Do I Need Intensive Treatment for my Binge Eating?

July 17, 2006

[gso]: hello llb how are you tonight?
[llb]: i'm ok...how are you?
[gso]: hello soulsearcher how are you tonight? welcome back
[gso]: fine thanks
[soulsearcher]: hi gso....other than being exhausted, im ok
[gso]: hello mimi how are you tonight?
[soulsearcher]: hi llb, mimi, and DJ
[gso]: hello dj how are you tonight welcome back
[DJ]: Hi!
[llb]: hello everybody
[Mimi]: Hi gso, llb, soulsearcher and DJ
[DJ]: Continuing to keep on keeping on... Thanks!
[gso]: does anyone have a topic they would like to start with?
[DJ]: Self Acceptance
[gso]: dj can you say more
[DJ]: Sometimes I have difficulty accepting me for being a different size than others. When people say things about my size, it further reenforces my negative thinking.
[gso]: what do people say?
[DJ]: It seems odd to me that very skinny folks can see themselves as being too fat and I, who am obviously too fat, sometimes choose to ignore our fat appearance so as to be able to still like ourselves.
[DJ]: What's up with that? Even after losing a lot of weight, I still feel like a misfit.
[gso]: dj body distortion is common among both the over- and under-weight
[DJ]: It breaks my heart to hear these little skinny girls cry about how fat they are.
[gso]: among the obese,......I have had patients who can't believe they weight 400 lbs becasue at 250 they stopped stepping on the scale
[DJ]: Most of them are gorgeous creatures that can't see themselves for what or who they are. Yet, realizing that, I still have difficulty seeing the beauty in myself.
[gso]: among the underweight, they feel full so easily and feel bloated that they think it is "fat" when it is really their body starving
[DJ]: gso; I know the feeling...
[ALINA]: hello
[alina]: i am new to this
[gso]: hello alina
[soulsearcher]: welcome alina
[gso]: I think this is your first time welcome!!!
[alina]: hello
[alina]: thanks
[Mimi]: Hi Alina
[alina]: i found your website by searching
[alina]: i have an eating disorder
[alina]: and i need help
[llb]: welcome alina
[DJ]: Hi Alina!
[DJ]: Welcome to our group.
[alina]: thanks
[alina]: i am looking for help in new york city
[alina]: or new york area
[alina]: for me and my 2 kids
[alina]: 9 and 15
[alina]: we are all suffering from the same disease bingeing
[alina]: me at times purging as well as bingeing
[alina]: how can this group help
[alina]: help
[System]: arsc_user_enter~~gso~~Author's Suite
[alina]: what can i do here
[gso]: alins since it is your first time
[gso]: alina
[gso]: we chat a bit and share our ideas about eating and health habits
[alina]: ok thanks
[gso]: I was kicked out but am back.....did I miss anything?
[Mimi]: gso, did you get knocked off?
[Mimi]: alina said she's looking for help in NYC
[gso]: yes:-(
[gso]: thank you mimi....
[Mimi]: for her and her 2 kids 9 and 15
[DJ]: Alina, when do you find yourself bingeing the most?
[Mimi]: welcome :-)
[Mimi]: llb, I did it and didn't look lol
[gso]: alina, please use the webmail service and I will forward to you the websites of agencies that will do a search so you can find a specialist in your area
[llb]: good for you mimi ;-)
[Mimi]: thanks
[gso]: I missed the dialogue between llb and mimi
[gso]: soulsearcher are you there?
[llb]: mimi doing smilies :-)
[Mimi]: llb taught me how to send smilies without looking
[soulsearcher]: yes, stll here
[gso]: lol :-) :-) :-)
[gso]: dj had a ? for alina
[gso]: at 21:14
[DJ]: Alina, if you don't feel like talking yet, that's OK.
[Mimi]: alina, I binge too
[llb]: i think we lost her
[gso]: alina are you there?
[DJ]: When I first started treatment for bingeing, I often found that I was in the process of eating or had already eaten following some sort of an emotional trigger.
