February 1, 2008 12:21 PM
Eating disorders
I am blessed with a readership which includes many women willing to share their experience and wisdom to help others. I want to thank Anna for providing this information for anyone who needs to get honest/get help about an eating disorder:
I am a 26 year old social worker from West Virginia. I have been married to the love of my life for three and a half years. I enjoy to reading and knitting and love playing with my niece and nephews. I’m a movie buff and my car radio is perpetually tuned to NPR.
I also have an eating disorder.
My younger sister has struggled with debilitating mental illness for the majority of her life. She is also a marathon runner. 18 months ago she was hospitalized for psychosis and, obviously, she could not run. I began running for her as a way to show my support and solidarity.
The more I ran, the more weight I lost. The more weight I lost, the more weight I wanted to lose. I started restricting my caloric intake and increasing my running. I lost more weight. And more and more and more. In six months I lost in excess of 80 pounds.
Losing weight became my obsession. I got a physical high every day when I stepped on the scale and saw that my weight was lower than the day before. At the height of my anorexia I was only allowing myself 300 calories a day (three pieces of bread) and was running six miles a day.
My husband was terrified but didn’t know what to do. I refused to admit I had a problem. Then one Sunday in November of 2006 I collapsed while running. I did not tell my husband. The next day I collapsed at work. I was practicing social work at a nonprofit medical center at the time and the doctor and nurse on duty immediately drew my labs, took my vitals, dragged me into an exam room and told me what they had been suspecting for some time. I was anorexic.
They contacted my husband and together they immediately started working on finding me the highest quality care available in the United States. By the end of the week I had been admitted to the inpatient eating disorder unit at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in suburban Chicago.
Today, as I write this, I am back at Alexian for my third hospitalization in twelve months. I was released from the hospital in January of 2007 after a two month stay. By May of that year I had relapsed into my anorexia and returned to Alexian. In August of 2007 I returned to James Madison University to complete my BSN. Two weeks into the semester I began binging and purging. By November I had gained 40 pounds because of my behavior. I was bulimic.
My weight gain contributed to my already increasing depression and I became suicidal. My husband insisted I return to the hospital. The day before I left, I shocked my professors by withdrawing from university. I was pulling a 100% average in all my classes and my professors were clueless that anything was wrong.
So here I am 1000 miles away from my husband and my home. My story is far from unique. It is very common for suffers of eating disorders to relapse repeatedly before they finally achieve full recovery. It is also for common for suffers to switch back and forth between anorexia and bulimia, or to suffer from both simultaneously.
Eating disorders have a strong genetic component. Serious mental illness runs on both sides of my family and my sister also suffers from anorexia and bulimia. People with eating disorders are generally extremely intelligent “people pleasers†who have a hard time articulating their needs and feelings. This description fits me to a “tâ€. 50-75% of all females admitted to inpatient or residential eating disorder facilities have been sexually abused. I was sexually assaulted by a stranger when I was 12.
Please get help. Something Fishy is an amazing resource to help you locate treatment providers – both on the inpatient and outpatient level – close to you. If you suspect that your child is suffering from an eating disorder, chances are good that he or she is. Individuals with eating disorders are masters at concealing their struggles. If you are noticing disordered eating patterns in your child, it is more than likely that he or she has been suffering for some time.
Symptoms of eating disorders can be found at Facts About Eating Disorders. There is also a high correlation between eating disorders and self-injury behaviors (cutting, scratching, and burning).
Currently I am scheduled to return home on Friday. I have come to terms with the fact that while I am considerably healthier than I was this time next year, I am far from recovered. On average it takes seven years for a person with anorexia and/or bulimia to recover, assuming he or she receives the treatment and therapy needed.
ANAD is the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. They do considerable advocacy work and operate an eating disorders hotline for suffers and their families. Check the ANAD website or call their hotline at (847) 831-3438. ANAD also sponsors support groups through the United States. Locate one near you on their website.
Help is available. Please reach out. Your life or your child’s life may be at risk. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychological diseases. Should you have questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to personally email me at Anna.Keiter(at)gmail(dot)com
May the Peace of the Lord be always with you.
~ Anna Keiter
Our family had a brief run-in with eating disorders, which I wrote about for Christian Parenting Today in an article called When Dieting Spells Danger. Actually the editorial byline How one family found healing after an eating disorder almost killed their son is way, way over the top - but only because we caught on to what was going on early and Ben - once he was cognizant of what he was doing - was eager to give up dieting for health.
Again, I thank you so much Anna, for using your experience to help others. We will all be praying for your complete recovery.
Comments
Hi Barbara & Mommylife readers,
Quick update: I came home to West Virginia a week ago today!!
My husband has been an incredible source of support throughout my struggles. However, he works long hours on the farm and at the hardware store to support us. At my therapist's suggestion, I have moved in with my best friend and her family for the immediate future. This way I am never alone and I always have someone to hold me accountable for following my meal plan. My husband spends about every other night with me here and our marriage is as strong, if not stronger, than ever.
I am seeing a wonderful out patient dietician through the local hospital. She is an strong Christian woman who challenges my disordered eating, but doesn't push me so hard that I break.
I have a new out patient psychiatrist who is AMAZING. Unlike more psychiatrists who just do med managment, he is taking care of my meds AND doing intensive psycotherapy with me.
Barbara, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story. It is my prayer that my story can help at least one person get help for herself or a loved one. Then I'll know there was some purpose in my suffering.
Help is available. An eating disorder can by managed and controlled and for some people full recovery is possible. Reach out. Even if all you do is email me at Anna.Keiter(at)gmail(dot)com -- reach out. I can help point you in the right direction.
Blessings!
Posted by: Anna Keiter | February 1, 2008 4:12 PM
Thank you for posting this moving story. I am hoping for a full recovery for Ms. Keiter and the healing of her family!
Please pass on this web site for families hoping to support children with eating disorders at home:
www.maudsleyparents.org
Posted by: Laura Collins | February 1, 2008 5:16 PM
Anna,
For those of us who have children and are working the steps through recovery, EDIN or the Eating Disorders Information Network has created a handbook that helps moms deal with their own issues and empowers them to make changes to raise healthy girls in mind and body. With statisics that show that our children are 12% more likely to fight the same battle against ED's we need all the help we can get. Check out their website at www.myedin.org!
Posted by: Kris Shock | February 1, 2008 7:05 PM
What a wonderful recovery resource you offer on this blog.
I'm impressed and moved by the quality of the conversation and richness in sharing.
Anna Keiter's post is particularly moving, and in my opinion, extremely important. She is letting people know, through the details of her experience, that love, support, respect and dedication are required for eating disorder recovery.
She respects her husband and the work he does for the family. At the same time, she respects her need for intensive companionship and care during this sensitive time in her recovery. She makes no demands for this from her husband. He gives what he can, which is considerable. And the more that she needs she has found in a friend.
She says her marriage is stronger. I believe that. When people put care and respect into their relationships, especially when facing challenges, the relationship deepens and grows.
She has surrounded herself with a team that supports her while she does her recovery work.
Her commitment is obvious and that generates more respect and caring from the people around her. She is getting nourished is a healthy way by love and by getting her genuine needs met.
This is a beautiful and wonderful sharing that I hope many people will read. She is sharing some of the genuine requirements for eating disorder recovery.
Brava, Anna!
And congratulations, Barbara, for creating a place where Anna can tell her story.
Joanna Poppink, MFT, psychotherapist eating disorder specialist, Los Angeles, CA bulimia, anorexia, compulsive overeating recovery, www.poppink.com
Posted by: Joanna Poppink, LMFT | February 2, 2008 2:35 AM
