Aftermath

12 January 2024

The day after the doc visit was the last day of her school exams.  She went to school and completed the paper.  However, that night I had to tell her she would not be returning to school for the rest of the school year.  She was very upset.

The next morning, she didn't want to get out of bed.  She said there was no point as she would not be allowed to do anything she liked and would need to face new rules which she did not like.

Get up for what? 

No. Leave me here 

Poor child. :(
 

Weight drop

10 January 2024

After the relief when her weight finally went up substantially, the next visit 3 weeks later was a shock.  We had followed the diet plan and also the doc's instructions not to weigh her at home.  She took SE to the weighing machine... and came back with a grim expression.  SE's weight had dropped back to the original of 26kg.

Doubts returned.  How could this happen?  She was eating more, we made sure of that, also taking milk twice a day.  How was it possible for her weight to drop?  Even if she was dumping her lunch while at school, surely the other meals were sufficient for sustenance?  What could be wrong?

No choice now.  I agreed to meds to reduce anxiety and increase appetite which I'd earlier declined when doc suggested.  Also agreed to her advice to stop SE from schooling.

No good.  Too thin

'Duck'

We have this McD platypus.  It is named 'Duck' because I initially thought it was some kind of weird duck.  JE earlier procured felt to make a bag with for school, inspired by this platypus.  Lately SE got hold of the leftover materials and worked on this flat version.  I thought it was very good, had to take pictures!   (Don't have a picture of JE's bag as it has been handed in).

Duck and Flat Duck hehe

Flat duck is not completely flat as it has some cotton filling (which can only be seen from the side).

Duck and 'friend'

Weight up!

20 December 2023

The doc had told us not to keep weighing SE, to leave the monitoring to her.   The next appointment was three weeks after the first. Voila, her weight had gone up 2kg!  So THIS is what it takes to get her weight up!  

For weeks I'd been puzzled.  After noticing the problem, we had been watching to make sure she was eating.  Yet how come she wasn't putting on weight and in fact was slowly getting worse?  Was there something wrong with her body as well?  Could she have a deficiency in absorbing nutrients?  Was she somehow getting rid of the food she was eating?  Should we go to other doctors to check for other problems?  All the worries were going round and round my head.

So the secret was to increase her food intake substantially.  And if she can put on weight like this, it must mean her body was working fine.  At this rate, it wouldn't be too long before she was out of danger zone!  The situation was finally improving.  After the weeks and months of worry, relief flooded through me. 

Looking better

It would all come crashing down.

Evidence

Somehow, even with me or our maid monitoring SE closely at meal times, we regularly find evidence that she had managed to get rid of some food.

 Pieces of cheese

These 2 small containers were found in the fridge, tucked in the middle of a packet of preserved nutmeg which I hadn't opened for the longest time.  Inside were these pieces of cheese she must have squirreled away from multiple snack times.  Cheese is so expensive and she just dumps it like this sigh.  I wanted to eat them but saw a bit of mold on one of the pieces.  So into the bin went some of my hard-earned money.

Tough

Back to the painful topic.  

Making sure SE follows the doctor's advice is tough.  She has to take 3 meals (breakfast lunch dinner) and 3 snacks a day (mid-morning afternoon and supper) so time and discipline are very important.  Delay in one meal will impact the next one.   

The quantity of food is more than what she used to take.

I cannot finish, full already!

Then, the type of food.  Note the paper towel full of sauce which she has rubbed off from her portion of meat.  Given the choice she would take food which are low-fat, low-calorie and totally bland.  

No I'm not eating any more

At times she gets stubborn and refuses point-blank to eat.  Then we sit there for ages as she cannot be left alone either.  When she takes so long to finish, she will be too full for the next meal and the drama continues throughout the day.  Also... there is a high chance she will get rid of the food by throwing it away or stuffing it somewhere.

No I cannotttt

While I know it's not easy for her to eat, I have no choice either but to be strict.  Her body weight was critically low - only 25kg at a height of 144cm.  She'd dropped about 10kg from her pre-anorexia weight.