Binge eating/ eating disorder in 10 y/o boy

[Holly03]

So I’m not sure when this started but for the past 2 months my child has been making himself sick. He is over eating and then physically making himself sick saying something is stuck at the back of his throat. He does this up to two to three times at night in the early hours of the morning and I’m not sure what else to do. At first I thought he was being sick from over eating. It’s exhausting as he is sneaking down the stairs when we are all asleep. I’ve walked into his room today and he has been sick this morning after eating a few bites of a sausage sandwich and then would not explain what happened or why he has been sick! Any advice as I’ve tried to approach it calmly and ask why he is all of a sudden doing this

I work in eating disorders but in the adult service, but I’ll try to help.
Firstly, has he always over ate? Is he overweight? Do you know how he is making himself sick? Are you able to talk and see if someone has made a comment about body image at school?

An eating disorder is all about the mindset - is he making himself sick to rid himself of food and excess calories? Or, is he genuinely feeling something in his throat? Ones a psychological issue ; the other is a medical one.

Taking him to the doctors is important as making oneself sick has many repercussions. Electrolytes are lost, teeth can rot, ruptures etc. I’m wondering if it’s a case of anxiety after eating so much , as anxiety can cause a lump in the throat and can cause one to over eat. Ultimately, it can come down to two questions:

1. is this disordered eating
2. or is this an eating disorder Both are different. But I would strongly suggest going to the GP As you may get a referral to cahms. Sorry I haven’t been much help but I hope it all works out ok.

Also to add, sometimes Acid reflux can cause a lump feeling in the throat - but again may not be the case.

He did have acid reflux as a baby and it seems to be hereditary in our family. He says he has a spot at the back of his throat that sounds like he has scratched it from making himself sick. I’m booking in at the doctors tomorrow to see what they say as we have just moved areas so I may need to use my old doctors whilst the paperwork goes through on my new one. The only thing I can think of he has said in recent months is about the schools promotion of healthy eating and he has made some comments about exercising more. He’s never mentioned his weight and he is tall and very thin to be honest so not over weight, which is why it concerns me as he has always been a good eater and never over ate to this extent, he’s always picked at sugary items. I’m thinking a YouTube ban may be necessary as I’ve checked the content on there and I can’t see anything but it may have slipped through the net as he seems to be watching many things on there and does repeat to me what he has seen and heard on there(it tends to be fact based videos about how common left hand:right hand is) but he has also started looking into adhd since he is aware of his diagnosis of asd and adhd. It’s such a tricky one to tackle as I had an eating disorder at his age but mine was based on weight issues and it was anorexia. It didn’t last long as it was a phase and it’s something I’ve never spoken to anyone about or anyone knows. I’m hoping maybe some sports like boxing may help as he struggles with sports like football with it being more rule based, possibly seeing if the coaches could approach the subject on healthy eating and looking after his body.

Hey,

If you do want an excellent place to start. Visit www.BeBodyPositive.org.uk.

It has a library of interactive resources that both you and your daughters could use.

Be Body Positive offers psychoeducational and self-guided resources on normal eating, body image, and the distinction between disordered eating and eating disorders.

We also have a free webinar for parents that talks about Be Body Positive and how parents could use the website to help their children improve their body image and their relationship with food.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/support-young-people-to-be-body-positive-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers-tickets-657490229977