[Su'ad]

This brings back bad memories but I want to share it anyway.
Couple of years back when I was taking my GCSES' through home schooling, I fell ill.
The whole staying at home most of the time, planning your own timetable, managing assignment deadlines that have to be sent to tutors and not having any friends to socialise with got too much.

Even though I took all the exams, I couldn't sleep for weeks, I lost my appetite and all I wanted to do was stay in bed and cry. I felt like a failure because my parents paid a lot of money for me to take these exams privately and I felt like I wasn't going to pass. Even though they told me that they don't mind what results I get. I was so depressed that nothing anyone said made me feel better.

My parents took me to the doctors and this only made things worse. I told the doctor about how I was feeling depressed nor could I eat or sleep properly. After doing regular checks she weighed me and found that by BMI was 17.5 when it should of been 20.0. For this reason mainly she was convinced that I was anorexic and I was in denial.

It was the worst experience of my life going to all these hospital appointments listening to doctors tell you the first step to recovery is accepting your anorexic and how people who have this disorder never admit to it ect.

This made me depressed further and stressed me out even more. There was one more thing to add to the 'great pile of mess' that was in my head.

I was given pills that helped increase my appetite and made me want to eat more. This and one month of proving I wasn't afraid of food, with the help of weight gain helped show I wasn't actually anorexic!.

Anyone else with similar experiences?

[Anonymous]

That's really unfortunate. It sounds like the docs jumped to a bit of a hasty conclusion about you... after all your BMI was not that far short of 20. How much did you weigh at your lowest?

Really it sounds like you were just depressed and that was affecting your eating. Hope you're ok now.

[Su'ad]

(Original post by Anonymous)
That's really unfortunate. It sounds like the docs jumped to a bit of a hasty conclusion about you... after all your BMI was not that far short of 20. How much did you weigh at your lowest?

Really it sounds like you were just depressed and that was affecting your eating. Hope you're ok now.

Thanks I'm doing much better now. My lowest weight was 40 kg and I'm 5,6 I have always found it hard to put on weight from a young age. I'm still told by my doctors I'm under weight which is why I avoid going there. I eat normally and never count calories so I don't know why I'm like this. If anything, I hate being skinny and want to gain weight., I'm tired of people commenting on how i look telling me I don't look healthy and maybe I'm sick. I always wear clothes bigger than me and never go outside wearing less than two trousers, just so I don't look skinny.

[XShmalX]

I had the reverse... went to the doctor with a BMI of about 13.9 only to be told I was too young to have anorexia and it was just a "phase"...

[Anonymous]

^ stuff like that makes me fear for our health system -facepalm-

Like the previous poster, I had the opposite, though not quite so extreme.
I got taken to my GP with an ED, when my BMI was 15.8. I basically cheated the scales, and did it a bit too much, so the doctor thought my BMI was 22.something. And he believed it.
Basically told me I was fine, and laughed at the fact that people thought I had an ED.
Sorry, but at that time I looked pretty underweight I think, and he felt for the fact that I had a BMI of 22?! USE SOME COMMON SENSE

[Su'ad]

(Original post by XShmalX)
I had the reverse... went to the doctor with a BMI of about 13.9 only to be told I was too young to have anorexia and it was just a "phase"...

I'm sorry to hear that, it must of been something hard to go through at a young age. Your BMI was so low I'm surprised your doctor failed to notice it and take it more seriously. What happened in the end?

[emi_sarb]

When I was in primary school my teachers were worried that I wan't growing enough. Everyone in my family was tiny as a child and then grew when they reached puberty but my school still insisted that I see a doctor about it. After that I had a health visitor come to my house regularly to check my weight and she was convinced I was anorexic. She kept telling my parents not to buy me any more teenage magazines, which I never had anyway, and to feed me more ice cream and milkshakes. Her opinion of me was that I was an anorexic little girl who was obsessed with teenage magazines and my only goal in life was to become a fashion model. This was the complete opposite of me but nothing my parents said could change her mind.

I'm still slightly underweight but I'm a normal height and I'm definitely not anorexic.

