TW - Being discharged from therapy before you are even close to recovered

[Solar]

I think my outpatient ED team are going to discharge me before I am even close to recovered, as I can’t do what they ask.

I am currently struggling with what is basically bulimia, after gaining these behaviors in recovery from anorexia. I am now a healthy weight but still struggling with restricting and eating normal adequate portions and at regular times, along with the bingeing and purging (vomiting and laxatives)

They want me to eat a full regular meal plan and I just can’t. As much as I want the bingeing to stop and logically I know that the only way to achieve this is to eat normally I just can’t. The need to lose weight is just too strong and cunning. I could compromise with them and say I will attempt a meal plan which is aimed at losing weight but I am sure they would see that as counter productive.

I just feel like I am wasting their time and NHS money.

Has anyone had this happen to them? How did you cope?

[TimesLikeThese]

Why is it you feel you can't follow the meal plan? Is it because it goes against what your "anorexia" thoughts are telling you to do? Have you told anyone this from your ED outpatient support?

I think you need to make it clear to them what you are struggling with, and you are not going against the plan they set for you because of deliberately not cooperating. It's clear you know it's the best thing to do, like you said it will help to stop you from bingeing, it's just you are finding it hard and could do with support.

When do you next see them? Can any friends or family help to support you to follow the meal plan?

[raspberry_swirl]

This is a difficult situation but I also think it's quite a common one.

These days there's not much funding around and so IP, DP and OP are often quite time limited.

You're saying you won't eat the meal plan which is aimed at you maintaining weight but that's because you want to lose weight, but by not eating the meal plan that's why you're bingeing, so you're not losing weight anyway (presumably) so doesn't it make more sense just to follow the plan? I'm only saying this because you're saying the reason you're not doing it is because of the urges to lose weight, unless I'm totally misunderstanding this which I might be, in which case I apologise!

Services all work differently in different areas so I don't know if I can comment on their strategy but I guess you can only work with what you've got.

I do think if you ate more regularly and managed to get control of the binge/purge and so on the urge to lose weight would lessen and you could get your life back.

Can you discuss with them what you're struggling with? Cos otherwise it's not gonna be that helpful (the therapy).