Any “Good News” stories?

[HappyRainbow123]

We think our 11 year old has anorexia. She’s lost 5kgs in the last month (that's more than 10% of her body weight). Our first therapy appointment is this afternoon.

Trying to do as much fact finding as possible, and everything I’m reading is making me feel so very despondent.

Does anyone have any glimmers of hope? Any strategies that work? Everything I’m reading seems to suggest she might always suffer, she might become really very ill, we can’t force her to eat and it seems very dependant on me being calm and patient (we try ..but we have to work and we have another child too).

With a psychologist. We have BUPA, and it’s via BUPA talking therapies, but I’m not convinced they’ll be experienced with EDs. We also have a referral to CAMHS ED clinic - the first appointment (presumably an initial assessment) is next week.

Not diagnosed, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some traits.

So sorry you find yourself here. Great that you have an appointment with CAMHS ED clinic as they will be the best people to help both you and your daughter.
There's no quick fix but it's entirely possible to recover from this illness, especially when she's so young and you've caught it early. Be prepared for your daughter to be off school and you will have to be signed off work. You need to feed her 3 meals and 3 snacks a day (I know that sounds utterly impossible right now) in order for her to gain weight. This can only be done with a parent at home or a hospital stay. Either way, life will be very disrupted but your daughter can and will recover with the support she needs.

As you have BUPA, you should be covered for assessment by a private psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders. Don’t wait for CAMHS, just get a private appointment arranged as soon as you can. Good luck

Edit - sorry I missed that you have an appointment with CAMHS next week so you can keep the option of a private psychiatrist in case that isn’t helpful

I know this sounds dreadful, but it’d be a massive big deal to take time off, and I’m quite worried it might come to this. My husband is at risk of redundancy, I’m self employed and in healthcare and we’ve just has 12 months of juggling things with other major health issues in the family. :(

We are somehow managing to get three (small) meals and one snack into her. She keeps saying she’s not hungry, and didn’t want to eat breakfast as it’d mean she wouldn’t eat lunch.

im hoping CAMHS will be helpful, and suspect they’re in theory a very good team for this, but I know there are just such funding cuts in the NHS.

If you have the time please watch this video;

Ok, the title is not promising but the talk itself is very easy to understand and informative. Georgia Ede is a US bases psychiatrist who discusses the link between diet and mental health. She is talking about a ketogenic diet which is brain healthy. A ketogenic diet has been shown to help with mental health and eating disorders.

Best wishes.

This^

My DD is now 26 and fully recovered, graduated and working in a professional role, definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
Getting timely support and diagnosis is so important but so difficult.
I was eventually got signed off sick for 5 months for family stress and she was pulled from school so I could be, as CAMHS called it, her "eating disorder nurse"
It was not easy (serious understatement!) but hang in there.
I think a meal plan that you devise and no compromise is key.
Be prepared for it to take an hour to eat a meal, she may spit, hit out and throw things. It's an illness. Keep at it.
Lots of positive reinforcement.
But the fact you've been referred to a CAMHS ED team, although heartbreaking, is actually brilliant.
Mixed feelings about clinics, hospital as they can learn lots of negative behaviours and it actually become a deadly competition, it's not a supportive environment in my experience (patients not staff)
Wishing you and DD all the best💐

Thank you, yes - I will watch this.

Thank you. Yep, I can very much see myself being off work with stress ... I've actually had a really shitty year with my husband's health and so my resilience is very low. But unfortunately, finances blah blah blah

I was reading some Eva Musby stuff, about "taking charge" and being strict about meals. Which didn't resonate with me, as it felt very dictatorial and combative. However, as I read more, I can see why this approach might work.

The problem is, she doesn't see there is a problem. Doesn't think she should be eating more, doesn't see why we are worried. So I'm not sure she would agree to passing me control over food. Hopefully we will get more information about these sorts of things.

My daugther also couldn't see there was a problem, is never hungry etc. Having CAMHS lay down the law and explain how ill she was, explaining the results of her medical exam and telling her she was off school seemed to help get through to her. Nothing about this illness is easy or quick though. We're plodding on with the plan but there's no joy in food at the moment. My daughter is however improving and I know she will recover - eventually.
The info from Eva Musby is very useful and at the moment you need to be in charge of all food. I imagine you're feeling very overwhelmed by all of this at the moment, I was anyway!
I found it incredibly useful to read back on the support threads on here. It gave me an idea of what to expect both with the treatment plan, the impact on daily life and the behaviour of my DD.

I am wondering if “laying down the law” might help. At the moment we are trying to keep a light/soft touch, as not wanting a relationship breakdown. And we don’t want to scare her (or threaten her) with the idea of hospital. But it might make her realise that this is actually a real problem.

I’m really glad your daughter is improving, though, and hope things continue to get better x