Re: OCD and Eating Disorders

[Guest guest]

How they diagnose medical versus anxiety versus eating disorder is to evaluate

her for each one. Anxiety and an eating disorder can be treated together as

they co-exist. To rule out a medical reason for abdominal pain, you'd have to

keep a diary of foods she eats, bowel habits, and when and how often the

discomfort arises. A good exam will help to point out how bad the anorexia is

and if she has some immediate needs for nutrients such as vitamins, ect. The

tests are prescribed based on the history and can run the gamut from blood tests

to endoscopies. It's probably a good idea to look into all of it, but it does

sound like an eating disorder.

Your daughter can get well and be happy. My best friend was a severe anorexic

into her young adulthood (hospitalizations, feeding tubes, et al). She remains

thin, but not too thin. She graduated college and now has 3 children and a

husband of 12 yrs. She's a wonderful person and helps explain anxiety to me in

ways that I couldn't understand otherwise because I lack that experience. I

hope your psychiatry appointment helps and that you also can begin therapy soon.

Best wishes,

bONNIE

>

>

> Hello All,

>  

> I recently read a post from a here who's daughter was diagnosed with

anorexia, and was put on Prozac. She mentioned that the anorexia turned out to

be yet another symptom of the OCD. I'm at such a loss with my own dd9. She has

OCD and GAD, and possible Asperger's. She's lost 15 pounds since February. Now

at 9 years old, she weighs 5 pounds less than she did at her 8 year old

check-up!

>  

> We just can't figure out what is causing it. Sometimes she has bad thoughts

that keep her from eating, a gross picture in her head or the realization about

" where " the meat on her plate comes from (but she loves meat in general). We

have to play games at the table to distract her so she'll focus on something

else and then eat.

>  

> She complains all the time about her stomach, but the physical exams and

radiographs have turned up nothing. She is on Zantac 75mg twice daily, with no

change. Now she is on Prozac 10mg once daily to bring down her general anxiety.

It seems to have helped overall, but the eating hasn't changed any. She takes

Melatonin at night to get past the anxiety rise and get to sleep.

>  

> On top of all this, she asked me the other day how she can still have " folds

of fat " on her belly and how the pretty girls on tv can become so " skinny with

beautiful flowing hair " (she was sitting down when she noticed the all-together

natural folds of her little belly). So I'm fearful we're looking at an eating

disorder. She did admit to the therapist once that she's afraid of becoming fat.

It doesn't help that I have a weight problem (too much, that is), so I'm not the

best role model I suppose. We have an appointment FINALLY with a psychiatrist

this Friday, but how do they really diagnose medical vs. anxiety vs. eating

disorder in these young girls?

>  

> Thanks for listening...I keep up with the posts here, but often I have no real

advice because my family is so new at this (even though we've been at it almost

a year, we are far from having any answers ourselves), but I admire each and

every one of you on this journey!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know if this is helpful at all, , but when my Mom took

Melatonin, it made her stomach hurt. She now takes Benadryl to help her sleep.

Did you notice if the stomach pain started at the same time as introducing

something new to her system? Just curious.

Then again, just stress and anxiety can cause stomach pain and upset. It's so

hard to unravel everything sometimes.

BJ

>

>

> Hello All,

>  

> I recently read a post from a here who's daughter was diagnosed with

anorexia, and was put on Prozac. She mentioned that the anorexia turned out to

be yet another symptom of the OCD. I'm at such a loss with my own dd9. She has

OCD and GAD, and possible Asperger's. She's lost 15 pounds since February. Now

at 9 years old, she weighs 5 pounds less than she did at her 8 year old

check-up!

>  

> We just can't figure out what is causing it. Sometimes she has bad thoughts

that keep her from eating, a gross picture in her head or the realization about

" where " the meat on her plate comes from (but she loves meat in general). We

have to play games at the table to distract her so she'll focus on something

else and then eat.

>  

> She complains all the time about her stomach, but the physical exams and

radiographs have turned up nothing. She is on Zantac 75mg twice daily, with no

change. Now she is on Prozac 10mg once daily to bring down her general anxiety.