[Su'ad]

(Original post by Anonymous)
^ stuff like that makes me fear for our health system -facepalm-

Like the previous poster, I had the opposite, though not quite so extreme.
I got taken to my GP with an ED, when my BMI was 15.8. I basically cheated the scales, and did it a bit too much, so the doctor thought my BMI was 22.something. And he believed it.
Basically told me I was fine, and laughed at the fact that people thought I had an ED.
Sorry, but at that time I looked pretty underweight I think, and he felt for the fact that I had a BMI of 22?! USE SOME COMMON SENSE

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Its worrying how easily you cheated your doctor, you would've thought they'd do more checks. Like when I went to get weighed I had to take nearly all my clothes off and they would read the scale themselves. Now I understand better why my doctor did all those checks and why she thought I was anorexic. Hope your better now.

[XShmalX]

(Original post by Su'ad)
I'm sorry to hear that, it must of been something hard to go through at a young age. Your BMI was so low I'm surprised your doctor failed to notice it and take it more seriously. What happened in the end?

Well after another visit and LOTS of pressure from my parents (not to mention my school, family friends who were doctors etc.) he agreed to refer me privately, however, the appointment was ages away but when my mum called the specialist dept. they said if the referral got faxed through again they would review it in their team meeting. So my mum faxed through the referral herself and the eating disorders team review it and decided to give me an NHS emergency appointment.

[Ivanka]

That's weird. I thought doctors know that mental anorexia is refusing food voluntarily. If you do that involuntarily, it's something else.

[Su'ad]

(Original post by emi_sarb)
When I was in primary school my teachers were worried that I wan't growing enough. Everyone in my family was tiny as a child and then grew when they reached puberty but my school still insisted that I see a doctor about it. After that I had a health visitor come to my house regularly to check my weight and she was convinced I was anorexic. She kept telling my parents not to buy me any more teenage magazines, which I never had anyway, and to feed me more ice cream and milkshakes. Her opinion of me was that I was an anorexic little girl who was obsessed with teenage magazines and my only goal in life was to become a fashion model. This was the complete opposite of me but nothing my parents said could change her mind.

I'm still slightly underweight but I'm a normal height and I'm definitely not anorexic.

Thanks for sharing your story It's so hard when you know you don't have anorexia to prove it especially when your underweught. Being told what you think about your body and that you want to be like 'supermodels' is tough when you're anorexic let alone when your not. Glad your well now.

[Jamie]

(Original post by Su'ad)
This brings back bad memories but I want to share it anyway.
Couple of years back when I was taking my GCSES' through home schooling, I fell ill.
The whole staying at home most of the time, planning your own timetable, managing assignment deadlines that have to be sent to tutors and not having any friends to socialise with got too much.

Even though I took all the exams, I couldn't sleep for weeks, I lost my appetite and all I wanted to do was stay in bed and cry. I felt like a failure because my parents paid a lot of money for me to take these exams privately and I felt like I wasn't going to pass. Even though they told me that they don't mind what results I get. I was so depressed that nothing anyone said made me feel better.

My parents took me to the doctors and this only made things worse. I told the doctor about how I was feeling depressed nor could I eat or sleep properly. After doing regular checks she weighed me and found that by BMI was 17.5 when it should of been 20.0. For this reason mainly she was convinced that I was anorexic and I was in denial.

It was the worst experience of my life going to all these hospital appointments listening to doctors tell you the first step to recovery is accepting your anorexic and how people who have this disorder never admit to it ect.

This made me depressed further and stressed me out even more. There was one more thing to add to the 'great pile of mess' that was in my head.

I was given pills that helped increase my appetite and made me want to eat more. This and one month of proving I wasn't afraid of food, with the help of weight gain helped show I wasn't actually anorexic!.

Anyone else with similar experiences?

You were anorexic - poor appetite. (thats what it means http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia
The issue to me was whether this was because you were depressed (sounds like it to me) or suffering from anorexia nervosa (which your doctor assumed)
Problem is there is a huge amount of overlap between depression disorders and anorexia/eating disorders.

