To ask my psychiatrist to prescribe Ensures

[busyweeks78]

I’ve been struggling with eating for a while. I’m now nearly a stone underweight. I’ve been thinking of asking for Ensures as I find liquids easier. Will I look silly for asking?

Sorry you haven't been well. Why don't you ask for a dietitian referral?

You can ask, but I’m not sure they’ll do it. Would you be willing to see a dietician if that was suggested?

The final decision will be by your GP though, as the psychiatrist can only recommend it (if they agree). Many practices will only prescribe if your BMI is very low and you have also been referred to a dietician.

Could you I put yourself soups, smoothies, milkshakes etc help boost your diet?

You won't look silly but if you are in the community and under primary care and seeing psych on outpatient basis it's probably the GP budget this comes from so I don't think the psych will prescribe - they may suggest to GP to prescribe.

They won’t refer to any eating disorders services here unless your bmi is very low. My gp aren’t easy to get an appointment with and aren’t great when you can either unfortunately.

I'm sure you can buy these from pharmacy and don't need to be prescribed?

My dietitian/nutritionist will prescribe anything I ask for. My GP can't prescribe them. I had a feeding line until recently.

@busyweeks78 do you have any history of eating disorders? Luckily I'm slightly overweight at the moment, but with a documented history of anorexia (total loss of appetite, not deliberately starving myself) if I were to need the extra support these drinks would give, enquiring with my psychiatrist to have them work alongside my GP would be the plan.

You can buy build up drinks like Ensure for a reasonable price.

My son has them for disability \ eating disorder. He had to see a dietician who then write to the Gp then the gp does the script and it's not easy to get on prescription anymore my son was severely malnourished and was 5" 6 weighing under 6 stone and it still was hard to get

You can buy these (and the equivalents like fortisip, nourishment and complan) in most pharmacies and most supermarkets. Some of them are much cheaper than others. They can be really really cheap online, too. IMHO it's often easier to just buy them than try to get a prescription, as half the time you'll spend ages trying to get the prescription only to be told to buy them yourself anyway. Also, if you pay for your prescriptions it's often cheaper to buy your own

There are strict criteria for NHS prescribing of dietary supplements now.solely wanting them to make eating easier is not one of them.
My dsd with anorexia nervosa cannot have them on nhs prescription as she is able to eat, has no swallowing or metabolic absorption issue.
We buy them.

The problem is that it is not generally ideal for people to be dependant on calorific drinks, so they won't be prescribed unless the psychiatrist is very concerned about your immediate well being.

I have only ever known them to be prescribed for people with an eating disorder in line with dietician advice, and on a reducing plan where proper food replaces the supplement over a number of weeks.

It might be better to think about what regular food might be easier for you to eat.

Thank you for replying. I only intended to use them short term.