It seems to have helped overall, but the eating hasn't changed any. She takes

Melatonin at night to get past the anxiety rise and get to sleep.

>  

> On top of all this, she asked me the other day how she can still have " folds

of fat " on her belly and how the pretty girls on tv can become so " skinny with

beautiful flowing hair " (she was sitting down when she noticed the all-together

natural folds of her little belly). So I'm fearful we're looking at an eating

disorder. She did admit to the therapist once that she's afraid of becoming fat.

It doesn't help that I have a weight problem (too much, that is), so I'm not the

best role model I suppose. We have an appointment FINALLY with a psychiatrist

this Friday, but how do they really diagnose medical vs. anxiety vs. eating

disorder in these young girls?

>  

> Thanks for listening...I keep up with the posts here, but often I have no real

advice because my family is so new at this (even though we've been at it almost

a year, we are far from having any answers ourselves), but I admire each and

every one of you on this journey!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, I can only give you my thoughts from my experience, but I will share

if it might help. I am 53, have GAD and OCD (flares now and again), and I had

anorexia as a teen. What my psychiatrist explained to me was that the anxiety

emerges in different ways at different times of life. Now I have mostly GAD

symptoms (I'm on Lexapro so that helps). When I was a child and also when

pregnant, the OCD flared badly: intrusive thoughts, etc. When I was a teen, it

was obsessing over food and weight. Speaking " from the inside out " I honestly

think it was a little " ocd-ish " in nature, but also rooted in anxiety: fear of

getting fat, maybe fear of growing up, need to control my environment,etc. Lots

of things intertwined, maybe. There were definitely rituals involved with the

eating. And those rituals eased anxiety. So I guess you could say it fit the

OCD criteria.

Just my thoughts from having " been there " , but everyone is different. As to the

stomach pain, of course you want to rule out anything physical, but maybe she is

hyperfocusing on her stomach? I'm not saying its imaginary, but I used to

hyperfocus on a single body part. I know that sounds so weird now, but that is

the way it was! The psychiatrist can help you sort all this out. I remember

going through alot of medical testing in my teens as my folks tried to get to

the bottom of things (of course this was back in the 70s before eating disorders

became more well-known).

I wish you all the best in this journey with your daughter. This is tough, but

she CAN make it through this and heal.

Hugs,

Tina

>

>

> Hello All,

>  

> I recently read a post from a here who's daughter was diagnosed with

anorexia, and was put on Prozac. She mentioned that the anorexia turned out to

be yet another symptom of the OCD. I'm at such a loss with my own dd9. She has

OCD and GAD, and possible Asperger's. She's lost 15 pounds since February. Now

at 9 years old, she weighs 5 pounds less than she did at her 8 year old

check-up!

>  

> We just can't figure out what is causing it. Sometimes she has bad thoughts

that keep her from eating, a gross picture in her head or the realization about

" where " the meat on her plate comes from (but she loves meat in general). We

have to play games at the table to distract her so she'll focus on something

else and then eat.

>  

> She complains all the time about her stomach, but the physical exams and

radiographs have turned up nothing. She is on Zantac 75mg twice daily, with no

change. Now she is on Prozac 10mg once daily to bring down her general anxiety.

It seems to have helped overall, but the eating hasn't changed any. She takes

Melatonin at night to get past the anxiety rise and get to sleep.

>  

> On top of all this, she asked me the other day how she can still have " folds

of fat " on her belly and how the pretty girls on tv can become so " skinny with

beautiful flowing hair " (she was sitting down when she noticed the all-together

natural folds of her little belly). So I'm fearful we're looking at an eating

disorder. She did admit to the therapist once that she's afraid of becoming fat.

It doesn't help that I have a weight problem (too much, that is), so I'm not the

best role model I suppose. We have an appointment FINALLY with a psychiatrist

this Friday, but how do they really diagnose medical vs. anxiety vs. eating

disorder in these young girls?

