Dr. O'Toole's Blog

What happens when the weight comes back?

Jun 21 2010 - 5:26pm

In the next few blogs I am going to excerpt a few relevant parts from my upcoming book about eating disorder treatment called Give Food A Chance, to be published this year by PSI Press. Once the book becomes available, we will notify readers of my blog where it can be purchased.

This excerpt deals with “weight redistribution” or the shifting of weight in patients with anorexia who have become weight restored during their eating disorder treatment:

Eating Disorder Symptoms: what to watch for

Jun 16 2010 - 6:07pm

Previously I have discussed relapse. Now I would like to put together a short list of concerning symptoms to be aware of. These symptoms, should they occur, must prompt a closer inspection and possible reevaluation by your eating disorder team.

1. Obviously, weight loss. Any weight loss of more than 5 pounds is very, very concerning. Do not wait until five pounds has become ten. Add calories (food) to arrest the weight loss promptly. If you meet with resistance, consider this a sign you need help now.

When I am with Kitties: the Very Young Child with Anorexia Nervosa

Jun 7 2010 - 3:47pm

In this blog I am going to share a short poem written by a ten year old girl with anorexia nervosa who came to Kartini Clinic years ago for eating disorder treatment. I have never forgotten her because of this poem and because she and very young children like her taught me how biologically-based anorexia is and how blameless our patients are. Children with anorexia nervosa are like children with any other illness: still children!

When I am with kitties
the light in my life comes shining through,

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Doctors: Listen to Parents About Eating Disorder Symptoms

May 25 2010 - 5:06pm

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book Give Food A Chance (to be published this summer by PSI Press) taken from a chapter about parents, their essential roles in recognizing symptoms of eating disorders such as anorexia, as in obtaining timely treatment for their child. It is written partially as a plea to other medical doctors to listen to parents, and also partially to encourage parents to continue to advocate for their children in their time of

Relapse in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

May 18 2010 - 1:03pm

I am occasionally asked whether or not anorexia nervosa is a chronic illness. As far as I am concerned, anorexia nervosa is a chronic illness of remission and exacerbation, which is a medical way of saying an illness often returns after a period of stability. Anorexia can be gotten into good remission, which may last many years, but it can flare up with a recurrence of symptoms during times of stress, life change or for no apparent reason. We call this relapse.

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The Use of Neuropsychological Testing in Eating Disorder Treatment

May 10 2010 - 5:34pm

Occasionally our team will ask our psychologist, Dr. Rebecca Seifert, to do psychological testing on a patient. Such testing is time consuming and expensive. Why do we do it and what does it have to offer?

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A plea for moderation in eating (and thinking)

May 3 2010 - 11:17am

This is a blog about excess. And because it is a Kartini blog, it is about food. How can we find our balance in this country with one large contingency harping -- yes, harping -- on how we are all more obese than anyone imagined while another contingency stridently promotes anti-dieting messages (like mine)?

Eating disorders are biological illnesses of the brain

Apr 27 2010 - 6:07pm

I recently engaged with fellow eating disorder treatment providers in an online discussion about the biological basis of anorexia nervosa.

DSM-V and eating disorder treatment: why definitions matter

Apr 12 2010 - 6:21pm

DSM-V: A Rose by any other name...

Medication for treatment of eating disorders and Directly Observed Therapy

Mar 22 2010 - 10:08am

From the world of public health and the campaign against tuberculosis comes critical information relevant to our patients with eating disorders. As many of you know, we have found the use of Olanzepine (Zyprexa) very helpful in the early part of treatment for anorexia nervosa in children, adolescents and young adults. Obviously, anything worth doing is also worth doing correctly. After all, it is dangerous (not to mention ineffective) for a child’s blood levels of a medication to gyrate up and down wildly because they sometimes “forget” or their parents “forget” or because

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