Teenage Daughter Throwing Up Food - Where To Start ?
Discussion
My 13yr old daughter has been throwing up / is unable to eat certain food.
She's always been a fussy eater and at first I thought this was just an extension of that - making more fuss to get out of eating healthy food.
However it's got worse and I'm now concerned, she's open and logical about it.
Some food she says she just can't put in her mouth due to texture, other food was ok - she can eat 4 Oranges or Mars bars etc
Today (first day of school) she threw up her lunch and tonight she threw up her dinner - she hasn't tried to hide it.
She's tall and slim so I doubt it's a body image issue, she was bullied last year but it was soon dealt with, has some friends, doing well educationally.
Dr, Hypnotist, Psychiatrist ?
She's always been a fussy eater and at first I thought this was just an extension of that - making more fuss to get out of eating healthy food.
However it's got worse and I'm now concerned, she's open and logical about it.
Some food she says she just can't put in her mouth due to texture, other food was ok - she can eat 4 Oranges or Mars bars etc
Today (first day of school) she threw up her lunch and tonight she threw up her dinner - she hasn't tried to hide it.
She's tall and slim so I doubt it's a body image issue, she was bullied last year but it was soon dealt with, has some friends, doing well educationally.
Dr, Hypnotist, Psychiatrist ?
Donotgogentle said:
She's tall and slim so I doubt it's a body image issue, she was bullied last year but it was soon dealt with, has some friends, doing well educationally.
Just because she is thin, doesn't mean it's not possibly an eating disorder.First stop is doctors and they can refer from there
This. Trust me what you see can be vastly different from what they see.
Stress of school, have you asked if she’s worried about it? (food is often only control they feel that they have when they perceive they have none).
These are a dedicated charity and a really helpful resource https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-ser...
Main thing I’ve learned was don’t make a big deal out it, reassure them you love them, you won’t judge what they are worried about and will support them and be patient.
ETA Sometimes they can find it easier to talk to someone who they don’t know, don’t take it personally, they can feel ashamed/ embarrassed.
Good luck, do PM if would help but the link I’ve sent has help for parents/ family not just the person with the potential issue.
Stress of school, have you asked if she’s worried about it? (food is often only control they feel that they have when they perceive they have none).
These are a dedicated charity and a really helpful resource https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-ser...
Main thing I’ve learned was don’t make a big deal out it, reassure them you love them, you won’t judge what they are worried about and will support them and be patient.
ETA Sometimes they can find it easier to talk to someone who they don’t know, don’t take it personally, they can feel ashamed/ embarrassed.
Good luck, do PM if would help but the link I’ve sent has help for parents/ family not just the person with the potential issue.
Edited by Wonderman on Monday 6th January 21:51
I was a very fussy eater as a child and still am as an adult.
Your daughter has told you that some textures she really can't stand. This is the problem I've had over the years. It's generally with fruit and vegetables, which isn't ideal. Some times it's also taste or smell (feel sick when I smell cooked sweetcorn for example). My throat closes up and I inevitably end up unable to finish chewing as I'll gag or choke and come very, very close to vomiting.
For example I can eat carrot and potato soup. Whizz it through a blender under it's smooth and I'm perfectly happy with it. Can I eat a carrot? No. I can eat potatoes but I'm not a fan of new potatoes that have a bit of a bite to them, and I loathe an undercooked jacket potato which hasn't cooked all the way through. I will happily drink a carton of orange juice, but really don't like biting down on orange segments, and when I do drink orange juice it has to be smooth as bits in juice is disgusting (to me).
I've realised I tick a few boxes for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Disorder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant/restrictive_food_intake_disorder), which is more common in people on the Autism spectrum but less so for people who aren't (I'm not).
I've never had any kind of treatment for it. Ultimately my parents did their best to work around it (not without some arguments as I got older, I think they assumed I would grow out of it), but never took me to a GP or psychologist over it.
All I can say for your daughter is try not to view it as her being stubborn or trying to rebel. My parents did try to punish me when I was very young ("you're not leaving this table until you've tried xyz"), but on seeing me choke on things multiple times I think they realised I wasn't faking it or trying to get out of being healthy. Does still cause conflict with them occasionally/
It's not a nice thing to have, I don't enjoy having to police everything I eat, and I do find explaining it really uncomfortable (grown adults shouldn't be fussy eaters). I simply work around what I can eat, and take multivitamins to help with whatever I'm missing.
