How is your son doing now?
At some point, this is definitely self-harm, and you can intervene based on that.
Might it help to actually serve him small portions, but then more frequently? For example, if he only drinks a small amount of a shake, only serve him that amount, and then return later with another small portion. And stay VERY LOW KEY about him eating anything - tho you will want to be doing a happy dance!
Hi , Thanks for asking but he is the same and I’m going to talk with his psychiatrist tomorrow about this . He doesn’t live with me so its hard and when i offer him food or bring food over to his apartment he barely touches it saying its not good for him . He does eat a very small meal once a day that i know as he asks me for money and i can see on his account what he is buying but its not enough and i don’t know what to do . He bad eating habits is a delusion as he feels if he eats certain foods they will shrink his muscles , no matter what i say i can’t help him , its impossible . i hope all ok your end . I read when they get older they can better, Hope that’s true .
Hi Vallpen , Hope all well your end , can i ask you how long your son had his eating disorder ? did it last for years or months ? it’s been about 10 months with my son now . His psychiatrist wanted to give him Lexapro an SSRI for his OCD which he called it but my son refused it as he believed its not good for him and he got really angry and rude and wanted to leave the office immediately and never return . Stressful !! Out of interest was your son on an antipsychotic med or did he ever try SSRI back then ?
@Linda I just had a crazy week with my DD. One thing that happened was this. We put her on an AP (Respiridol) and realized very quickly how this was affecting her. One of the odd behaviors was her sudden beliefs in the food and meds I was giving her. She thought I was feeding her dog food. It was so bazaar as my DD will normally eat ANYTHING I feed her. Her appetite did change when psychosis first came in the scene 4 months ago, she wouldn’t eat unless I prepared food and told her it was time to eat, but this was totally different. Just a thought…
Hello - I would say it lasted over 6+ months and slowly worsened. He had stopped taking the AP he was prescribed - Risperadol at that time I think. He eventually was hospitalized for psychiatric care, and slowly began eating other foods.
He has a strange relationship with foods now. He frequently changes what foods he considers “good” or “bad”.
Hi Happee , Thank you for your thought , is she better with her food now ?
Hi Vallpen ,Thank you for your reply , my son is exactly the same with him frequently changing what foods he considers “good” or “bad”. Do you mind me asking what meds your son is on ? my son is on Abilify . Do you think the food disorder is from the meds or does it go hand in hand with Schizophrenia /schizoaffective disorder ?
@linda yup. As soon as the Respiridol half life went out of her system she went back to eating and ok taking pills. She’s had one heck of a time on APs. We are addressing this naturally right now. My husband and I are going to get the genetic testing for her for medications. One of my friends struggled for years with her daughter and psychosis in and out for years until they went for testing. After that, 3 years, no psychosis and she’s been doing great. Hope things get better for you.
Thank you ! That info helps a lot .Do you mind letting me know how you are addressing this naturally ?Wish you all the best .
@Linda first, let me say, I’m in NO WAY advocating what we are doing. Because frankly, I think we’re just winging it. We’ve had some negative side effects so far from APs and my daughter is also Intellectually disabled. (2 edge sword here) she had first break 16 weeks and 2 days ago. Hit is like a freight train. Literally, she woke up over night and was gone mentally. So far this is what I KNOW had kept her calm. CBD. Now I’m also heavily supplementing her with extras but the CBD is what I notice the most. She’s still in psychosis, still talks to herself had all the positive effects, but she’s CALM(er). That said, it’s expensive, unregulated, and not enough clinical trials. I’ve had her up as high 1000mg per day and now feel like for now her optimal dosage is about 700mg per day. A gram of CBD distallate costs me between 15-21.00. so yes, very, very, expensive. Most people only use around 30-50mg per day, if that. We also have her on amyloban 3399, niacin, Vit C, strong multi, Luma and B125. We’ve recently added alkaline water- not sure if it’s making any difference but it’s not costing us anything. Plus she’s on a ridiculous strict diet. No processed sugars or gluten. Kind of a cross between keto/Paleo. That should give you something to research. If you have any questions on the CBD message me privately.
Hi , i really hope and pray all what you’re doing will work for her . Your an amazing Mother ! i tried so hard to get my son to take CBD and niacin and he completely refused , i really believe it can help but i have an extremely stubborn and paranoid son . The only thing he will take is his Abilify Nothing else so i have to be thankful for that . Please let us know how your daughter gets on and keep up the good work .
@Linda amazing? I hardly believe that but thank you. I’m just a parent, like all the rest who wants the best for their loved one. Best to you too.
I also was going to suggest ice cream! Or shakes of some kind. If he had a Nutibullet he could make his own smoothies.