Question is what would be the most appropriate way of helping someone in your situation.
Anti depression pills to me arent a real answer. It doesnt solve the underlying problems, make you deal with things better or work through your psychological issues (feeling worthless, a burden etc [guessing from what you have said]).
I think talking through the issues would probably have been the best way forward, but you cannot ignore someones deteriorating weight. Can be fatal.

No simple answers really despite what anyone might say.

[Arcane Barn Elk]

(Original post by Ivanka)
That's weird. I thought doctors know that mental anorexia is refusing food voluntarily. If you do that involuntarily, it's something else.

It is impossible to tell the difference though! Most people with anorexia will say that they can't eat. The 'won't eat' is in the eye of the beholder!

Many people with anorexia also say that they are not anorexic, but are depressed and seek help for depression when actually the depression is the result, not the cause of anorexia.

It is very, very difficult. I guess someone who is enthusiastic about regaining their appetite, and crucially, is willing to eat a range of foods including normal amounts of high calorie food, and makes no attempt at deceit regarding weight or intake is less likely to be suffering from anorexia nervosa.

[Ivanka]

(Original post by Arcane Barn Elk)
It is impossible to tell the difference though! Most people with anorexia will say that they can't eat. The 'won't eat' is in the eye of the beholder!

Many people with anorexia also say that they are not anorexic, but are depressed and seek help for depression when actually the depression is the result, not the cause of anorexia.

It is very, very difficult. I guess someone who is enthusiastic about regaining their appetite, and crucially, is willing to eat a range of foods including normal amounts of high calorie food, and makes no attempt at deceit regarding weight or intake is less likely to be suffering from anorexia nervosa.

I see. I thought the only anorexia is nervosa

[Arcane Barn Elk]

(Original post by Ivanka)
I see. I thought the only anorexia is nervosa

Yes, most people do. TBH the term 'anorexia' was a technical, medical term for loss of appetite, but it is now synonymous with the eating disorder.

[ScarletBeads]

Doctors seem to be terrible with diagnosing anorexia.

My GP never weighed me or questioned my eating patterns.

My first psychologist and psychiatrist didn't tell me they'd diagnosed it (I did personally think I had it but didn't know it was professionally diagnosed), I only found out when I saw it on a referral letter.

I have a friend who's had disordered eating patterns for ages, much worse than mine, but isn't diagnosed because she's still not clinically underweight.

[xoxAngel_Kxox]

A friend of mine was diagnosed because she got stressed about her A Levels and just couldn't eat. She wasn't afraid of being fat, and it happens similarly to her during every exam period, but this time it resulted in her actually being underweight and she was diagnosed then. It was ridiculous, as after the exams it's as though something "clicks" inside of her and she just snaps out of it and regains the weight she lost in no time. But of course the doctors didn't listen to that and just thought she was in denial.

Those with anorexia (who are in denial) find it incredibly frustrating to be told continuously that they have a problem, so the reaction of anger/bitterness etc is almost to be expected. The fact that she KNEW what was causing her temporary weight problem made her even more so, therefore making the doctors even more convinced. A vicious circle, really.

[Su'ad]

Yeah anorexia is really hard to diagnose, I don't think it's entirely the doctors fault, in my case I know my doctor was only trying to help. Now looking back I can understand why they thought I had anorexia nervosa.
However I think all doctors need to do the neccessary checks before diagnosing someone with an eating disorder or turning them away.

[Katy100]

That's very silly of them! How are you depression wise these days?

Anorexia itself just means poor appetite from whatever cause, anorexia nervosa is the mental health condition- did they particularly think it was AN? I guess they have to be ultra careful!

xx

[Su'ad]

(Original post by Katy100)
That's very silly of them! How are you depression wise these days?

Anorexia itself just means poor appetite from whatever cause, anorexia nervosa is the mental health condition- did they particularly think it was AN? I guess they have to be ultra careful!

xx

Hi
I'm very well these days thanks. I think the depression was just caused by exam stress, I haven't been deeply depressed since then . Yep I was actually diagnosed with Anorexia nervosa and when I disagreed I was told I was in denial! I agree they have to be ultra careful.

Xx