Your daughter has told you that some textures she really can't stand. This is the problem I've had over the years. It's generally with fruit and vegetables, which isn't ideal. Some times it's also taste or smell (feel sick when I smell cooked sweetcorn for example). My throat closes up and I inevitably end up unable to finish chewing as I'll gag or choke and come very, very close to vomiting.
For example I can eat carrot and potato soup. Whizz it through a blender under it's smooth and I'm perfectly happy with it. Can I eat a carrot? No. I can eat potatoes but I'm not a fan of new potatoes that have a bit of a bite to them, and I loathe an undercooked jacket potato which hasn't cooked all the way through. I will happily drink a carton of orange juice, but really don't like biting down on orange segments, and when I do drink orange juice it has to be smooth as bits in juice is disgusting (to me).
I've realised I tick a few boxes for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Disorder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant/restrictive_food_intake_disorder), which is more common in people on the Autism spectrum but less so for people who aren't (I'm not).
I've never had any kind of treatment for it. Ultimately my parents did their best to work around it (not without some arguments as I got older, I think they assumed I would grow out of it), but never took me to a GP or psychologist over it.
All I can say for your daughter is try not to view it as her being stubborn or trying to rebel. My parents did try to punish me when I was very young ("you're not leaving this table until you've tried xyz"), but on seeing me choke on things multiple times I think they realised I wasn't faking it or trying to get out of being healthy. Does still cause conflict with them occasionally/
It's not a nice thing to have, I don't enjoy having to police everything I eat, and I do find explaining it really uncomfortable (grown adults shouldn't be fussy eaters). I simply work around what I can eat, and take multivitamins to help with whatever I'm missing.
As someone whose teenage daughter has suffered (is suffering) from an eating disorder, I would suggest the following:
At this point, you have no way of knowing if this is the onset of Bulimia, or something much more complex but maybe less troubling as described by another poster.
Your GP will almost certainly be fairly useless - the best you can expect is a referral to Camhs, who are also generally pretty useless. The problem with a referral to Cahms is that it immediately labels it as a Mental Health issue - which it might not be. However, I would still say start with your GP, but go in with low expectations - your goal should be to have any medical issues ruled out before going down the ED route.
Bulimia is a totally different animal to Anorexia, and the impacts on weight are nowhere near as dramatic. So don't use weight / body shape as a measure of whether or not she's ok.
If it does end up being an eating disorder, then you really need to get her under either the Maudsley Hospital or Great Ormand St. Private providers, e.g. Priory, Huntercombe etc are not the answer and they end up being VERY expensive.
At this point, you have no way of knowing if this is the onset of Bulimia, or something much more complex but maybe less troubling as described by another poster.
Your GP will almost certainly be fairly useless - the best you can expect is a referral to Camhs, who are also generally pretty useless. The problem with a referral to Cahms is that it immediately labels it as a Mental Health issue - which it might not be. However, I would still say start with your GP, but go in with low expectations - your goal should be to have any medical issues ruled out before going down the ED route.
Bulimia is a totally different animal to Anorexia, and the impacts on weight are nowhere near as dramatic. So don't use weight / body shape as a measure of whether or not she's ok.
If it does end up being an eating disorder, then you really need to get her under either the Maudsley Hospital or Great Ormand St. Private providers, e.g. Priory, Huntercombe etc are not the answer and they end up being VERY expensive.
Thanks, I know to catch it early and have been making light of it so she doesn't stress about it too much.
She has been to the Doctor before - who advised to let her eat what she wants but feeding a teen 90% chocolate doesn't seem like a great solution.
I'm not doubting there is an issue but I wonder how much is the issue and how much is the desire to eat chocolate and gain attention from school / friends.
She has been to the Doctor before - who advised to let her eat what she wants but feeding a teen 90% chocolate doesn't seem like a great solution.
I'm not doubting there is an issue but I wonder how much is the issue and how much is the desire to eat chocolate and gain attention from school / friends.
. Good posts above. Something like CBT, hypnotherapy or even a pshychiatrist can help. It's good that she's open to wanting to get it sorted.
Food issues with children are often about control. They can't control much in their life but they can control what goes in their mouths hence things like anorexia or bulimia. She has probably trained herself to react to food in an extreme way.
Food issues with children are often about control. They can't control much in their life but they can control what goes in their mouths hence things like anorexia or bulimia. She has probably trained herself to react to food in an extreme way.
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