Reassessing my eating disorder

[Rubie1996]

I have recently moved cities and the eating disorder service I was going to has referred me to the new service, however this new one wants to assess me in order to see if they will offer me the therapy. But what I'm terrified about is, reassessment was never mentioned to me before moving and as I am undergoing recovery and have been maintaining weight I am just about in the 'anorexic BMI' maybe even slightly over now and I'm very scared that they'll reject me for treatment based on that fact when they were not supposed to stop helping me until my BMI and thoughts were at a healthy state.

Does anyone have any advice or experience on this please?

💜💙

[Kessa]

If they rejected you would be very very wrong and i hope no one will reject someone based on their weight.

I would explain the situation to them mentioning you are in recovery now and therefore you are mantaining a healthy weight but if they are experts in EDs they should never ever refuse to treat someone just because of their weight or BMI.

After all EDs are not just about weight and BMI.

Just be honest with them and tell them everything, I m sure if they are competent they'll ask more questions to you in order to treat you properly.Good luck with the new service and keep up the good job on being healthier

[Rubie1996 in reply to Kessa]

Thank you for your advice

unfortunately it's very common for people to be rejected if their BMI is over a certain point because of the diagnosis criteria of the DSM-5... it sucks

But yeah I'll explain to the them I'm in the recovery

I'm still underweight at the moment but I'm only just in the anorexic weight range maybe very slightly out of it now... but the thought of being rejected the help is tempted me to actively lose weight in order to be able to accepted which I guess would be bad considering I already eat less than the recommended intake :S

and thank you very much x

[Kessa in reply to Rubie1996]

I didn't know it was so common it really sucks. I ve never being to a centre or hospital, I just remember once i went to my GP in a bad moment when I was struggling and she told me " oh, it's not that you are really dying". Well i still was suffering and i felt awful.

I really hope you won't give up and keep seeking help if you cannot find it in this place. You really deserve to be helped no matter the BMI.

I mean it's not that one person suffer or struggle less at a different BMI.

It doesn't change anything.

Maybe at that point I would look for a private therapist but don't give up!

xxx

[andrun123]

Rubie,

I moved cities in the middle of first admitting and accepting treatment and counseling for my eating disorder. Accepting help was a huge step forward, but when I moved it felt like I took a thousand steps back. It was my own fault for not trusting or being open with new doctors. I instead just waited for them to take responsibility and take over right where my former doctors left off. I ended up in the hospital twice in the past year. I don't want this to worry you, like I said it was my own fault. I'm telling you this because I do not want anything like this to happen to you.

Be open, tell them your fears and explain to them your former treatment plan. If they don't want to go with what was working for you or continue with treatment, find someone new. Request that they send you to someone else who will support what you have in place. I know sometimes where we live resources may be limited, but don't stop seeking for and advocating for what you need. Ultimately this is for YOUR recovery, and it sounds like you have made so much progress already. That is truly amazing. Keep up the great work and know that you have so many supporters out there.

The best of luck to you!

[TPepper]

Hello,

It is a little funny though because a month ago I was worrying that I would not get treatment because my BMI is in the normal range so it doesn't seem as if I have a problem. When I expressed this, someone commented that ED services are moving away from solely basing whether you need help or not based on BMI because that isn't helpful i.e. you can have someone underweight who is healthy and someone normal weight with an ED. I think they have to have to consider the distress you have around food and how it affects your daily life.

Hope this helps!

[Smarsh]

I just finished 6 months of treatment and i was worried about this when i was first referrer. I went in with bmi 19 and left with bmi 19 so they didn't just do it on weight. The change in my mind and body image has been phenomenal however. Good luck ☺xxx