AED Tweetchat on Diabulimia

I have to admit that, when a colleague on the Academy for Eating Disorder Social Media Committee that I was co-chairing proposed “diabulimia” as an idea for a tweetchat, I was not particularly excited.  As an eating disorder specialist in outpatient private practice, I have not professionally encountered clients with diabetes and eating disorders. Since …

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Recognizing and Managing the Subtler Signs of Starvation in Children with EDs

Signs of Anorexia

This interaction on twitter caught my eye: Watching cooking shows, collecting and reading recipes, and cooking for others (but not eating it oneself) are some of the earliest signs of anorexia that are often missed and misinterpreted by parents.  In Keys’ landmark study “The Biology of Human Starvation” male volunteers were put on starvation diets.  …

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Surviving the first week of re-feeding

Family-Based-Treatment [image description: sugar cookies frosted with the words "Feed," "Love," and "Heal"]Surviving the first week of re-feeding your child using (Maudsley) Family-Based Treatment

In Family-Based Treatment (FBT), figuring out how to get your starving child to eat and gain weight is a daunting task. Parents often feel overwhelmed and helpless when starting out on a re-feeding program. It is important to remember that your child is literally more afraid of the food than of dying of starvation. But food is the medicine, and it is your job to save her (or his) life.

Anorexia makes children do things they would never normally do and an escalation of behavior is common when parents start to stand up to the anorexia. In fact, an escalation during the first week, although unpleasant and often scary, is usually a good sign that parents are not giving in to the anorexia. Consistent confrontation of the anorexia ultimately brings greater compliance as well as weight gain. It is imperative that parents work together and are well aligned; otherwise the anorexia can split them and gain strength.

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