Expert: Meg - 6/27/2007

Question
Hi, I have a friend that has anorexia. I just found out about a month ago. She's 19 and has been going through it for about a year now. I've talked to her about getting help or stopping but she doesn't want to. So my questiong is, is there a vitaman that she can take that will help her not become malnourished? She said that if I found out that she would take it. I just want to see what kind is going to be good for her.
Thank you so much

Answer
Hi Bobby,

Thanks for your question and you're a really wonderful friend for caring and wanting to help.  Your friend is really lucky.  

Unfortunately, there is no vitamin that can totally reverse the effects of anorexia and not taking in the proper nutrients.  That said, it can be helpful to take a daily multivitamin at least (preferably with at least a little food, as some nutrients need to be absorbed with food).  So, you might recommend this to your friend.

The best thing that she can do is try to make sure that she gets a wide variety of foods and all of the major groups, even on her restrictive diet.  I know that most of the time, people who are sick with anorexia are not trying to do the healthy thing (goodness knows, I wasn't) but you might mention this to her.

I know its very frustrating to know that someone is hurting themselves in this way and they don't want to stop and unfortunately, this is very common with anorexia.  Sometimes, people have to hit rock bottom before wanting to get better and that can be really difficult for their friends and loved ones to witness.  

There is only so much that you can do and I'm going to give you a few weblinks that might be helpful for you during this time:

http://www.something-fishy.org/helping/whatyoucando.php

http://www.edap.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=319&Profile_ID=41175

http://www.anred.com/hlp.html

That said, it is very helpful to have people who care about you around when you are struggling with anorexia as the longer it goes on and the sicker you get, it is very easy to get very isolated.  This can lead to an even greater dependance on the eating disorder.

While your friend might not want to get help or think about recovery right now, you might want to let her know that there are options and information out there and you will be happy to help her find them when she is ready.  

This site is particularly helpful and you can direct her there should she want more information:

http://www.something-fishy.org/

Remember, you can be a friend but you can't make her stop this (or want to stop) and trying to do that will just cause both of you distress.  But, you can care and let her know that you care and want her to be healthy and okay.  Even if she can't thank you now, I promise that she will be very grateful for your support down the line.

I hope this helped at least a little and please feel free to write again (or have your friend write) if there is anything else at all that I can help with.

Take care,
Meg