Inpatient question?? for those have been in before.

hey all,

  my dietition and theropist and my parents are considering putting me inpatient( which i dont want to do at all), but i was wondering what is it like?? do you get to pick your own food? or does someone pick it for you? is it hard being there?? I'm just courious. i really don't want to but if they make me then i want to be prepared for it.

Hi. I'm sorry your struggling. I have been inpatient a few times to different places. The rules range. Also depending if you go to a hospital or a residential place that will differ. Most of the places I have been to you get a certain amount of choices but need to meet certain criteria. This means the right amount of calories,fats,protein,carbs. I think its really important to put trust in the place though very hard and look past the food and weight. Its about working on coping and the issues behind your eating disorder that way you can live normal. I'm not sure your age but I have been inpatient a few times over 12 years but have not been in 2 years. I will say the first time I went it was cause of others and didn't feel it for myself. Years later I went in for myself and really focused on recovery. I still am in recovery and have come a far way but have a ways to go.I wish I would of listened back then to what the professionals wanted for me. I would of not wasted a lot of my life and have unreversible health problems. I know its hard when the ed makes you  not want to but I hope you really focus on what you have to do for a better life. If you have any questions please feel free. Most places will be happy to answer your quetsions. I'm familiar to with a lot of the places as well.

Thanks hope3333. I think if i have to go inpatient then it will be at a residential place. I'm going to see someone today with my parents and I have absolutely no idea what he's going to say or even do. I had my blood drawn for tests last week to see if i've hurt anything and we'll find out today if i have or haven't. I'm so scared that if i have then i'll have to go inpatient. Thanks again for your help! Makes me feel a bit better.

Hi. I know its scary and its more of the unknown. Its very normal. I remember my first ip at Renfrew I was shaking like a leaf and cried. Though at that time I was not ready to leave the ed the actually place was so supportive and caring. You will be amazed at the girls and maybe guys you meet. They become a great support and life long friends. The staff is usually very kind and nurturing and help you find the strength to fight this. You can't have an ed and have a happy life. I wish that first stay at Renfrew i had been ready but after a few more ip now I can say though of course struggle I'm ready. I'm scared but ready. Let me know what happens and really any questions please ask.What state are you in or are you planning on going out of state which I did most of the times.

I'll let you know what happens. I'm about to leave in less then twenty minutes with my parents to the appointment. I sure hope everything is okay. I'm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have a great clinic here called Laureate that deals with many different things, but one of their main things that they deal with is EDs.

Hey anastruggle

I was hospitalized for anorexia about a year and a half ago, originally in a partial program where I went each morning and came home the afternoon, and after a few weeks of that I went inpatient in a residential type place. I was 5'4'' and 80 pounds at the time, and I really wanted recovery.

Being inpatient made all the difference for me. Partial just wasn't enough....if you really want to get better you have to commit to it 100%, and there were too many opportunities for my recovery to be sabotaged when i was responsible for eating a third of my food intake and controlling my exercise on my own. I was terrified when one morning i was pulled of of expressive therapy and told i wasn't going home for a while, but being inpatient was absolutely what i needed, and once i adjusted I was actually relatively happy there.

Every morning we would wake up and get weighed, then around eight have breakfast, then have a group session/check in where we would talk about how we were feeling or problems we were having with fellow patients and the counselors. Then morning snack around 10:30, followed by maybe a class on nutrition, or a spirituality session, or free time. Lunch was at 12, followed by a short group and then a class on various topics related to recovery. Then we had a snack around 230, and got to make phone calls and hang out for a while. Then we had expressive therapy or movement, where we basically did art or yoga, followed by "school" for about and hour, where we did homework, wrote letters, or read. Dinner was at 5, followed by group and visiting time with our families. Then we had a bedtime snack, showered, and went to bed.

Yes, we ate a lot. But we met with a nutritionist several times a week and planned our menus...so as long as we followed some basic guidelines (like a certain number of grains or fruits or dairy) we could choose from a variety of foods for both meals and snacks. Mealtime itself was stressfull at first, but we had an hour to eat and plenty of support, and believe it or not towards the end i could actually enjoy my food, because i accepted that i had to eat it (if i didnt i would be given and ensure to drink). It was really nice to just let someone else be in control for a while.

The sessions were very helpful, and it was wonderful to have an entire staff of doctors, psychiatrists, and trained therapists 24/7. I got to bring my clothes and stuff from home and see my family almost every day. The other people were really nice and had amazing stories, and i developed really close bonds with them.

I worked very hard and in just a couple or three weeks i was able to go home, go back to school, and get back on with my life. I don't think i would be where i am today without the experience. It's  a very scary idea, but you deserve to get better, and if inpatient is the only way to truly fix the problem, you have to make yourself do it. Don't let anorexia ruin your entire life. An inpatient program only lasts a fraction of your life, and it's definetly worth every moment in the long run.

wow that was long, sorry. I hoped it helped a little

It's kind of funny because the way you described your day, it must be like a similar routine everywhere because when I was inpatient, the day was planned out pretty much the same.

