Viewing blog posts tagged with "Eating Disorders"

Jacques, a friend and parent advocate, sent me an online summary of an article discussing the current evidence base for the use of Olanzapine in anorexia nervosa.  Keep in mind as you read the summary that, regardless of the evidence base for efficacy and safety of Olanzapine in general and with anorexia nervosa in particular, this is still an off label use of this drug.  Off label means it is a drug approved for one condition which is used by physicians to treat a different…

I follow Laura Collin’s blog almost all of the time—but some personal medical issues have kept me from reading lately, until today.  I scanned her recent entries and saw this.

Good God.  But it does raise a few questions/issues; in fact, way more than a few.

1. Parents don’t cause eating disorders. Since we founded the Kartini Clinic we have been saying loudly, unequivocally and clearly:  Parents don’t cause eating disorders and children don’t choose to have them.    

Do we say this to…

I (among other people)  have recently been challenged by Laura Collins to get the message out that weight restoration is critical to psychological recovery in anorexia nervosa.  Some authority, Laura says, must declare definitively that psychological recovery is tied to weight restoration.

Some authority….ok…but who?

Since the late 1990’s the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) has issued guidelines for hospitalization (after all, a serious intervention) based on medical parameters…

Every researcher in the field of eating disorders tries their best to reduce the burden of suffering for patients.  They try to contribute to the meaningful scientific discussion.  Having said that, however, I am going to proceed to critique an article by Natalie Godart, Sylvie Berthoz, Florence Curt and colleagues at the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris, France; the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research; King’s College, London Institute of Psychiatry; the…

There seems to be a discussion that simply will not die in the world of eating disorders (particularly when it comes to anorexia nervosa) around whether the “desire for thinness” is culturally bound and whether AN is a “modern phenomenon”.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to acquire a copy of Pthsiologia, a book written in 1689 by Richard Morton, an astute observer and physician of his day.  Morton’s description of two cases—one in a boy and one in a girl-- of what we now call…

This is a difficult time of the year for our patients and, I imagine, for eating disordered patients everywhere.  All over the country people are making plans for family to gather and to frequently do what can only be described as “binge” together.  Why do I say binge?  Well, because on Thanksgiving day people frequently eat more, sometimes much more, than they ordinarily do, which triggers a lot of “regret” style talk, which triggers a lot of discussion of everyone’s diets, weight…

I made this dialogue up, pieced it together from things that have been said to mothers and fathers seeking our care for their eating disordered children many times over the years.  

“Doctor, I am really worried about Simon.  He seems thin to me and recently all he does is study and exercise, he rarely goes out with his friends any more and he used to be such a social kid.”

“Don’t worry, Mom.  Kids go through all kinds of stages.  They have to experience who they are and often try on…

Readers of this blog know that Kartini Clinic offers inpatient medical stabilization, partial hospitalization and outpatient care, all entirely family based.  We do not offer residential care.  However, we find ourselves occasionally forced to refer a patient for residential treatment despite the fact that residential care is by its very nature not family based and despite the fact that the patient will ultimately have to return to their community and family and try to stay in…

The great thing about having your own blog is that you get to decide what you think is appropriate reading for your patients and their families.  Book reviews are always subjective, and never more so than on a blog, but I am pleased to have some books (besides my own Give Food A Chance) to recommend to families and other providers which are compatible with our Kartini approach to eating disorders.

I am often told that if I recommend books with a scientific approach “parents won’t be…

I sit at my desk drinking coffee; our patient census over the years is approaching two thousand children and young adults, the majority of whom have had anorexia nervosa or its variants.  And I am thinking about our boys.  

Given the approximate accepted statistic that 90% of patients with AN will be female, (even though the percentage is higher in younger patients), that still gives us around 200 boys.

Remember, with that many, if you think you recognize someone from these…