>  

> Thanks for listening...I keep up with the posts here, but often I have no real

advice because my family is so new at this (even though we've been at it almost

a year, we are far from having any answers ourselves), but I admire each and

every one of you on this journey!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

HI ,

Many eating disorders are connected with OCD.  I found this out just recently

while I was investigating Remuda Ranch, an intensive treatment place  for eating

disorders, originally, but have now extended their programs to include an

anxiety program. It is only for girls. although they do accept boys, but in a

different area.  

My daughter does not have an eating disorder, but we are most likely going to

send her there for her OCD.  It has a 90 to 95% success rate with eating

disorders and they are using the same techniques with the anxiety program.  You

might want to check out their website.  I am quite impressed with them thus far.

Remudaranch.com  It is located in Wickenburg AZ, about an hour north of Phoenix.

Good luck to you!

Debbie

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Tina, I appreciate you sharing your journey. I'll continue the

investigation! :-)

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

Re: OCD and Eating Disorders

, I can only give you my thoughts from my experience, but I will share

if it might help. I am 53, have GAD and OCD (flares now and again), and I had

anorexia as a teen. What my psychiatrist explained to me was that the anxiety

emerges in different ways at different times of life. Now I have mostly GAD

symptoms (I'm on Lexapro so that helps). When I was a child and also when

pregnant, the OCD flared badly: intrusive thoughts, etc. When I was a teen, it

was obsessing over food and weight. Speaking " from the inside out " I honestly

think it was a little " ocd-ish " in nature, but also rooted in anxiety: fear of

getting fat, maybe fear of growing up, need to control my environment,etc. Lots

of things intertwined, maybe. There were definitely rituals involved with the

eating. And those rituals eased anxiety. So I guess you could say it fit the

OCD criteria.

Just my thoughts from having " been there " , but everyone is different. As to the

stomach pain, of course you want to rule out anything physical, but maybe she is

hyperfocusing on her stomach? I'm not saying its imaginary, but I used to

hyperfocus on a single body part. I know that sounds so weird now, but that is

the way it was! The psychiatrist can help you sort all this out. I remember

going through alot of medical testing in my teens as my folks tried to get to

the bottom of things (of course this was back in the 70s before eating disorders

became more well-known).

I wish you all the best in this journey with your daughter. This is tough, but

she CAN make it through this and heal.

Hugs,

Tina

>

>

> Hello All,

>  

> I recently read a post from a here who's daughter was diagnosed with

anorexia, and was put on Prozac. She mentioned that the anorexia turned out to

be yet another symptom of the OCD. I'm at such a loss with my own dd9. She has

OCD and GAD, and possible Asperger's. She's lost 15 pounds since February. Now

at 9 years old, she weighs 5 pounds less than she did at her 8 year old

check-up!

>  

> We just can't figure out what is causing it. Sometimes she has bad thoughts

that keep her from eating, a gross picture in her head or the realization about

" where " the meat on her plate comes from (but she loves meat in general). We

have to play games at the table to distract her so she'll focus on something

else and then eat.

>  

> She complains all the time about her stomach, but the physical exams and

radiographs have turned up nothing. She is on Zantac 75mg twice daily, with no

change. Now she is on Prozac 10mg once daily to bring down her general anxiety.

It seems to have helped overall, but the eating hasn't changed any. She takes

Melatonin at night to get past the anxiety rise and get to sleep.

>  

> On top of all this, she asked me the other day how she can still have " folds

of fat " on her belly and how the pretty girls on tv can become so " skinny with

beautiful flowing hair " (she was sitting down when she noticed the all-together

natural folds of her little belly). So I'm fearful we're looking at an eating

disorder. She did admit to the therapist once that she's afraid of becoming fat.

It doesn't help that I have a weight problem (too much, that is), so I'm not the

best role model I suppose. We have an appointment FINALLY with a psychiatrist

this Friday, but how do they really diagnose medical vs. anxiety vs. eating

disorder in these young girls?

>  

> Thanks for listening...I keep up with the posts here, but often I have no real

advice because my family is so new at this (even though we've been at it almost

a year, we are far from having any answers ourselves), but I admire each and

every one of you on this journey!

>

>

>

>