[DJ]: The key for me was to see the wave coming before I was riding the wave or splashed onto the beach, so to speak.
[gso]: great insight dj
[Mimi]: I do it less than I used to because now I'm more aware but sometimes it's just unconscious
[DJ]: Last week this server kicked me out, left me logged in until the end of the chat, and wouldn't let me log back in. I hope that didn't happend to Alina.
[gso]: dj what are some of your emotional triggers?
[DJ]: Feeling lonely or feeling stressed out while being tired.
[ALINA]: SORRY
[alina]: i binge all the time
[alina]: day and night
[DJ]: The lonely part for me is the worst trigger.
[Mimi]: I found since I'm more aware of my bingeing and trying to stop I've replaced it with talking on the phone
[gso]: alina dj was saying that his triggers are emotional....like loneliness
[alina]: it's loneliness
[alina]: it's happiness
[alina]: every emotion that i have
[alina]: i eat
[alina]: and eat and eat
[alina]: until i can't move anymore
[gso]: alina do you have a weight problem?
[DJ]: Me too, but loneliness was the worst. It is still the one that i fight against the most, day to day.
[alina]: yes
[alina]: i weight 230
[alina]: i gained 50 lbs in less than a year
[alina]: up and down all my
[alina]: life
[alina]: and waht hurst
[alina]: hurts
[alina]: is that my kids have the same problem
[DJ]: Alina, you sound like a person that is willing to do what it takes to be successful. Is that true?
[gso]: alina it can feel just terrible
[gso]: but if you can help yourself you can teach your children what you have learned
[alina]: yes i am ready to go to any length to get help i am looking for partial hospitalization program now
[alina]: for me and my kids
[alina]: actually one in florida
[alina]: but insurances suck they dont want to pay
[alina]: they dont see eating disorder as a disease
[mimi]: gso does hospitalization help for binge eaters?
[alina]: yes
[alina]: the place is called canopy cove
[alina]: canopycove.com
[alina]: in florida
[alina]: but they want $990 per person per day
[gso]: alina what about renfew clinic
[alina]: insurance just does not want to pay
[alina]: i hate it
[alina]: renfrew
[alina]: does not take 9 year olds
[gso]: I believe renfew has a clinic in florida
[alina]: i live in nyc
[alina]: no places in ny take kids and adults
[alina]: the only place is in florida
[gso]: alina to be frank, it will be very difficult to fins a center that will take you and your children
[alina]: i have nobody to watch them
[alina]: i have no family
[alina]: my parents and grandparents are decreased
[gso]: if they see an entire family is in-patient, they see dollar signs
[gso]: ouch :-(
[gso]: neighbors? friends?
[gso]: dj how long were you in patient?
[alina]: friends
[alina]: i was never in patient
[alina]: i never gotten help
[alina]: i only went to therapist once a week
[alina]: w/out any results
[alina]: nothing is helping me
[alina]: my disease is getting worse and worse
[alina]: dont know what to do
[alina]: anymore
[alina]: especially my kids
[alina]: i am divorced
[alina]: just me and my kids
[DJ]: Dr. G., I was and still am being treated on an out-patient bases. In-patient was available but I opted for daily to weekly treatements instead.
[alina]: i am sorry to lay my problems on all of u
[DJ]: I am a big believer in personalized daily to weekly therapy.
[Mimi]: dj, you got daily help?
[gso]: dj can you tell alina about that....maybe she needs to hear about treatment options
[DJ]: Sure. What particularly is would you like to know?
[gso]: mimi's question is a good one.......
[alina]: nyc
[alina]: any treatments?
[Mimi]: there are days when I feel I could use daily help
[gso]: dj can you tell us about what and how you feel has made you better?
[gso]: did we lose him?
