MacDonalds ARFID Query

[Verbena17]

Hi
Does anyone who mostly relies on macd’s food for their ARFID loved one, find it tricky to get plain options made correctly?

What i mean is, say if you order a ‘plain’ burger, so that would mean zero onion, gherkin, ketchup and mustard, have you found a failsafe way of ensuring they make it plain, and not with little piece on onion stuck to the paper wrapper or say a streak of mayo slopped down the side of the bap etc? DS won’t let me say out loud at drive through window (that’s his choice obviously) to them he’s autistic with ED. If I go back in without him, I’ll tell them he’s autistic with ED. It would reduce so much of DS’ anxiety if he knew he would be getting a decent one each time.

We spend £££’s at Macdonald’s on DS’ safe foods and have a multitude of ones to go to, should one fail in making it ‘plain’. The miles i drive to and fro is huge too but that’s fine - I do it for him to get his nutrients and calories.

I know this sounds like a non-problem to many people but the amount of times DS won’t let me go back in to swap it and the guilt I feel going in and asking them to swap it as DS has an eating disorder, etc is endless!

Ive even asked staff members the best way to order to ensure it’s completely plain. I know Macd’s says they cannot guarantee ‘no allergens’ and that’s fine but this isn’t an allergy - it simply means a lot of wasted food because they’re not careful enough to ensure it’s plain, plain…..not plain with bits of not plain stuff in 😂.

Fortunately DS has "gone over" to Chicken Mcnuggets after a few years of tediously ordering Filet of fish with no tartare,extra mayo and cheese. And Fanta with no ice.

He's also developed a taste for battered fish i.e. fish and chips without the chips

Both. Predictability and consistent texture are the main things for my child.

It’s predictable and the textures, flavours and presentation of the food remains consistent.

Yes! They are usually ok but often the order comes with unwanted cheese.
I always check my son’s order at the counter - even if this is a drive thru. I never drive away without checking it. Then if it’s wrong we can wait in the bay while they bring the correct order. if they get it
(he doesn’t have Arfid but is autistic).

Macdonalds is always the same, wherever you go. Utterly predictable

I work at McDonald’s and the most fail safe way to do it is to order a plain hamburger - bun and meat separate. If you want to be extra sure just tell them it’s for allergy reasons and ask if they can wear gloves when preparing. We do not wear gloves otherwise.

If that’s impossible and if using the drive thru I’d just check before you drive away from the window. Annoying for you and them as the longer you’re at the window the higher their drive thru times are but the best way to do it to ensure accuracy.

Thanks, this is what I always thought, probably a bit of a stupid question. I’m tired and we’re on our second maccys of the weekend this evening

I work at McDonald’s, all the burgers etc are made to order so asking for plain should be enough- there certainly shouldn’t be bits of sauce or relish gone astray. A lot of people will quickly check their order at the window once we’ve handed it out, so any mistakes are realised before they’ve driven off.

Hmm 🤔
My DS is 19 and has had ARFID since birth (then called selective Eating Disorder).
I breastfed him for 2 years and exclusively breastfed him to 6 months, when I did baby led weaning. He choked on everything except purée. After he was 12 months+, he started decreasing and refusing multiple foods he previously ate.

He was diagnosed as autistic aged 11 and officially diagnosed with ARFID in 2020/2021. Until this June, he has never NOT been underweight.

He has an older sibling who was 3 when he was born and so when he was about 4 or 5 on holiday, he tried chicken nuggets.
He never ate them from MacDonalds ever again until he was probably about 15, when it was suggested by a paediatrician to offer him anything he would eat, including MacDonalds.

With people underweight by 3 stone most of their developing and growing life and who are very nearly needing to be NG or PEG fed, offering them nuggets and fries really isn’t a big worry. Not letting them die from being underweight or malnutrition becomes the most important thing.

Whilst he still very much has ARFID, my DS suddenly this June decided he was motivated enough himself to increase his calories and weight lift to, develop muscles he’s never had. He is currently eating 3440 cals a day - same foods and same schedule. He is now not underweight for the first time in his life but he’s still only 10st10 at 6ft tall, and that’s due mostly to the protein, fat and carbs he gets from eating chicken nuggets and triple cheeseburgers. Plus cereal with milk and milkshake at night. Once autumn is properly here, and the summer midges have vanished, he’ll be brave enough to start making his nightly pork stir fry with noodles instead of the burgers.

