Tears and Tribulations

I’m going to play catch-up on our story so that I can be current. This is a brief summary of the first 2-months of living with Lauren and her ED.

Week 1

Day 1: Lauren asks us to include the foods she’s comfortable with  – salad, crackers, string cheese, and apple (that was it!). She’d taken 2 spoons of lentil soup the night before (=dinner) and had been losing +1 kg per week. All doctors/therapists were on holiday because it was Christmas. Maudsley Mom (and Dad) had to “wing-it” and dive in to do the best we could.

Physically: She’s weak, lethargic, dizzy and can't concentrate.

Breakfast: 1 tsp yogurt and fruit, 1Tblsp granola, 5 blueberries – took 45 mins.

“I feel sick” and “my tummy hurts.”

Lunch: 1 ladle (half cup) lentil/veg soup – 50 mins.

Lauren is crying. “I’m full,” “ Can I finish later?”

Dinner: 1 thin slice chicken, 2 Tblsp risotto, 1 slice zucchini – 2 hours.

Lauren is crying. Feels sick. Tummy ache.

This was very disturbing to watch. My stomach was churning while I reminded her there was no alternative. I knew it was more than she’d eaten in months so I tried to focus on that.

Day 2: Harder than yesterday. L tell us that Day 1 was “an exception.” She cries before and during meals. I repeat some of the food and quantities for consistency. ED negotiates: “Can I eat less lunch but eat more dinner?” Lauren is miserable.

Day 4: Lauren concedes that if she’d not come home, her eating patterns would have continued unchanged and she would have ended up in hospital. She was powerless.

Day 7: Meals are still small but less stressful. L says she’s hungry – first time in months! Purging is way down. We always stay with her 30-60 mins after each meal.

Week 2

We slowly introduce more food types (L used to like them all) and increase quantities. Meals don’t take as long but she still has a lot of pain and difficulty with digestion. Weight is up slightly (1lb). It stagnates here (sometimes up then down) for the next 6-weeks.

Week 8

She gains a pound but starts exercising more: 2 x gym routine; 2 x zumba; yoga and pilates; walks/runs in the park. Red flag goes up even though it’s not an extreme number of hours. We celebrate 6-weeks of no purging though PUs (Purge Urges) remain strong and frequent. L goes to therapy and acupuncture, and sees a nutritionist with me, once a week. She’s stable medically, and energy is good but where’s the weight gain? Lauren says "I'm fine," and "I don't want to gain more weight." How do we move forward? It's true that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.