[Mimi]: i think so
[Mimi]: alina, I used to binge almost every day. I still binge but not as often
[DJ]: The program I entered has a comprehensive medical, nutritional, and pyschiatric work-up. The treatment team meets together after your first appointment and determine what your initial care plan will be. The medical and nutritional specialists meet with me periodically and the therapist meets with me as often as needed, daily, weekly, or whatever.
[gso]: alina, some folks opt for intensive day treatment in which you go to the hospital for a good portion of the day, usually durung the day
[DJ]: What and how?
[System]: arsc_user_enter~~DJ~~Author's Suite
[DJ]: gso - I got the boot again. What was your entire question?
[gso]: intensive day treatment is a bit more doable than in-patient in that you don;r sleep over at the hospital
[gso]: dj you already answered it thank you :-)
[ALINA]: OK
[DJ]: I am starting to dislike this server a great deal.
[alina]: so i should look for outpatient help?
[Mimi]: do the hospitals take kids?
[gso]: dj when you say server what exactly do you mean?
[System]: arsc_user_enter~~DJ~~Author's Suite
[DJ]: This server is really getting under my skin.
[DJ]: gso, please try asking me your question again.
[gso]: alina, I usually recommend that you just start looking for treatment facilities and how frequently you attend treatment will depend on what you can manage
[Mimi]: do hospitals take kids?
[gso]: dj how did you determine how frequently you session would be....or did they do that for you at the initial intake?
[DJ]: Duke takes the entire family.
[Mimi]: dj, in North Carolina?
[gso]: dj is that where you went?
[DJ]: The frequency was determined for me based on initial assessments. I am always free to come in for treatement more frequently if desired.
[ALINA]: ok
[ALINA]: thanks
[DJ]: YES
[ALINA]: let me ask u a ?
[ALINA]: does insurance cover this
[gso]: dj has treatment helped you? AND if yes....how?
[DJ]: Insurance covers the medical side of things. I get mental health reimbursement for the therapy and the nutritionist is self-pay.
[DJ]: I went through my insurance company and got the therapy pre-approved before starting treatment. I pay up front and then the insurance reimburses me.
[DJ]: Several other health-care plans will pay the up front charges but my wasn't one of them.
[ALINA]: i c
[DJ]: Treatment has helped me a lot.
[Mimi]: llb, how are you?
[DJ]: I have finally started to face up to why I eat like I do, sort of like an alcoholic facing up to the need to get help and why they drink.
[llb]: :-)
[gso]: dj do you feel it was worth your time and $
[ALINA]: thanks for info everybody
[ALINA]: i am leaving
[ALINA]: i hope to speak w/everybody soon
[Mimi]: good, and your son?
[gso]: good luck alina
[DJ]: Best wishes to you and your family.
[Mimi]: alina, good look and we'll look for you next week
[llb]: good..thanks mimi
[DJ]: Above all, it has been worth my time and money.
[llb]: that's good dj
[DJ]: My therapist especially liked gso's book and it is now part of my ongoing therapy resources.
[gso]: before we move onto the next topic, dj thank you for sharing and helping alina
[llb]: but i feel you need to really want it for it to work
[ALINA]: thanks you everybody
[DJ]: True that,
[gso]: :-)
[ALINA]: bye bye
[Mimi]: bye
[gso]: thanks DJ :-)
[DJ]: Bye :)
[gso]: OK mimi....and llb.....please converse
[Mimi]: good night gso and dj
[gso]: mimi I am not leaving yet are you?
[DJ]: Good night Mimi
[Mimi]: no
[llb]: i'm soooo confused ;-)
[Mimi]: gso I have to say thanks for the web site you gave me
[gso]: great so please talk with mim you and she had a nice dialougue going
[Mimi]: llb, I'm always that way lol
[llb]: about what?
[Mimi]: gso told me of a site about women's health
[gso]: I think you were just checking in with each other I like to see that....did you want to say more to each other?