I could cry every day with the huge achievements he’s made in just a few months - in June he weighed only 8st 11 and was barely eating anything so I don’t care that he has MacDonalds every day.

You can check out my Ask Me Anything thread about ARFID posted a year or two ago, if it’s still there.

The thing is though, when I’ve driven for 20 mins to get there, being refunded isn’t the issue - it means he will be down over 1000cals that day. He’s getting slightly better at having the wrong order in the car - a few months back, he would had refused to eat anything for a day or so if say there had been mayo on the wrapper or a piece of onion in the burger.

As long as doesn’t get mayo on his hands, he can now eat a replacement if I take it back in.

You must work in a brilliant McDonalds because sadly, it’s more often than not ‘contaminated’ with something not supposed to be in there.

He refuses to wait at the window to check. Checking takes him multiple minutes - he has to look under each burger and lift up the edges of the cheese to check. It’s very precise! 😂

Also glad to see such lovely and informative replies from posters explaining ARFID to some of the more ignorant replies!

Thanks. So how do you mean about ordering them seperately? How will arrive in the bag if you don’t mind me asking?

My DH once told them it was an onion allergy and they said they couldn’t make it! In their small print they cannot guarantee allergens it says. So we have never mentioned allergy before.

If you specify them separately you’d probably get the bun on its own wrapped in the normal paper, then the meat patty in a chicken nugget box or similar.

Can I ask you all as parents to hide with ARFID - has any of them ever got over it? I have it and on my 40's. Only just discovered the term. Been seeing a psychiatrist for it but getting nowhere

@slaymother aha brilliant - that’s good to know. What about the cheese though? Or would they put that on the patties?

I’ve been buying “plain” Big Macs for years for my 16 year old son. If we are at the drive thru, we say completely plain and no cheese please and that usually does the trick.
Eating inside is better as you can use the self serve machines and edit what’s on the burger.To be fair to Maccies near us we hardly ever have an issue, it just takes a little longer to come out of the kitchen.

Hi - so you could go directly to your GP and ask them to refer you to adult eating disorder services to be assessed for ARFID. However, there may not be adequate funded services in your area yet but you could try. The NHS understands about ARFID now and GPs do too.

I think that unless your psychiatrist understands ARFID well enough, it could be more harmful than not seeing them at all.

I'm fortunate as my child will allow me to "check" the food before I give it to them so I am able to place it into a happy meal box and therefore I am able to spot the bits of onion, etc. I do find ordering on the app usually means the order is correct as when I order at the window it's often wrong.

And this will be no help at all but my child has just turned 10 and switched to Burger King. Although there are fewer of these they have been very accurate with the plain burgers. To the point last week they gave me one which wasn't plain and then came running out to the car park to tell me and apologise with the plain burger.

To the people asking what happened before McDonald's (or Burger King), my child would literally have milk and bananas along with toast. That was it. I was so happy when they discovered McDonald's. My younger child is so throughly bored of McDonald's they would rather eat anything else. My younger child has a healthy diet but this causes problems as my child with ARFID is affected by others eating near them so is physically sick.

OP good luck I hope you manage to find a solution that works for you and your child.

@Malone thanks but unfortunately DS refuses to go inside and also, even when I go inside and use the machines, there are often mistakes and onion dropped into wrapper or burger.

Wish I lived near one that takes much more care. 😥

@Verbena17

Thank you so much for your response. I'm lucky enough to have Bupa private care through work and am going to a specialist but not rating it. He seems to think as I'm intelligent I can do what I know makes sense. Not so as we know too well!

@Thisismyusername1 thats brilliant! I’m going to try and convince him to try a Burger King then - although our nearest for miles (8 miles away) is currently being refurbished but will defo tell him about their plain cheese burgers.

Ah so if you have Bupa, you could see if they will fund a private ED clinic such as the Orri Clinic in London, if that’s doable for you? I’m sure there are others too, or even individual specialists who bupa will fund near to you.

I hope it helps. My son has switched completely and they are so friendly (and the one near us has no waiting time). It did take my son a year to build up and to try one!

Tell them he has an allergy to the raw veg: they will then change their gloves. But you need to order face to face.