You are here:

Anorexia/Eating Disorders/recovering from an eating disorder

Advertisement

Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 6/7/2011


Question
My 22 year old daughter just disclosed to us a year ago that she had been making herself throw up. I had her come home from college, took her to a doctor where she got a procedure where they put a camera down you throat . She did not have an ulcer on her stomach however she had one on her esophagus. She has been seeing a throat doctor and he gave her medicine and it went away on her own. Then I had her go to an eating disorder clinic called Renfew here in Manhattan, NY. She graduated after a couple months and now sees a therapist and nutritionist. My question is, she seems to be losing alot of weight, I am worried. She also has alot of gas and stomach pains.She says her nutritionist says that you can lose weight when you start to eat again.But its alot of weight and for 4 years she was throwing up and none of us knew, and she's very close with her sisters. What should I do? Thank you, Worried Mom

Answer
Jeanne Rust, PhD
Jeanne Rust, PhD
Dear Barbara,

I can only give you my guess and that is that she's probably restricting.  Yes, you can lose some weight when you begin to eat again, but not a lot of weight.  The gas and stomach pains are fairly normal when refeeding.  I'm thinking that she would not purge again because of the health scare but that restricting could be something new for her.  People frequently switch eating disorders when they recover if she doesn't do a lot of work on the underlying issues.

Many treatment programs focus 80% of the time on food and 20% of the time on underlying issues.  My center is exactly the opposite because we're interested in the underlying issues.

Is your daughter still seeing a therapist?  Twice a week would be good.  Once a week doesn't do much, unfortunately.  Also I would take her to her doctor and find out exactly what is going on with her weight.  I don't know how old she is, but if she's an adult, she can refuse.  However it sounds as if she lives at home so you do have some leverage.

You're welcome to call me any time, Barbara.

Warmly,
Jeanne Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol, Inc.
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
888-520-1700

Jeanne Rust, PhD

Expertise

I have been treating eating disorders for over 25 years and I have a doctorate in clinical psychology. I am an expert in anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders and in co-occurring disorders as well -- depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. I was the official eating disorder therapist for the University of Arizona athletic department and love working with girls and women of all ages! 12 years ago I started my own treatment centers in Arizona where we treat adolescents and adults. I love working with people and have been helping people online since 1994. My hearts go out to the people out there who are unable to find help, who aren't sure whether they need help, and who don't have much of an understanding of the terrible consequences, emotionally and physically, that go hand in hand with the eating disorder. I view eating disorders as coping mechanisms that people use when they are under stress. I believe that eating disorders most times have many similarities whether it is anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. The good news is that people can heal from an eating disorder and learn to create the lives they would like to live.

Experience

I have 25 years of experience in treating eating disorders of all kinds. I also do consultations for people who are starting treatment centers.

Education/Credentials
Northwestern University -- BA Masters in Counseling Doctorate in Clinical Psychology -- Saybrook institute

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.