eating disorder/depression

fiddle

hi, i had an appointment with my psychiatrist today who i originally started seeing because of my depression. then it transpired to him that i have anorexia. its not a very serious case, but he says its getting progressively worse.
my problem is that today he said i need hospital admission... was devestated when he told me.
has anyone had an experience in an eating disorder unit?? id love to know how it went and what happened for you.
please help....

Abi

fiddle wrote: »

hi, i had an appointment with my psychiatrist today who i originally started seeing because of my depression. then it transpired to him that i have anorexia. its not a very serious case, but he says its getting progressively worse.
my problem is that today he said i need hospital admission... was devestated when he told me.
has anyone had an experience in an eating disorder unit?? id love to know how it went and what happened for you.
please help....

Hi OP. I've no experience of being IN an eating disorder unit. But take the help. You aren't being dragged off somewhere against your will. Your doctor thinks you would be better off there for a while to re-train your thinking.

There is a strong link between eating disorders, alcoholism, gambling etc., to depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Everyone has heard of the Priory for example. All the above is treated there. Same idea. Its a calm santuary where you can go and have concentrated help to steer you back on your life track.

People with eating disorders often find they have lost the way in their lives, and become obsessed with their weight as it is something that they CAN control. Its not something one really plans to do, you slip into this kind of behaviour, telling yourself that you could stop if you want to. Until one day you realise that you cant. Reason being; you have made it your life and hadnt realised it was happening.

Ive done a bit of reasearch on this and I think its important you realise that it is essential that you get help. Once you slip into it, it is extremely hard to get out of, and often suffers have re-lapses.

I know it was a shock what your doctor told you, but if you want your life back, listen to him.

Best of luck OP.

fiddle

thnx so much abigayle... prob is that im a psych nurse, so im the worst patient ever! i know hospital isnt a scary place, its not all one flew over the cuckoo's nest!

its the shock that he felt i cant be treated any longer as an outpatient, and having to give myself up to the care of other people makes me feel pathethic, and disgusted that its got such control over my life. its mad that ED sufferers somehow need the control of their diet in their lives, i dont. it controls me.

i want my life back, i feel im wasting it. i lapse inbetween knowing that i need help, and believing that im not that bad, that im not underweight or anything. im terrified of putting on weight, and dont feel ready to make the (right?) choice of becoming healthier.

iv never worked in ED units, im anxious to know what theyre like for the service user etc.

MysticalSoul

Check out some of the other options too. I myself am recovered from bulimia. www.marinotherapycentre.com. They have great knowledge of eating disorders, or as they call it, eating distress. They also have a helpline too.

Abi

fiddle wrote: »

its the shock that he felt i cant be treated any longer as an outpatient ..... its mad that ED sufferers somehow need the control of their diet in their lives, i dont. it controls me..

You have answered your own question here. You start to dabble in it and have some kind of control over it, but as you get deeper into the problem, it owns you. Dont be ashamed. Its not uncommon by far.

fiddle wrote: »

i lapse in between knowing that i need help, and believing that im not that bad,.

Re-read this to yourself. There is a lot of pain mixed in there, and it feels like a tonne weight Id say. You know it cannot go on like this OP..

fiddle wrote: »

that im not underweight or anything. im terrified of putting on weight, and dont feel ready to make the (right?) choice of becoming healthier..

Not conquering this and allowing it to go on and on simply makes you suffer longer. Do you have bouts of bullimia?

ED has the potential to get a lot uglier, and as far as your Doc is concerned - you've reached a point where it would not be advisable to leave you to your own devices. He can tell that it has a firm grip on you.

Make the call OP. I know you feel like you arent ready. But you know as well as I do, there is never going to be a good time...

LegacyUser

fiddle wrote: »

its the shock that he felt i cant be treated any longer as an outpatient, and having to give myself up to the care of other people makes me feel pathethic, and disgusted that its got such control over my life.

aww I know the thought of being hospitalised over this is quite scary, but please dont feel pathetic or disgusted, you didnt ask for this to happen and its nothing to beat yourself up about. Going inpatient just shows a resolve and a want to beat it. your standing up and fighting and thats what ya gotta do. Your not giving yourself up to other people, your letting them help you. Its all about you, dont forget that.

im terrified of putting on weight, and dont feel ready to make the (right?) choice of becoming healthier.

oh wow that sounds so familiar... to this day I still freak out about putting weight on. wish I could stop but I never really resolved those issues, Id others going on. But theyre the kinda thoughts you've got to work on unfortunately. Id tell your doc bout that tbh

iv never worked in ED units, im anxious to know what theyre like for the service user etc.

I was never in one specifically but I do remember they had theyre own kitchen and they used to make theyre own food, I think the idea was to make fun be enjoyable again, they made it a sociable thing. I really liked that idea.
Other than that it would be therapies similiar to what you would see in other units I would imagine.


Good luck! Im sure you've seen patients come out the other end, no reason you cant do the same!

LegacyUser

I have experience as an inpatient in a number of ED wards. In Ireland I was treated in St Vincents hospital in Dublin but I was also treated abroad.

I spent just over 3 months on a refeeding programme having my weight manipulated up from a starting point of 25 kgs to 48 kgs at which point I was considered healthy. This involved complete bed rest in a room with 2 other women. Complete bed rest means exactly that, we were not "allowed" get out to use the toilet, have showers, watch tv. Food was brought to us 5 times a day and we were supervised eating with a time limit on how long we had to eat. After food we had to lie competely still for 30 minutes. As our weight increased we "earned" rewards like a shower or being allowed sit in the tv room.

