Anorexia- 16 year old boy.

[Rainbowsparkle]

Does anyone have any experience with teenage boy’s and anorexia? My son is 16. Like most teenagers he went through a stage of gaining a bit of puppy fat before having a massive growth spurt. In his head he still sees that boy. He’s 5 “10 and weighs 8 stone. He works out so he burns more calories than he consumes. Weighs everything he eats. Doctor has referred him to a eating disorder clinic. I just wondered what to expect. I’ve removed scales from the house, I cook his favourite foods to try and encourage him to eat them. I’m stuck between trying not to make it an issue and wanting to secretly add fat to his good. He looks so gaunt 😢

I’m a MH nurse working in an ED service so I will try & give you a brief run down of what to expect...

So depending on what area you live in will depend on how the service you have been referred to works. Usually you will be offered an appointment for an assessment, this may take place over the phone or video call at the moment. The assessment will probably be both of you together, then some time with each of you alone. They will ask about his physical & mental health, symptoms related to the eating disorder, family set up, any past traumatic events/life stresses. He may need to go for blood tests & other physical checks (weight, height, blood pressure, ECG).

After assessment is usually where each service differs. The first line treatment for AN in under 18s is family therapy with input from a specialist dietician initially too. If he is significantly underweight this will start sooner rather than later. You will be asked to take control of all meals, you decide what to prepare & what he eats. Normal portion sizes, normal meals. Eating together is a big thing too.

B-eat are the UK eating disorders charity & they have a lot of really good info on their website. The also run online carers groups weekly.

Feel free to ask any more questions, I’ll try & answer if I can

Thank you so so much for replying. We do eat dinner as a family at the table. Lunch and breakfast not so much as we both work. I do prepare lunches for each of us so there is something to eat. I’ve removed the scales from the house so he can’t keep weighing himself. I am pretty much constantly on some kind of diet so can’t help but feel this is my fault.
My older sister was anorexic as a teenager. She ended up in residential treatment. I can’t believe I didn’t act on my gut earlier and listened to my husband when he said I was being paranoid. 😢

This is not your fault! First thing we say to parents when we meet them, eating disorders are so much more complex than that.

You spotted the signs early on & you’ve got him help, you did all the right things. Keep talking to him, try & get him to open up about his feelings rather than focusing on the food.