[llb]: sorry i missed something
[Mimi]: I thanked gso for a web site she gave me that was about women's health
[gso]: as long as llb and mimi have nothing else to discuss we can talk bout the website
[DJ]: OK
[gso]: mim go ahead
[Mimi]: It was called Women to Women
[Mimi]: I went into one page and from there I went frome page to page to page
[DJ]: What specifically was the information on the site that helped you?
[DJ]: I'm a guy so take it easy on me....
[Mimi]: I think I can get better medical care over the web than from my drs/
[llb]: need to find the right doc
[DJ]: Amen
[llb]: :-)
[Mimi]: I have irritable bowel
[DJ]: I have used the web to find treatment options.
[Mimi]: Ive been to a zillion gastros but reading this site I realize I might need different kinds of doctors
[llb]: what kind?
[DJ]: I too have IBS. The best treatment ever was to start a high quality calcium supplement and avoid high-fat foods.
[Mimi]: endocrinologist to start
[Mimi]: Mine is so bad when I get stressed I won't go out of the house
[Mimi]: Drs feel if since Im fat I really don't go that often
[DJ]: My IBS is emotionally linked but the calcium neutralized the excess bile salts and lessened the likelihood of an IBS episode.
[llb]: some docs just don't get it
[gso]: dj you sound knowledgeable
[Mimi]: but gso showed me that site and Im going to look into the beginnings of Cushings and Addisons
[DJ]: My IBS is now doing much better as I have tried to learn emotional control techniques in therapy.
[llb]: sounds good
[Mimi]: dj that does sound good
[gso]: dj can you explain emotional control techniques
[Mimi]: The site also had lots of other ideas
[Mimi]: but wouldn't you know it I ran out of ink in the printer
[DJ]: By the way, after seeing many many endocrinologists, I found that not everyone of them is very skilled at what you are asking for. Most endocrinologists deal with diabetics and not so much the more exotic disorders.
[DJ]: Emotional control techniques go back to what I said about the wave.
[Mimi]: Maybe I should go to college on the internet, then medical school and fix myself
[gso]: so helping you predict and control triggers?
[DJ]: First, if you see the wave coming, or maybe you know that a certain situation gets you stressed out, think about how you will respond to it before you are in the moment.
[Mimi]: I might have been able to do that in the past but now it even happens in the middle of the night
[gso]: dj any tips for mimi re how to manager your doctor and get the test you feel you need?
[DJ]: Second, if you are in the moment, take a breath and don't feel obligated to react quickly. Think about whether or not this moment will really make any difference in a week or two and gauge your response accordingly.
[Mimi]: The dr gave me pills and I don't dare go out without them
[DJ]: Ask for a doctor with experience in calcium disorders.
[gso]: interesting
[Mimi]: what kind does that?
[DJ]: By the way, I am told that women suffer from the calcium related IBS problems much more than men.
[Mimi]: The place of the site is hundreds of miles from my home and I wouldn't be able to afford going there
[gso]: please feel free to continue your discussion(s).....so gald you all joined me tonight...see you next week
[DJ]: Good night Dr. G.
[llb]: bye gso...thanks
[Mimi]: Thanks gso, good night
[gso]: good night but please stay on and chat some more:-)
[llb]: bye everyone
[soulsearcher]: good night
[Mimi]: night llb and soulsearcher, sorry soulsearcher didn't realize you were still there
[llb]: night mimi
[llb]: take care
[Mimi]: thanks
[soulsearcher]: thats okay...not real chatty tonight...very tired
[llb]: ;-)
[llb]: night soulsearcher
[Mimi]: :-)
[soulsearcher]: good night llb
[llb]: sleep tight
[Mimi]: you too
[llb]: thanks
[llb]: soulsearcher...you ok?
[soulsearcher]: gonna try......hope to be back next week
[DJ]: When you call the endocrinologists office, ask if he works with calcium disorders such as Cushing's or if he or she can recommend someone.
[System]: arsc_user_enter~~DJ~~Author's Suite
[soulsearcher]: very tired, need to get to bed....so long for now
[DJ]: Good night everyone.
[Mimi]: Good night dj