Teen Eating Issues/Disorders Support Thread 2

[myrtleWilson]

Our first thread is almost full. Here is our second - a place to seek and share advice, to lament and scream with rage and sadness, to celebrate each other's successes as we navigate the choppy waters of supporting our children with eating disorders.

All are very welcome, whether you're at the start of this journey or a more seasoned traveller.

I'll link this thread to the first one and then I thought it may be helpful if on joining this one we did a quick precis of our current situation.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eating_disorders/4016379-teen-eating-issues-support-thread?msgid=104736115

oh gosh Lougle i hope all is ok.

Roolet12 I think you are right I need to ask again for the meds. DD must be below 75% now, she's lost a kg in the last week and was around 75% before that. She was not depressed prior to ED she was the opposite really engaged, wanting a lot from life, trying her best and bubbly...... She's flat out refusing to eat any snacks now and the meals are taking forever (and are not yet at the full levels of her meal plan).

She can see no reason in any of this fuss we are making and refuses to believe there is a problem. I don't think we've made any mental progress in the last month and her weight has fallen.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday I finally managed to get her to eat a wrap and a cheesecake. Then the hospital called back to say bring her in. But as she's eaten I said we'd muddle on.

I'm so sorry to hear that your DD is struggling so much, too.

@Lougle.......phew! Christ these blips take years off don't they. Glad she's eaten now.

@SoTiredneedHoliday I would push for meds personally or at least proper consideration of the risks/benefits for your DD. Once wfh gets so low,.they really are at the mercy of their cognitions and its incredibly difficult for them to overcome them enough to get the food ( =medicine) in. I often think about the Minnesota study (so fondly quoted by Camhs when they're finding reasons not to deliver I.T at low wfh!...) - that's pretty powerful evidence of A.N cognitions being induced even in previously ED free individuals. Surely bottom line is, if cognitions are precluding weight gain, and meds can help with cognitions, then there is a case for meds.

@AnaCanDoOne later teens sound such fun! Can't wait for that experience x3. . I guess regretting doing stuff and experimenting is all refreshingly "normal" behaviour - which in the context of (frequently abnormal) ED patterns of behaviour, is actually quite a welcome thing..

Oh God Lougle that sounds really stressful, hope you're okay.

Well the big news here is dd has said twice she is hungry 😲 I'm wondering if this is the start of the extreme hunger some recovering anorexics get?? It's not actually meant dd has eaten any more than she usually would but we did have a chat about listening to your body and the body needing food for healing.

I let her make pudding again today and she did well with it, another Oreo recipe which must have been lots of calories.

Roo I think I'm noticing something similar in dds resistance to food, she'll still say she doesn't want it etc but the pure fear she had before has definitely lessened.

Hopefully baby steps in the right direction....

She's getting her other tooth out tomorrow morning so that will be fun 😐

@Girliefriendlikespuppies hooray for hunger!!

DD1 has had 720 calories so far today . We've decided to split her evening dose and I've given half now, 30 minutes before dinner, and half before bed.

I have made millionaire's shortbread today. 375 calories per square. So I'm hoping that she'll be tempted by that.

Yay for hunger girlie - DD is experiencing extreme hunger now as she's grappling with recovery -she says it is like nothing she's experienced before - describing herself as a bottomless pit.

Hope the millionaire's shortbread does the trick lougle and you're able to keep away from hospital

Sounds like everyone has had a few fraught days. I’m so sorry, this bloody illness is set to drive us all bonkers before it lets us go.

We’ve had a good few days following a rotten few days so right now I’m just catching my breath. Have spent the full day creating DDs birthday cake to her exacting specifications. It’s been a bloody long day but the amount of offcuts and ‘tastes’ of buttercream and toffee sauce that’s she’s eaten without even thinking about it is heartening. I just hope after all this effort she eats more than a sliver

Well the rispiridone isn't working at the regime. I'm not saying it can't work, but it isn't working on 500mcg/250mcg. Just completely battled through the day. Eventually got 1300 calories in, including my millionaire's shortbread, but that's 1700 less than she was eating on the olanzapine.

@Lougle I dont remember the dose DS was on but as you say, it may be a case of needing to up things. Lets hope so..and here's hoping that DD can resume her upward path tomorrow. Psych appt tomorrowwill be good timing by sounds of it.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies and @myrtleWilson

Glad hunger is back! Those messed up pathways must recover with increased amts of eating. Our DD would never allow herself to say she's hungry- it's still a dirty word for her I think. Hopefully in time she'll be able to.

Girlie the pre food fear you mention might be v much like DDs? For her it's always the run up to and the first sight of food that's difficult and when she can explode. Never really afterwards or during which I find interesting. Today she smeared angel delight over several cloth napkins (which wound me up - couldnt just be one, all got decorated..). After that little ritual she got on with it and was perfectly fine.

@exLtEveDallas your cake sounds delish. Do hope DD has a decent birthday and gets to enjoy some.

He only ate the bacon from his sandwich (left the bread) at lunch and two sausages at dinner plus a mouthful of mash and that’s it for today.

@NelleBee 2 rashers of bacon and 2 sausages total 500 calories at best. I don't want to scare you, but that is a 'red' (high risk) criteria on the Junior MARSIPAN checklist. I think you need to take him to A&E to be checked over.

The trouble is, children can seem really well until, well, they aren't. Even if he seems quite normal to you, he may well have electrolyte derangement, heart rhythm problems, and low blood sugars.

