid of it. However the next step was to try omeprazole but she refused to even try it so I didn't bother filling the prescription and cancelled the follow up appointment as there's not much point if she won't take the treatment. The nausea is much better and she has started bringing back some dairy (like the pain au chocolat!) so I'm not sure we can go much further with that.

Any thoughts on how I can get some help for her? Or should we just keep on as we are (she has agreed to try some new things this week!) and see if it improves as she gets older as I know it does for many fussy eaters?

Bump

Some similarities with one of mine. The limited choices, feeling sick etc. Nausea/anxiety about feeling sick was a definite cycle and one of the main drivers in seeking assistance. However, she was underweight (always had been since toddlerhood).

I took her to a paediatric consultant and had blood work to rule out celiac & check iron, thyroid etc. All were normal so we were referred to a dietician which was really helpful.

She talked through the need to vary food and gave lists of suggested food. In our case, an aim was to increase calories to increase weight. The dietician suggested lactose-free milk, we have since reintroduced regular cows milk. I'm not sure what triggered the improvement, one or a mix of the above, but she connected with the dietician and took on board what she said. We attended for a few months. The nausea is gone and her appetite is good with an improved, more varied diet.

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/types/arfid

Does this seem to ring any bells?

@nocoolnamesleft

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/types/arfid

Does this seem to ring any bells?

Possibly, but I don't think it's quite that extreme. She doesn't have any weight or growth issues, although she probably does have some nutritional deficiencies. I might look into it a bit more if things don't get better soon. She did eat 1.5 fish fingers tonight which she has refused for quite a while, and she is saying she wants to try some other stuff so we'll see if she actually does.

@3girlsmama

Some similarities with one of mine. The limited choices, feeling sick etc. Nausea/anxiety about feeling sick was a definite cycle and one of the main drivers in seeking assistance. However, she was underweight (always had been since toddlerhood).

I took her to a paediatric consultant and had blood work to rule out celiac & check iron, thyroid etc. All were normal so we were referred to a dietician which was really helpful.

She talked through the need to vary food and gave lists of suggested food. In our case, an aim was to increase calories to increase weight. The dietician suggested lactose-free milk, we have since reintroduced regular cows milk. I'm not sure what triggered the improvement, one or a mix of the above, but she connected with the dietician and took on board what she said. We attended for a few months. The nausea is gone and her appetite is good with an improved, more varied diet.

Interestingly, one thing that seems to have struck home is learning about nutrition in Food Tech at school. She recognises that it needs to change so let's see if it does.

I think sensory issues were/are a factor in our case, strong reaction to some smells for example. Anxiety is there in the mix. Good luck, I hope you see improvements. I would consider the dietician option if needed, I was a bit dismissive (quietly!), but on reflection, I think it was something to do with being encouraged/guided by an expert that helped her most.