The Student Room Group

Rubbish start to the school year...

Ok, I posted in here about a month ago about a friend who I thought may be anorexic, and on Tuesday she was sent to hospital after having had a terrible week where she freaked out completely and lost another stone. So this is how it goes: she rang me on Saturday and told me everything, about being diagnosed with severe anorexia and having to go for a checkup on Tuesday etc and she was really honest and I told her we'd all be here for her and to call if she needs anything, just like you do when someone tells you they're ill. So on Tuesday she goes for this 'check up' and they keep her in, and she rang me saying that they've kept her in and that she's only a bit anorexic, and not badly anorexic like she said on the phone before (which I don't really believe) and that she'll be out in a couple of days.

Anyway, so yesterday, a friend and I went to see her. We are the only two that know why she's really in hospital (everyone else has been told it's because they're running tests to find out why she hasn't put weight on since she was ill in March, which is when she began to lose weight after being ill with some stomach bug) but as soon as everyone goes to see her they'll click, cos they already suspect it's anorexia, but she's told us not to tell anyone. That's put me and my friend who do know about it in an awkward situation, cos we have to really try hard to lie for her, but she doesnt understand that it's not easy to keep it a secret cos she's not thinking properly right now, probably due to malnutrition or boredom or something.

Her boyfriend also knows (as you'd expect) but he's taken it really badly. He lost it last night and went out for 3 hours just walking. His mum rang me up to see if I'd heard from him, and then she ended up going out to look for him with my dad. It's really hard for everyone, and as much as I'm worried about my friend in hospital, I'm also worried for her boyf cos he's my cousin and he normally talks to me about stuff he cant discuss with his girlfriend. She doesn't know that he's bordering on depression cos she can't really take anything in at the mo, she still thinks she's fine, just little underweight and she has everything under control, which I spose are some of the symptoms of the condition anyway.

So yeah, yesterday was a pretty bad day! First day back in school too. Anywho, the whole point of this post really is to ask for any advice at all, like what can we do to help her from being bored in hospital? And what do we talk about so she doesnt talk about food and weight to us? And how do we help her overcome anorexia when she's out? And is there anything I could do for my cousin to make him feel better?

Thankyou for any replies! I think this is the longest post I've ever written xx
Learn to play poker and teach it to her. Then you and your other friend and your cousin can go and play with her in hospital and it's so addictive it will take everyone's mind off the fact that she has anorexia.

Board games are also a good idea, but the best ones are the ones where there's real brain power involved, which you can't just play whilst thinking about something else.

Books are good, but not sociable. She wouldn't necessarily read them, she might just sit there thinking about food instead, so the more you can do WITH her, the better.

I feel sorry for you though, good luck xxx
wilgina
Ok, I posted in here about a month ago about a friend who I thought may be anorexic, and on Tuesday she was sent to hospital after having had a terrible week where she freaked out completely and lost another stone. So this is how it goes: she rang me on Saturday and told me everything, about being diagnosed with severe anorexia and having to go for a checkup on Tuesday etc and she was really honest and I told her we'd all be here for her and to call if she needs anything, just like you do when someone tells you they're ill. So on Tuesday she goes for this 'check up' and they keep her in, and she rang me saying that they've kept her in and that she's only a bit anorexic, and not badly anorexic like she said on the phone before (which I don't really believe) and that she'll be out in a couple of days.

Anyway, so yesterday, a friend and I went to see her. We are the only two that know why she's really in hospital (everyone else has been told it's because they're running tests to find out why she hasn't put weight on since she was ill in March, which is when she began to lose weight after being ill with some stomach bug) but as soon as everyone goes to see her they'll click, cos they already suspect it's anorexia, but she's told us not to tell anyone. That's put me and my friend who do know about it in an awkward situation, cos we have to really try hard to lie for her, but she doesnt understand that it's not easy to keep it a secret cos she's not thinking properly right now, probably due to malnutrition or boredom or something.

Her boyfriend also knows (as you'd expect) but he's taken it really badly. He lost it last night and went out for 3 hours just walking. His mum rang me up to see if I'd heard from him, and then she ended up going out to look for him with my dad. It's really hard for everyone, and as much as I'm worried about my friend in hospital, I'm also worried for her boyf cos he's my cousin and he normally talks to me about stuff he cant discuss with his girlfriend. She doesn't know that he's bordering on depression cos she can't really take anything in at the mo, she still thinks she's fine, just little underweight and she has everything under control, which I spose are some of the symptoms of the condition anyway.

So yeah, yesterday was a pretty bad day! First day back in school too. Anywho, the whole point of this post really is to ask for any advice at all, like what can we do to help her from being bored in hospital? And what do we talk about so she doesnt talk about food and weight to us? And how do we help her overcome anorexia when she's out? And is there anything I could do for my cousin to make him feel better?

Thankyou for any replies! I think this is the longest post I've ever written xx


If she's in a psych hospital then they'll be giving her more than enough to do, trust me, she'll have CBT coming out of her ears! I would recommend books, DVDs and music and sometimes it's nice to switch off after having therapy all day, it takes a lot out of you and you need to be able to relax.

When I was in hospital I really appreciated my friends being there to have someone to NOT talk about food and weight with, because that's what I'd had to talk about all day. Give her news about her friends and school, that sort of thing - that should help keep her motivated to recover as she'll want to get back into "normal" life again. Don't talk to her about how her boyfriend's finding it hard. She'll feel guilty when she should be focusing on herself and getting better. However, be there to listen when he's finding it hard. This type of situation is neither nice nor fair for anyone.

It's up to her to maintain her recovery when she's out of hospital. No-one can make her do it, and no-one can do it for her. But be there if she needs to talk. PM me any time about this, I have a good idea of how she'll be feeling as i've been in a similar situation. Best to your friend in hospital and everyone affected by it :smile: it'll get better.
Reply 3
Thanks for the advice guys! I've been to see her today and she's been visited by the psychiatrist (but I'm not sure she really knows that's what she was). Things are looking up though, my cousin came to visit whilst I was there with another friend and it was so good to see him out and about. It's gonna be such a long process, but I think it's gonna get easier as we go along. When my cousin arrived, me and my friend decided we needed the toilet so they could have some time together, but she insisted on coming with us to make sure we knew our way. She finds it so hard to stay still, she's constantly trying to burn of whatever she's just eaten, but anyway I sent her back to her ward when we'd found the loos and told her she needed to catch up with her boyfriend.

It was hard when we left cos she's been told to stay at her bed, but she was trying to walk us to the main entrance. We were telling her that she shouldn't disobey the nurses, especially when she's getting better, and that she needs permission to leave her ward n stuff. She was being really stubborn, and then my cousin said 'OK, well I'll come with you to ask if you can leave for a while,' and when they'd turned round my friend and I just left. It was such a hard thing to do, but we've been told to try and keep her from walking too much, but she's so stubborn through the necessity to exercise all the time and drink soooo much water. She's just come off water restriction and keeps asking for ice cubes to eat (which she's been doing for months now and we had no idea) but they're monitoring everything she eats and drinks so things are almost under control. I need a good nights sleep tonight! What a week.
Reply 4
Hey hun
Can't say I can offer much advice... my 'expertise' as it were is more with the depression and psych stuff than with anorexia
But I just thought I'd offer some hugs and support