A Square Meal

Sure hope it works out aok for your son, euclid. Folks too often think anorexia is just a female problem. ((((((HUGS))))).

euclid said:

Nothing beats a good square meal.

My son has been eating nothing but rice (mountains of it) and popcorn for the past three weeks or so.

He's thin as a pencil. Anorexia is just the latest in a long line of mental problems.

Every day we battle to get him to believe the damage he's doing to his body.

Today, I persuaded him to eat a portion of chicken casserole. A major triumph. Afterwards, he went back to cooking more popcorn.

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I'm glad you persuaded him to eat a bit.

When I was a teen I had a bout with anorexia myself. It had very little to do with body image and everything to do with control. I also added strenuous exercise on top of the starvation. I ate half an orange every other day. My parents and friends tried so hard to get me to eat, but every time food was placed in front of me I felt like I was being punished. And if I had to eat, I'd take a few bites, shove food around my plate, then double my exercise.

I think it's wonderful that you are there for your son. Just continue to encourage him and seek whatever help you need. I wish you and him the best!

Are you sure it is anorexia and not just a food fad? If he's eating rice, at least he's eating. People in the Far East survive on it as a staple diet.

If he'll take rice with sauce, you can get some beef stock or something into him. Or crushed vitamin pills. Saturate the popcorn with butter if you can.

Can you get Complan or similar in Ireland?

I understand how worrying it is, but try not to do battle with him. The fact that you persuaded him to eat chicken is a good sign in that he was prepared to cooperate with you.

How old is your son?

My 8-year-old son has ADHD and never eats at mealtime. It's always been a struggle. He's just never hungry on our schedule, but he is starving in the evening and eats popcorn, noodles (if they're available in the fridge), and other snacks.

If your shape is of concern to him, make a deal: you'll exercise with or without him after he eats a square meal. He may be concerned for your health and feels powerless to do anything about it. Not eating may be his answer.

Is he physically active? Does he have a hobby or sport he's passionate about? Does he have the support of a group of friends or a girlfriend?

Perhaps he needs to channel his focus on food in a healthier direction. Try to enlist the help of his friends or girlfriend to either model better eating behaviour or talk about eating in a healthier way. If he's active he'll be hungrier and maybe have less time to focus on food.

Has he any interest in cooking or preparing meals? Maybe he thinks your family's diet is unhealthy. If he has a hand in meal planning and preparation, he might be more inclined to eat.

I second the idea that you should get active too. Modelling good habits is the best way to get our kids to adopt them.

euclid said:

30 and autistic

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Is this a recent change, then, in his diet? Or has he always been touchy about food? My own autistic son goes on binges like this where he'll only eat certain stuff for a while, and nothing we try can dissuade him (though of course he's much younger than your son).

I'm just wondering if maybe it's a stomach problem, if the change is recent...

Don't know what to offer. Hang in there.

I read anyone who consumes 600 or less calories a day is considered anorexic. Have you tried to get your son into treatment?

euclid said:

...he's an adult. We have no control over what he does or doesn't do.

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Here in Canada is a person ends up hospitalized and is deemed to be a harm to themselves or others they can be certified by the mental health act and forced treatment. Not sure what its like where you live.

euclid said:

We did that in 2000. He was bi-polar then and totally manic. Two doctors signed the papers; he was taken to a mental hospital for a month.

He has made it plain that he will never forgive us for that. And he never will. I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

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He appears to have little insight into his condition. That's a shame because, without insight, it's difficult to get him to change his behaviour or habits.

I sympathize and hope you can find something or someone who's able to help your son.

euclid said:

We did that in 2000. He was bi-polar then and totally manic. Two doctors signed the papers; he was taken to a mental hospital for a month.

He has made it plain that he will never forgive us for that. And he never will. I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

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Well, you know what its like to go through that.. I don't only through the medical side of it.
I've seen people recover.. Initially against their own will... I guess each case is different.. And the people involved have to decided whats best. Sadly often it comes down to a life or death situation when the person stops eating period.

So I guess he's perserevating on his weight, or on food? That's a tough one. I don't have any advice then, except maybe cognitive therapy, but of course, he has to consent to that.

You're in a tough spot, and I wish I could offer something sensible in the way of advice, euclid.

Is it just one kind of rice he's eating? Will he eat a difference rice, something that has more stuff in it, nutrients, vegetables, etc.? Or is it just plain white rice?

I have no knowledge of Asberger but I understand that he can't understand what's wrong with the diet and I guess telling him he's going to die isn't cutting it. He has to believe that - he has to start feeling crappy himself from what he's eating.

Perhaps if you took a different tact and didn't say anything to him he would change? But you've probably already tried that.

So therefore, I have nothing, except well wishes and hopes that your son will see the light.

Connection between gluten-free, casein-free diets (gfcf) and autism/Asperger’s.
Briefly, gluten is a protein, and so is casein. Gluten is a protein fraction found in all wheat, rye, barley, and most oat products. Casein is a protein fraction found in all dairy products. To most Autistic children, gluten and casein are the equivalent of poison. They leak into the gut, undigested, and attach to the opiate receptors of the autistic's brain. Essentially, many autistic children are "drugged" on wheat and milk products, as if they were on a morphine drip.

Although parents have been reporting a connection between autism and diet for decades, there is now a growing body of research that shows that certain foods seem to be affecting the developing brains of some children and causing autistic behaviours. This is not because of allergies, but because many of these children are unable to properly break down certain proteins.

Researchers in England, Norway, and at the University of Florida had previously found peptides (breakdown products of proteins) with opiate activity in the urine of a high percentage of autistic children. Opiates are drugs, like morphine, which affect brain function. These findings have recently been confirmed by researchers at the Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. The two main offenders seem to be gluten (the protein in wheat, oats, rye and barley) and casein (milk protein.)
This is from this site: Asperger's Syndrome
Since plain popcorn and plain rice don't have gluten or casein, this might not be an entirely bad thing. And he may be addicted to them...and he may be adapting a preference to white-foods. I hope this might help you and if not I am sorry, and the best of luck and patience to you...