Wake up, pee, get weighed, shower, meds, breakfast, go to tutoring (if necessary), therapy (group or alone), snack, music/art/occupational therapy or nutrition classes, lunch, another class, snack, visitors, dinner, visitors, snack, group discussion, bedtime (order may not be perfect, this was 7 years ago for me)

You got to go out for a walk with the staff once a day if you were doing well and you could spend a portion of weekend days out w/ friends & family if you were doing things right.

 Anyhow, inpatient was hard in the beginning, first of all I didn't want to be there but my parents had the power to make me do it. I resisted at first but they threatened to put a feeding tube up my nose so I started "completing" as they called it. Getting used to eating so much is hard at first because your stomach hurts from being stretched out so much but over time that will stop.

I totally agree that towards the end of my 5 weeks I was enjoying my food (although I still felt crappy about gaining weight).

My suggestion to you for not feeling so much pain, eat calorie dense foods. We used the exchange system: fruits, starches, milks, fats, veggies, meats. What I did was I would pick like pies and cakes for dessert and they were like variably 3 starches and 2 fats or something so I was getting my calories without all that suffering from eating more foods. Some of the girls were like "how can you do that?" and I was like "what is less filling and tastes better, a piece of lemon meringue pie or 3 slices of bread with 2 teaspoons of butter?" It can help you a lot if you get over the good food bad food idea and accept that you have to eat x amount of a b and c, you can at least make it more tolerable for yourself.

lena123 don't apolagize for writing so much you were so so helpful!! thanks for spending the time to write all that out for me! After reading your post i feel so much less scared about maybe having to go inpatient. yesterday at my appointment they said that if they dont starting gaining weight really soon then my parents might put me inpatient for a month.

bijasd1 thanks for your help too! Thanks so much!

I'm glad I could help. Good luck, I know you can do this!

Hi. Did you meet with Laurette? I have heard they are a very good program. I know you don't want to go ip but it may really help you find why you have an ed and help you to let go. To the other posters and yourself. I have been ip to a few places and usually the schedule is similar in all. Some do have different philosphies such as 12 step though. If you don't want to go ip and need to restore weight can you work with your op team more? What do you think could help you get back to health?

have any of u gone to laurette?  if so.... how was it... i'm thinking about getting impatient treatment again... i went to the Renfrew in Philly 2 years ago, but i wasn't willing to get help at the time... i wish i took advantage of it.  i'm thinking about either going back or going to Laurette if i decde to go impatient.  my friend is recovered and happy after her time at laurette.  she was at renfrew with me but i guess laurette was better for her.  i know people who have recovered from being at renfrew too.

ana, I wish you luck in your battle. It seems scary to go inpatient but the good thing is that there, you really have the time to devote to your recovery. You can kind of let go of some other distractions and figure things out while getting on track. I didn't want to go inpatient at all at first, but I would have probably never recovered outpatient because it was something I wouldn't be willing to do on my own. I definately suggest it.

 

kelly, at least you realize that you were not ready to get help before and that's why treatment didn't work. I hope you can find it in yourself to want to recover. I didn't want to recover at first in my program and I faltered afterwards, but you just have to keep trying. If you read my post/thread, you'll see how I finally got away from it

thank you guys all so so much for your help and information on inpatient!!! You guys have calmed my fears and I just want to thank you all so much for that. I think it has been decided that if i lose anymore weight or don't gain weight by december i'll have to go inpatient at laureate for a month or two. currently from when i last got weighed by my dietitian i was about 73lbs. but i'm only 5'1 so it is not that bad. my parents are going to this family week thing that they have at laureate and hopfully they can learn more about this sickness so they can help me and encourage me. thanks again guys you're my support!! :)

I don't want to seem harsh but I really think you are in danger health wise. Your weight is VERY LOW and you not seeing that is part of the ed. The lowest weight you should be is 100 and you have a bmi of 13 I think. I'm glad your family is going to learn more about ed so they can support you. I know your scared but I hate for you to go through years of a wasted life and severe health issues. I have been there and you don't want to end up in a cardiac unit with a possible pace maker. When I was your age I was in a similar situation as you and now I can look back and see I should of done what everyone was saying back then. Please think of what is best for you and the facts that everyone is telling you.

okay hope3333  but i'm so short so it may look like my weight is low but being so short it doesn't really mean i'm that thin. thanks for your concern and thanks so much for being supportive and kind to me. you have helped me so much! thanks

anastruggle, don't try to justify having a dangerously low weight by saying your short. comments like "but i don't Look skinny" are detrimental to your progress and only reinforce the sick thoughts of the disorder. those are not thoughts that will help you with recovery, which you desperately need.

has any one ever been to Laurel Hill Inn?  i am thinking about going there.

dunno if this is helpful, but:

i've been to the same facility twice now, and have continued on an outpatient basis.

they've helped me go from 76 to 110ish pounds (at 5"3), and i have to tell u, no matter HOW MUCH U HATE IT IN THE BEGINNING, it's a necessary evil, and u'll really miss it when u're gone.

it's really changed that part of my life. i don't know where i'd be (in a grave maybe...) without the inpatient program's support.