We were brought down to see a psychiarist a couple of times a week. The conversation generally went as
him " how are you feeling?"
me "fine"
him "anything you want to discuss"
me "no"
him "ok you can go back to bed"
there was absolutely no depth to the treatment

I know this sounds afwul but that is how it was, yes my weight increased but the programme did nothing in cure me. As soon as I left the hospital I starved myself again. It was a miserable existance, I suffered all sorts of physical problems such as collapsed lungs, MRSA, broken bones. At one stage I was unable to support the weight of my head. It took a long time but during a particularly nasty infection I just decided this was no way to live, or die, It happened in an instant and I started eating again. My weight recovered and with it my balance but I am left with permanent problems with bone health, lung problems and I've lost a fair few brain cells along the way. Do whatever it takes but you have got to get this sorted as soon as possible.

LegacyUser

irishamethyst wrote: »

Check out some of the other options too. I myself am recovered from bulimia. www.marinotherapycentre.com. They have great knowledge of eating disorders, or as they call it, eating distress. They also have a helpline too.

I attended there for about a year and again after a relapse, they are quite good, it's run by an ex sufferer named Marie Campion.. I had bulimia and let it slip to my ex and was sent under duress but I was glad I went, I wouldn't call myself totally recovered but it gave me a better understanding and helped me to deal with certain emotions a lot better... Good luck with it OP... You're not alone..

LegacyUser

Guys, I've never posted on Boards before but after reading that last post I felt compelled to- recommending and independent centre such as the Marino Therapy Centre for care instead of one of the hospital units to may not be the best idea- my dad is a consultant in one of the Dublin hospitals and had a very upsetting case there a few months back where an anorexic girl who was being treated by them came in with multiple organ failure and collapsed and died in front of him, despite him cracking open her chest and massaging her heart. At the inquest they found that the key reason she had been allowed to get in such as state was that as part of their treatment at the centre they did not weigh her, and in effect were negligent in their care of her. I know that that is only one incident, but for her family their world has been changed forever. I don't mean to insult alternative treatments for ED's, but just to highlight the danger of such an approach.

I've never been admitted to hospital, but i have suffered from an ED in the past, and now am on the path to recovery..stories like the one above make me determined to keep fighting to not return to that place. best of luck.

Crumble Froo

recoveringgirl wrote: »

Guys, I've never posted on Boards before but after reading that last post I felt compelled to- recommending and independent centre such as the Marino Therapy Centre for care instead of one of the hospital units to may not be the best idea- my dad is a consultant in one of the Dublin hospitals and had a very upsetting case there a few months back where an anorexic girl who was being treated by them came in with multiple organ failure and collapsed and died in front of him, despite him cracking open her chest and massaging her heart. At the inquest they found that the key reason she had been allowed to get in such as state was that as part of their treatment at the centre they did not weigh her, and in effect were negligent in their care of her. I know that that is only one incident, but for her family their world has been changed forever. I don't mean to insult alternative treatments for ED's, but just to highlight the danger of such an approach.

I've never been admitted to hospital, but i have suffered from an ED in the past, and now am on the path to recovery..stories like the one above make me determined to keep fighting to not return to that place. best of luck.

marino do insist that you attend their doctor as well, i think they make you attend once, and he tries to insist that you keep coming back at regular intervals... i was in once a week for a while and was weighed regularly, as well as having bloods taken to test various levels, and if certain things got below a certain point (i know my main problem was my potassium), i was going to be put in hospital, whether i liked it or not.
the doctor, as far as i know, reported back to marino, but i never really saw that end of it, i went in for counselling and it's the best thing ive ever done.

i would recommend marino from my own personal experience, but the counsellor i had there was, if i count them all up, somewhere between the 5th and 10th i'd seen. i'd regard some of them as jokes, others as ok, but just for me, it was important to find a counsellor i could trust, felt comfortable talking to.

OP, though i came very very close, and at various points, probably should have had it, i've never actually been put into hospital for my eating disorders. i know quite a few people who have, though, and from their recounts, the hospital often seem to be more interested in the physical wellbeing of the patient, than the mental. of course, with eating disorders, the eating patterns are a symptom of what's wrong, not the actual problem itself.

i know a lot of people who just ate for the sake of getting out of hospital and are still struggling hugely because none of the real issues were addressed.

it's rarely a short road to recovery, but you'd be amazed the difference a good attitude makes. i know you said you started off with depression, but try to hold on to, remember and record all the little things that make you happy, make you smile, the little curiosities and wonders.

taking time to get to know yourself, your issues and triggers is also quite beneficial. but anyway, rambling now... sorry.

best of luck OP, and let us know how it goes.

LegacyUser

Male Psych Nurse ere

I have worked with many eating distressed patients, albeit mostly male patients.

If they are planning on hospitalising you i can only speak of the private one in St Patrick's Hospital. Its one of the leading programmes in the country, it uses group work, individual work, family work, CBT etc etc
Usually * you attend and sleep in St Pats for the week, then at weekends go home, but that is very dependent on the individual, progress physical health etc.

Don't worry about the psych nurse thing, St pats in particular get doctors, solicitors, nurses garda, etc to all parts of the hospital as do the public psych services.

I think its important and a great step to make the decision to address the problems its causing in your life!

www.stpatrickshosp.com

Best of Luck