It's not enough to let you worry. He needs some help. Fast.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.hpft.nhs.uk/media/1425/foi-2363-30-11-2016-eating-disorder-service-junior-marsipan-risk-table-attachment.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjjk5vk7tPvAhWQT8AKHaVfBp0QFjAEegQIFRAC&usg=AOvVaw3WU_WhQvFt4qCOtQFCagr9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Checklist as the screenshot was blurry.

Yeah that does sound similar roo dd gets upset at the thought of food and the first sight of it but then (generally) accepts it and eats it (she will only ever allow herself to eat 90% of anything which is annoying though.)

Tonight we watched some tiktok videos of a girl with an ED trying to recover. I have mixed feelings on it tbh, dd I think found it helpful as could relate to a lot of what the girl was saying. I obviously noticed that the girl still seemed pretty unwell and her food choices weren't always ideal (lots of salads etc.)

Hmm, will have to keep an eye on it.

Lougle sorry you've had such a stressful few days, it definitely sounds like the respiridone isn't working. Hopefully the Dr can help when you speak to them.

Oh dear. He’s fast asleep so I’ll leave him for now as he was awake most of last night. So this is probably why he’s getting a fast heart rate then? I’ve taken him to A&E before when his heart has been going crazy. There have been many days when he’s only eaten some Doritos and toast.

The problem is also that he is demand avoidant so a direct request will be met with a refusal, I need to try and get him to eat without him knowing that’s what I’m trying to do. Its also hard he has an autistic sibling who wants to eat everything and anything and is overweight so I’m simultaneously trying to make sure he doesn’t eat too much.

@NelleBee yes, it's likely. Does he drink fluids well? Dehydration causes tachycardia (fast heart rate). I understand that it's difficult, but he really is in danger if he's eating so little, regardless of whether he has Anorexia or ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder).

@NelleBee that does sound pretty concerning - hope you can spk to someone and get him checked over tomorrow if necc. When DD's intake hit rock bottom & she'd had practically nothing for about 3 days she started being sick ( just bile) as her body went into ketosis which was v serious. ( body breaks down fat as fuel to try to gain enough glucose to function)
.Your DS is having some intake, albeit quite low but just be aware of any nausea. Must be so challenging for you dealing with both DS's - hope you get the support you need asap..

Well, today is a new day. We see the psychiatrist today.

Good luck, hope its helpful!

We're just back from the dentist,very proud of dd who coped with this extraction much better than the last one. For an autistic child with a huge needle phobia she coped brilliantly with having the needle in her mouth for a good 20mins as well as all the pushing and shoving it entailed 🌟

Good luck today Lougle hope the Dr is helpful.

Lougle I hope the appointment goes well!

We see ours tomorrow and I am worried DD might be headed to inpatient care. She has lost weight, down another KG as at last Thursday and simply won't have any of the snacks or a supplement in replacement.
She is totally in denial - she thinks we are all crazy and she is fine.

She drinks water fine but She's only eating:
1 cup cereal with almond milk
1 sandwich at lunch with ham & hummus
family meal - good portion same as mine
Muller corner

What happens if they decide she needs inpatient? What is the process etc

@SoTiredNeedHoliday I'm sorry that your DD is not responding. They look at physical observations as much as anything to see if it's safe. Generally, there's a real shortage of beds so a general hospital admission is used until a tier 4 bed is found.

DD1's obs weren't great today. Her BP dropped on standing and her heart rate was quite high. She has put on 1kg though.

The psychiatrist was talking about 'avoiding hospital but we might end up back there' and was very concerned about her mood. So she's changing her back to olanzapine, but has prescribed orodispersible tablets, so that I can give her a quarter dose in the day time, as the smallest tablet is 2.5mg and cutting that in half still sedated her too much. So she'll have 1.25mg at night and 0.625mg in the morning. She's also going to phone on Thursday and may increase her fluoxetine at that point if her mood remains low.

@Lougle glad you have a new route to try with olanzapine as this really seemed to help your DDs appetite last time. Fingers crossed.
@SoTiredNeedHoliday that sounds so tough hope the appointment went well.
@NelleBee how is your DS today are you getting him checked out?
We are off for bloods this afternoon.
We floated the no home exercise plan at weekend which went down as well as could be excepted but we are going for it. She has club stuff every day except Fri which is her rest day. All coaches aware and I have no doubt it will help her in the long run. But we have out a stop to core work, speed walks and ladder work and field d[work at home. I have no doubt the club sessions will be less intense....
She is starting to struggle to eat the amount of food she needs. It is going to be hard as all her training is in the evening and so she won’t ‘burn any of it off’ in the day. She has just forced down her lunch, soup, roll, 100g tuna Mayo, salad and i0g yog. Her brothers ate a small pizza each! I did say to her that if she would bring herself to eat things like pizza the volume of food would go down....
She did eat 4 lime Doritos off plan yest as she fancied them
I also wonder if she isn’t at the right weight for her. Or almost. She has always been very slender. I am aiming higher to help her mental state but I think hunger may be abating somewhat..ll

That sounds sensible lougle, your dd def seemed better and generally more relaxed on the olanzipine. From what I've seen the sedation side effect does wear off after a bit anyway.

Lots that also sounds very sensible although can imagine your dds response!! Hopefully she will get used to the new routine and start to relax a bit, you're going to need eyes in the back of your head though!!

Dds gone back to school, she said again she's hungry today and she picked a snack for this afternoon which she doesn't normally pick with the words 'I'm passed caring' 😵

I'm really hoping something is starting to shift slightly.

We had soup for lunch, a tin of tomato soup which I added double cream and half a tub of mascarpone in to 😁 it was really delicious!! Have just discovered mascarpone, as far as I can see it's the most calorific soft cheese going and I can add it to most things sweet or savoury.