tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post2115624601476426164..comments2024-03-23T08:25:22.526-04:00Comments on ED Bites: Recovery, remission, and verb tensesCarrie Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02569839838912988783noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-29260244857975476442010-04-08T23:59:47.742-04:002010-04-08T23:59:47.742-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Angela Elain Gambrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08199876962091491591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-16187447273511480002010-04-08T19:36:44.734-04:002010-04-08T19:36:44.734-04:00Great post - I would definitely agree recovery is ...Great post - I would definitely agree recovery is not just possible but do-able. That someone can not only recover - but they can also become so distanced from the person who was once obsessed with food they can truly move on and 'forget' it was once them sitting at the table not eating. <br /><br />This certainly is the case for the narrator Lucy in the novel Cardboard: A woman left for dead.Fiona Placehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09204083758498735797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-6497834289151756442010-04-08T14:07:29.205-04:002010-04-08T14:07:29.205-04:00Great post and really thought-provoking stuff.
Re...Great post and really thought-provoking stuff.<br /><br />Recovery is about so much more than appearance but I'll just briefly say that, if we're debating what recovery 'looks like', in terms of appearance, it might just be best to leave it at a smile.James Claytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02649874906360931246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-48749184662753674762010-04-08T12:26:24.233-04:002010-04-08T12:26:24.233-04:00Thanks for the reminder, Jane. I've signed up...Thanks for the reminder, Jane. I've signed up for the webinar and just have to hope I'm not working. I'm guessing they'll make it available afterwards online...Carrie Arnoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02569839838912988783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-66588277260476994652010-04-08T10:10:55.185-04:002010-04-08T10:10:55.185-04:00Hot topic these days! NEDA's offering a free w...Hot topic these days! NEDA's offering a free webinar later this month "What does Real Recovery Look Like"<br />http://bit.ly/c79SIUJane Cawleyhttp://maudsleyparents.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-86902174292966560062010-04-08T08:22:30.426-04:002010-04-08T08:22:30.426-04:00Great post and I think I just found my new goal--&...Great post and I think I just found my new goal--"to put your (my) eating disorder in the past tense, but always keep your (my)recovery in the present tense."<br /><br />EDs are different than something like cancer in that there is no point A to point B that can be verified through a blood test or medical proof, so to speak. While you can reach a certain weight, there is no point when a doctor will come back with test results and say that your ED is completely gone from your system, there are no traces of infected cells and you are officially in remission. <br /><br />Much like an addiction, we will always have to be conscious of the triggers and symptoms, diligent in our efforts to stop the bleeding before it starts again. An alcoholic can't have just one drink, just as I can't start skipping meals or reading blogs on maladaptive behavior and obsessive exercise. It's something that I think I'll have to live with forever--not necessarily the disease, but the knowledge that it's something I have to stay on top of every single day. <br /><br />This is going to sound bad, but I often doubt that those who "completely" recover and have no more anxiety, hang-ups or behaviors were ever really that sick. (I can't believe I just wrote that, as I'm sure I will be hated.) Being as entrenched as I am at times, I find it impossible to think I will never revert back in some way, shape or form to that way of thinking. Not that I'll act on it, but that it won't even be an issue. <br /><br />Damn verbs...Abbyhttp://www.abbyhasissues.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-17294647355253319162010-04-08T05:10:17.379-04:002010-04-08T05:10:17.379-04:00...And I should add - that palliative care is larg......And I should add - that palliative care is largely inefficacious for low weight anorexia nervosa (AN). This is because almost all physical complications such as heart failure, osteoporosis, immune suppression, kidney and liver dysfunction (etc.) are caused by malnutrition and low weight. <br /><br />To be offered palliative care for the physical symptoms of low weight AN can offer false hope. Many/most of the physical symptoms of AN reverse with weight gain and continued good nutrition.Cathy (UK)http://www.youtube.com/user/misstiggykinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6561748834204284315.post-63045529752484053832010-04-08T03:17:33.416-04:002010-04-08T03:17:33.416-04:00This is a really important topic and as well as ha...This is a really important topic and as well as having left a couple of comments on Laura’s post, I also chatted with her about this via Skype.<br /><br />I had low weight, restricting anorexia nervosa (AN) for nearly 30 yrs and was previously ‘written off’ by some doctors as ‘chronic’. My AN was something of a relapsing course, in that I had periods of partial remission where I was coping better with life – and so I was able to relax the rituals/behaviours of my AN. I’d gain a bit of weight, but I always relapsed back to a lower weight. The triggers for the relapses were never about body image/'feeling fat', but rather, I felt overwhelmed with life. <br /><br />After reaching a near life or death situation 5-6 yrs ago I was motivated to try to gain 40 pounds – because I didn’t want to die. Now that my weight is in the 'normal' range, I manage my AN much better and have few of the symptoms of AN. I am ‘in remission’, but I would not say I’m ‘recovered’ because my AN was so intertwined with both an ASD and OCD, both of which persist and are characterised by routines and rituals (some enjoyable, some borne out of anxiety), food phobias and food sensitivities. <br /><br />My eating problems, (which include fear of choking while eating and real aversions to certain foods - i.e. fear that they will induuce vomiting) now have nothing to do with controlling my weight and/or trying to keep a low energy intake. When life gets difficult I have to fight to stop myself from restricting, because restricting makes me feel less anxious and temporarily ‘better’. However, the drawback is that restricting triggers my AN. Therefore, I have to try to adhere rigidly to a meal plan to ensure that I eat enough.<br /><br />I do believe that some people totally recover from AN, and never look back. They are able to lead ‘normal’ lives. Others have to learn to live with co-morbid issues (e.g. ASD, anxiety disorder, personality disorder, bipolar disorder etc.) and to manage their AN, remaining vigilant that it might re-surface. Others never manage to ‘get better’ and die, or become severely disabled. <br /><br />As I commented on Laura’s blog, it’s important for clinicians, parents and the apparently ‘incurable’ patients themselves to understand WHY recovery seems to be impossible. And, like Laura, I don’t believe that anyone should ever give up on ‘chronic’ patients. I have friends in ther 30s and 40s who have chosen to be treated only palliatively. They have never found treatment helpful and are absolutely terrified of being re-fed. They are fully aware of the risks of imminent death. I simply don’t know how to motivate them to get any better... I wish I could help them...Cathy (UK)http://www.youtube.com/user/misstiggykinsnoreply@blogger.com