My daughters weight loss is worrying me

[And67]

Hi, I’m really worried about my daughter. She’s 19 and just going into her 2nd year of uni. She put some weight on at the start of her 1st year, nothing extreme but for her she wasn’t happy and started to diet and exercise which was brilliant, she started to lose weight, going from around just over 9 stone to now just over 7 stone. Getting far too thin for my liking but more worryingly, she’s got into a mess with going to the toilet and unknown to me till a few weeks ago was taking laxatives to try and get her tummy flat because she was constantly bloated. She’s been to the doctors numerous times and been given fibrogel, movicol, various things to try and get her bowels moving.which hasn’t really worked. She’s now been sent for blood tests and all has come back normal but she still can’t poo normally. On top of this she’s obsessed with what she eats or more to the point doesn’t, and exercising. She feels guilty when she eats normally, if she doesn’t go to the gym. I just want her to get back to normal and don’t know how to help her .

[2718281]

Hi And67, I think the first thing here is if she knows she needs help or not. It's almost impossible to help someone who doesn't want to get help, and pushing her can make things worse. If she knows that she needs help, I think you might want to talk to a professional who can help her understand why she feels the way she feels about food/eating/exercise, sometimes it's easier to open to a stranger than to your own friends and family...

[And67 in reply to 2718281]

Hi 2718281, that is so true. I think she does recognise she needs help which is why she went to the doctors, but it’s going about it that is the problem. She’s asking for me to get her a personal trainer to help her with diet and exercise because she’s scared of going back to the same weight as before. But she wants to be able to eat normally without the laxatives also.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to And67]

A good personal trainer will encourage her to eat properly, as well as encourage the right exercise, which will help her confidence and self esteem 😊

[2718281 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

That's true, having a personal trainer might be enough to help

[Tiggerr]

You might want to look here and see if they can provide you with the advice you're after... healthunlocked.com/anorexia...

I hope things work out for her and you.

[And67 in reply to Tiggerr]

Thanks Tiggerr , I will.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Tiggerr]

Thank you Tiggerr 👍

[IndigoBlue61]

Im very sorry to hear of your worries, but I’m afraid this isn’t the right place to get advice. This is a peer to peer support group for those trying to lose weight and we are not qualified to help you.

I hope you can arrange some professional help for your daughter

Very best wishes

Indigo 😊

[Annekelly58]

You must be really worried. I am no expert but have encountered several people with eating disorders in both my private and professional life. I'd ask for a referral to a specialist if I were you. Good luck.

[And67]

I’m new to the site and wasn’t really sure where to start with this but thank you all

for your advice and pointing me in the right direction.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to And67]

You’re very welcome, I hope you can get some help and your daughters health improves 😊

[S11m]

Hi, And67 . I think that some of her symptoms might be due to gluten allergy.

If "She feels guilty when she eats normally, if she doesn’t go to the gym" it would seem to me be classic anorexia - but it is good she realises that she needs help.