Posted by empty inside on March 13, 2005, at 17:01:56
In reply to Steinhauer: treatment difficulties and depression, posted by Racer on December 22, 2004, at 1:30:50
Dear Racer,
I really hope you do not mind I am replying to your Dr Steinhauer post; some things in your post I thought I could respond with some helpful advice and also I saw several red flags. I just want to help.Fist off, the pregnanct issue. PLEASE wait until you are not only at a healthy weight and have a completely healthy body, but also a healyh mind, ok? I have seem women relapse worse than they were before they had their babies after the baby was born. I was inpatient with a womean just like this. She lost her pregnancy weight... and 40 more. She was barely healthy to begin with :(
I do think you need to go to an inpatient or residential treatment center. They really are the best at getting you best, the quickets. If you do a day program it will take so much longer and it's so much harder. Believe me, a lot of recovery work can be undone between 5pm-9am when you're at home, or whatever the hours of the program are... some are only from 9-4.THey are are to find, too. There are no ED ones near my covered on my insurance, only a really sh*tty depression day program that said they also do EDs but didn't have a clue what they were doing.
I have been hospitalized many times, but let me say I had a good experience at RADER ( www.raderprograms.com ) which is in Oxnard, CA. They really don't force you to do anything there, just try to get you to the point where you want to. It's based on the 12 steps (OA) but it is mostly anorexics and bulimics who are the patients. there are some binge eater patients too though, just so you know. It's for adults, 18+ Rogers Memorial Hospital's inpatient adult unit is good for short-term stays, to stabilize your weight and vitals. patients stay on average 5-7 days. i stayed 14, so you CAN stay longer. there isn't really a limit; it's just what you need. there is a residential on the rogers campus as well, it's call the eating disorder center. i was there a month. i had a bad experience so i don't really endorce it... i don't think the psychiatrist in charge is competent. however, i loved the inpatient psychiatrist at rogers hospital!
anyway, i thought i'd share the best hospital experiences i'd had in case you are looking... i also have a select 5 or so GOOD references from friends who have been to these places so know what they are talking about. i think you need to nip the relapse in the bud with intensive treatment before it drags on another decade, but that's just my opinion. i'm considering treatment again, and this is just after a year of still being sick after treatment a year ago! cause i dont want it to go on forever!
love empty inside
>> Thank you, Dr Steinhauer, for being our guest expert.
>
> I'm experiencing a relapse of AN, after about a decade symptom free, and am finally receiving treatment for it. I also have a dx of major depression, and anxiety disorder. Right now, I'm having trouble with motivation to work towards recovering from this. Although I know that I am suffering from an eating disorder, and more or less remember feeling better when I wasn't experiencing symptoms, it's just not really registering right now. For one thing, my body is truly disgusting me right now -- the weight I've put on has all hit me around the waist and abdomen, which I know is normal, but it still distresses me a lot. Then there's the general digestive upset, etc.
>
> My current treatment team consists of a psychopharmacologist, an RD for nutritional counseling -- who has been invaluable so far -- and an individual therapist. My lack of sustained motivation, though, is interfering a lot -- I've had absolute relapses lately, due to specific stress triggers, and the RD is ready to require biweekly doctor's visits if I don't put some more weight on. My anxiety is through the roof right now, and I'm ready to throw in the towel.
>
> I'm not entirely sure what to do about all this, but some ideas that have been put forward are residential treatment centers, day hospitalization programs, and switching to an ED specialist for therapy. I'm not sure any of those seem safe to me, though. At the same time, I've got some of the health problems that go along with it -- cardiac abnormalities and osteopenia, and one doctor (PCP) has recommended a gym membership for those. I'm also not sure that's safe, although I know that it can actually spur weight gain in animals. I'm also concerned about the interactions of the medications used for bone loss and the antidepressants I'm on. Lastly, I'm hoping there are alternatives for bone loss that would not preclude pregnancy.
>
> I'm currently taking the following:
>
> 150mg Wellbutrin XL
> 60mg Cymbalta
> 100mg Provigil
> 10mg Propranalol BID for anxiety
>
> Can you offer any advice about where to go from here in terms of treatment options? What you think might be most beneficial to try next?
>
> Thank you.
poster:empty inside
thread:432726
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/eating/20041128/msgs/470563.html