HELP - eating disorders...

[monkeyfoot]

My older brother (24-yo) has an eating disorder and has had a drastic weight loss because of it. He used to be pretty buff but now he's just stupidly thin.

It a strange disorder as it isn't bulimia or anorexia, but kind of a mix between both. He doesn't binge eat and then bring it back up (bulimia) and he doesn't starve himself of food (anorexia). He eats a fairly normal diet (mostly soft foods though), and just forces it up when he has the chance. On another note he's drinking more than he used to......nothing realllly serious, but more than normal.

The problem now is that its hard to help him. He's been eating soft foods for so long that he cant keep anything else in. So its a vicious cycle.

This being the case, I ask all you guys if you know of anything at all that might help him. Getting over the disorder has got to be done himself, but seen as he cant eat the 'solids' that provide us with the fuel/nutrients our bodies need, is there anything else he could take that would at least give him something.

What about these 'high carb drinks' or 'protein shakes' etc?

many thanks to the community
craig

[godzillakungfu]

Have him see a doctor immediately.

This isn't a sports injury where people can give a semblance of advice. There are to many variables physical and/or mental.

[monkeyfoot]

yea I know its not sport related :)

He is seeing a doc already, he has them puzzled.

I was posting here because a lot of people 'know' about nutrition. I didnt know whether there is anything that can be taken/drunk that doesnt necessarily 'replace food', but would help a lot more than having 'no food inside'.

craig

[cjurakpt]

food disorders are complex because of the interraction of the nutritional aspect and what the body is able to keep down / assimilate, and the psychological issues, because we attach so many emptional values and what not to our perceptions of food;

at any rate, he sounds like he might need the services of a good psychologist / psychiatrist / social worker who specializes in treating people with eating disorders; he also might need to investigate things from a nutritional perspective, and also from a food allergy and / or basic metabolic perspective: that can involve a number of different sub-specialty types, including allergist, gastrenterologist, maybe endocrinologist: there may be things about him that are affecting his ability to tolerate foods, such as celiac disease (gluten intolerance), which could, for example, be part of the whole picture - the point is that, if his current docs are befuddled, he needs to move on and get referrals to those for whom his issues might be a bit more run of the mill;

this sounds like a complicated situation, the moreso because as a family member you are necessarilly involved emotionaly and therefore may be unable to objectively quantify / qualify what your brother really needs, so please seek out the assistance of a trained professional in this area or even better, a facility that takes a multi-disciplinary approach as that will give you more of what you might need under one roof

good luck

[monkeyfoot]

cjurakpt - many thanks for your input. To be honest I never even thought of it from that angle; allergies as an underlying reason etc

I spoke to my other sibling an hour ago and he told me that my brother has booked himself into a professional 'eating disorder clinic'. So....thats a positive sign

In the case of food-disorders, and the loss of essential nutrients and vitamins from food, do you think multi-vits, cod liver oil, zinc supplements etc would be beneficial?

What about protein powders/weight gains to help the calories stay at a reasonable level?

craig