Refeeding

[dabdab]

1. Has anyone managed to successfully refeed their child on a vegan diet?
2. Do you think it is possible to refeed at home with very little external support? We are trying, but not getting very far...

Please be very careful, depending upon how far their restriction has gone refeeding can trigger serious (potentially life endangering) physical issues.

Regarding veganism, my relative was also vegan before their eating disorder and was not permitted (I’m not sure if that’s the correct way of expressing what I mean there) to remain vegan during inpatient treatment.

Very possible to do at home, id say no to vegan as too often its a way to restrict. Message me if you need support

I'd be inclined to think if you can't find much information...it's because it's not a good idea.

As per PP, when someone is in recovery from an ED it is highly recommended to stay away from restrictive, of any kind, diets.

So why are you wanting to take this risk?

I presume you're talking in the context of anorexia, so if not, ignore the below. You should not be refeeding without specialist input. That doesn't necessarily mean inpatient, it can be done at home, but refeeding after starvation is a delicate process and getting it wrong can be dangerous. Most programmes wouldn't cater to veganism. Vegetarianism, yes, but not veganism. That said, if the child genuinely was vegan, of their own moral decision, before anorexia, then I think it should be accomodated, but that makes it even more imperative that you get specialist input to get the correct nutrients.

Thank you. I appreciate your advice. I would much rather that she was on a vegetarian diet (or omnivorous!) but she is not keen, and also an older teenager. We are trying to get more professional input, but the NHS wheels grind slowly!

I know they do - believe me, I know - but you need to push, you should not be winging this. I'm not saying this from an uninformed place, I have suffered from anorexia since I was thirteen, with some periods of remission. Unsupervised refeeding after starvation can be genuinely dangerous. I'm not trying to scare you - refeeding syndrome is rare, and may well never happen, but the worst case scenario is heart failure. I'm telling you this because I have experience and I'm genuinely worried about you trying to refeed a young person who has been starved without any external support, as you put it. I'm not trying to upest you but you don't sound very informed.

Hi . When my 12 year old was refeeding he was in hospital and he had bloods done once if not twice a day .
Refeeding can cause dangerous electrolyte shifts which can be dealt with easily once they are recognised.
Please get support when refeeding. Wishing you all the best .