Hi everybody. I gather the intention of this thread is for users to gain some insight into the various kinds of treatment available for eating disorders so here goes with my d's story, which I hope is helpful. I first realised something was wrong around 19 months ago when I found my d's school packed lunches putrefying in a bathroom cupboard. D was 14 then. I had known d was trying to lose weight but had thought she was going about it sensibly including me giving her lighter school lunches and going jogging with her occasionally. D admitted she had started to take things too far but said that was enough now so she'd stop. At that stage I went alone to discuss my worries with our GP who told me to observe but not nag, so a couple of months went by with things seemingly steady. Then d went into exam mode and started to look exhausted and dressed heavily in hoodies and trackies at home but seemed to be eating normally. Til one day I found her throwing her breakfast down the waste disposal at which point I made her get on the scales and was horrified by how low her weight was. The good thing for us looking back was that d told me immediately she'd been eating normally in front of us, but hardly at all when we weren't around, and she's purged whenever she could. The biggest horror was that d then announced that now it was out in the open she didn't want to purge so would just eat far less instead, and we'd have to live with her decision. So I took her straight to the GP who referred her immediately to our local Camhs (Child and adolescent mental health services).
I had been told by another mum that you can wait several weeks for an appointment so I decided to take the letter into camhs myself and literally wept at the desk begging for a fast appointment, which we got 3 days later.
The first appointment was a family meeting with the head psychiatrist and the nutritionist for assessment. The prescribed treatment at that stage was that d should have a few sessions with the nutritionist in the hope that would turn things around. Unfortunately d refused to engage with the nutritionist and her weight went lower. After a few weeks we asked that d be given someone other than the nutritionist to speak to one to one, and they agreed she could see the Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. Meanwhile d's behaviour at mealtimes had become increasingly worse; she would scream and cry for at least an hour after every meal whilst her weight decreased further, and camhs told me she was getting very close to the point where they would want to admit her. Camhs explained they would send us extra help in the meantime in the form of the home crisis team, who would supervise mealtimes and help d through the post-meal stress, thus giving us a break. Really that is when d decided to take the first step to maintaining weight. I felt it was the first time d took it all seriously and realised the summer she had planned was about to evaporate into a stay in and edu.
So about this time last year d's weight stabilised and she continued with the CBT and still regular visits from the home crisis team which seemed to then help d take the decision to try to restore some weight. By the end of the summer holidays things seemed to be on a much better trajectory, the crisis team were taken off the case and d continued with the CBT. I should add that we had gotten rid of the scales at home from the start and the CBT took over the weighing every week. However d made it very clear at that stage she didn't want to gain any more weight and things stayed pretty steady until the end of the year when she started to gain a bit more. Her periods had stopped almost as soon as she went to camhs and then over the Xmas holidays she had a period again. Everyone except d were delighted about this and she proceeded to restrict again to keep her weight just below where the period had returned.
After new year the CBT left camhs and was assigned a general psychiatrist instead for weekly weighing and psychotherapy. After a couple of months d's general mood definitely took a turn for the better, she became much more sociable and seemed to be having a good time and I felt it should only be a matter of time until she decided to take that next step to getting her periods back. Not so far! Another 4 months have gone by with d sticking at the same weight.
However, my d and I talk a lot, which has been a great help through all this, and she started telling me exactly how badly she feels about her body and that she had heard that body image therapy and group therapies might help her with this. After discussion with camhs it became clear that they don't have the specialist resource to be able to offer d such intensive therapy so I did my own research and came up with a private edu who offer bespoke day patient treatment. So over the summer holidays d is to be treated there as day patient, thankfully covered by our health insurance, in the hope that d can be given the tools to start to make a full recovery.
We are keeping our camhs very much in the loop since I am very aware that this may not yield the result we desire and the insurance money could run dry, so we want to keep on the nhs books. Camhs have assured me of that ongoing support and are intrigued to see what the private treatment brings.
I will add that throughout the horrendous journey, d has managed to stay in school full time, take her GCSEs, do work experience, go on holidays and hold together a good social life. It has been a nightmare at home a lot of the time and I have to acknowledge it could take some months or years yet for d to make a full recovery. But I know she can do so and I am confident that she now wants to recover, which is a crucial part of the process.
The Beat boards have been a life-line to me throughout this period and I hope that new users here find the help and support they need.
All the best, Jenny x