Hey Jan , Tried that , he will allow himself a shot glass and drink half of it , its crazy . Every day i ask him if he wants ice cream and he says ‘its not good for me’ but last week when i asked he said yes shockingly so we went to buy some and he ate such a small portion and i could see he looked almost guilty having it . His Psychiatrist says its OCD and wanted to give him an SSRI but he refused and said its not good for him . I don’t know what else to do .
@Linda , I am so sorry for the rebuffed attempts to help your son eat. Yes, eating disorders are very commonly caused by active delusion, and delusions are so hard to break. Even meds often don’t break the delusions, as I know from experience with my daughter. However, she is no longer delusional about food. She will eat almost anything that I prepare now, and loves me to take her out to eat. While she was psychotic, it was a battle to get her to even open her door and take a meal once a day. I soon stopped cooking for her. I cooked for myself, what I wanted, and offered her some. If I wasn’t cooking for me, I didn’t cook for her, but got fast food, etc.
Also, in my county, when despite care given, the disabled person is doing self harm (like starving themselves), they can be Baker Acted Ex-Parte (meaning an application to a judge in the courthouse). If approved, the sheriff comes to take the person to the hospital, minimally for 3 day observation and perhaps forced drugs to improve behavior.
I used to be ashamed, afraid, etc. of forcing hospitalization when needed, but I am no longer. I would do it again if it were needed for my daughter.
My heart hurts for your pain.
Thank you for reaching out , can i ask you for how long did your daughter have the eating disorder ? so your saying its a delusion not from the meds ? That makes a lot of sense , His psychiatrist says its either a delusion or BBD and that’s the reason he wanted to try an SSRI but my son refused . If it is a delusion than an SSRI isn’t really necessary , i’m just thinking out loud . My son has a hard time even choosing what to eat as he believes it shrinks his muscles , so he eats i would say 1 small meal a day like a sushi roll or very small piece of salmon with broccoli than say to me that he’s not allowed to eat salmon or sushi for a while because he just ate it and its not good for him . Today he ate a small portion of fish and chips so I’m kind of relaxed today but this is all crazy and so hard dealing with this . Im happy to hear your daughter is doing well : )
My daughter stopped eating regularly almost as soon as she got ill. She thought food I prepared was poison or wrong for her. Food she made for herself was odd and in tiny proportions. She blended protein powder, juice and salad for months once daily. She wouldn’t drink water much, and only a very specific type of bottled water. For awhile she only ate food her step-father was eating (he eats a lot prepared junk empty carbs) as he “wasn’t serving poisoned food” (just mom was). Then she switched into hating him, believing he was abusing her, to the point where she called 911 several times a week. She got very thin (size 3) and pale. Finally, after knocking on her door each evening to offer a plate of food which she refused, she started opening her door for me, or going out with me through a fast food drive through. For about 2.5 years she was actively psychotic and unmedicated.
On the Haldol monthly dec shot, she lost her delusions about food, about abuse, about being spied on, and stopped talking incessantly to “higher beings that watched over the city”. She still occasionally has her “special power”, but keeps it in private in her room, usually when she is sitting in front of her mirror talking to herself. She is now size 12-14, and exercises a few times a week.
I believe her food aversion could only have been a delusion, as it only cleared up on the right medication. Since your son is certain that food “shrinks his muscles” or that he “isn’t allowed to eat” certain things, it sounds like delusion to me. I am not medically trained, mind you, this is my opinion only, however, he has very fixed beliefs which don’t make sense. If he was being nauseous after eating, or breaking out in hives or burping constantly, well that might be physical. You have to go on your own gut feelings sometimes in trying to help a loved one.
I think the same way as you , His meds is keeping him out of hospital but not clearing up all his delusions and he refuses to change meds , not much i can do , happy to hear your daughter is doing better , does she still live with you ? does she work ?
Hi @Linda, I truly understand your situation and the helplessness of things not going the way we hope. I still come here every night because the ache in my heart was helped so much by everyone here. Reading and learning is so valuable.
My daughter lives with me, she has zero desire to live on her own anymore. She told me the other day that I need to live to be 100 so she can always live with me (I am 62). The world at large still scares her. She was working cleaning with a temp agency until the job ended. Hopefully it will start again in January. She mostly watches TV and stays in bed. When I get home from work she goes places with me. It is far, far better than the active psychosis, but far from a “normal” life. She does a bit of housework and says she will help paint the outside of the house when it finally cools off here in Florida. We are trying to get her on disability.
Sounds like you have a beautiful relationship with your daughter : ) My son does not live with me anymore and we have a good relationship too ,we moved to Florida about 7 years ago and he just got his green card but i still need to wait a few more years to apply for Disability ,( im hoping in a few years i wouldn’t need too if he works ) 2 1/2 years ago i had a normal son , i past the shock and the grieving but the sadness is still inside me . Today was a good day so i’m thankful for that . Do you go to NAMI ? I try to go on Tuesdays in Delray .