<p>It is if it becomes a regular coping mechanism for dealing with stress. And that’s precisely how it starts. Person is stressed, they eat something that brings them comfort (and sugar is a big comfort food for many people because it triggers endorphins and other pleasure inducing hormones). Once the brain/body begins to associate the temporary release of stress with eating, it’s all over for many people. BTW - you see the exact same mechanism in alcoholics, bulimics, workaholics, people who overexercise, etc. Anything can turn into an addiction and an unhealthy coping mechanism when it’s are done obsessively.</p>
<p>Like any drug, you need more and more to get that same ‘buzz’ and that’s when it becomes a problem. They are just now discovering that overeating actually changes the chemistry of the brain that then makes it very difficult for some people to keep the weight off permanently (yes, many people can diet and lose the weight. The statistics for keeping it off for more than a few years are dismal). Couple that with current availability of foods that had the perfect combination of fat, salt and sugar and you begin to see why we have so many overweight people in this country. It wasn’t a problem in years past because we couldn’t walk into a grocery store and buy mountains of processed foods (plus our largely sedentary lifestyles place a big role in the obesity epidemic).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t minimize the eating disorder aspect. People who don’t have it can’t understand why some can’t just discipline themselves not to eat so much. The same way people who aren’t alcoholics can’t understand why someone can’t just stop drinking. It’s a brain chemistry disorder that is often triggered by an anxiety disorder. In short, it starts out as an unhealthy coping mechanism but then turns into an addiction.</p>
<p>MissyPie, was it you who wrote a while ago about your son in another thread? anticipating trouble, and worried about his Type 2 diabetes?
If so, this over-eating is also a medical issue. To be handled immediately by the PCP. Can you have your H push the PCP to be responsible??? Can the PCP call your son in for an appointment? Or can your H tell your son to do that?
He may have turned into a sugar addict- Insulin Resistance does that. So it becomes hard to quit, so an eating disorder, too. It is a vicious cycle. Many Type 2’s just have to quit glycemic foods completely. This all super-hard when combined with an EFD, obviously. Yes, and exercise really helps Type 2’s… you know that, I think!</p>
<p>Just trying to help. Looking for some things that you might not have tried yet!</p>
<p>I actually know someone who thought their child was drinking in secret. The Mom sent her to an inpatient rehab. The truth was she was not hiding alcohol she was hiding food. I was amazed at how complex eating issues can be. It is a very real sickness. I have heard that eating issues are some of the hardest to treat. An alcoholic or drug addict can abstain from using but someone with an eating issues can not just stop eating.
Your son has a lot going on and probably plenty of it is interconnected. He may have aspergers but he still has feelings.As painful as it is for you to see him where he is today he must also feel pretty badly himself. I would keep searching until I found a person who he can work well with and can get him to talk about what he is feeling. Whether that is a psychologist or a social worker or a specialist in eating disorders.
Have you talked to his gf?</p>
<p>I’m very interested in this thread. A friend’s husband sounds like an older version of this young man. This guy weighs about 320 lbs. and doesn’t think he’s fat. He thinks he’s husky.
He’s a type 2 diabetic with an A 1C level over 11!!!—and this is with taking metphormin.</p>
<p>This man eats sweets constantly–an entire king size chocolate bar washed down with a huge soda at the movies. He plans each and everything he does around what/where he wants to eat. He buys ho-ho boxes and “hides” them so no one else can eat them. He goes to McDonald’s and follows each purchased meal with a thick shake. Then, his wife finds the empty bag pushed down to the bottom of the garbage can (as if he’s trying to hide it).
Another example of his food addiction: when it’s one of his kid’s birthday and he doesn’t like the kind of birthday cake requested by the birthday boy, he goes out and orders his own cake (and it’s not even his birthday!).</p>
<p>He has a brother who had a massive heart attack due to eating/weight issues. The heart damage was so bad that the brother is disabled–he can’t walk from the handicapped spot to the front of a store without losing his breath. He now gets shots in his eyes because the diabetes is making him blind. </p>
<p>My friend’s husband also exhibits control issues as well as OCD. He spends money like water on tickets----tickets to broadway shows, tickets to baseball games, tickets to hockey games, tickets to movies (who goes to the movies 3 times a week?), tickets to fund raising dinners, etc. Around each and every ticketed event, he schedules where they’re going to stop and eat. It’s as if the show or event is just an excuse to eat somewhere.</p>
<p>Gosh, I could go on and on. He refuses to change doctors. He’s comfortable with his current doctor because this doctor has pretty much resigned to the fact that the guy is never going to change so he doesn’t even try to get him to lose weight, test his blood sugar levels daily, etc. All the doctor does is increase the dosage of meds–cholesterol meds and diabetes meds.</p>
<p>I don’t know what the answer is to this problem. When the person is under 18, you have some control over treatments. Once they hit 18 and over, how do you make someone seek treatment for food issues and/or compulsive behaviors when the person doesn’t see themselves as having a problem?</p>
<p>I am very sorry that your son is having so many problems right now, missypie. I have one suggestion that may be helpful - The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program by Kathryn DesMaisons. She has a website, radiantrecovery.com, with a lot of information. If it seems to you that this may apply to your son, her program is very easy to follow. After 3-4 days of it, my sugar cravings completely disappear; in fact, the thought of eating sweets becomes repulsive. </p>
<p>Your son, of course, would have to buy into this concept and be willing to try the program. If it seems right to you, maybe you could persuade him to try it for a week?</p>
<p>Please find a terrific psychiatrist; Shrinkrap is so right about the meds. some psychlogists specialize in EDs, and work closely with MDs and RDs.</p>
<p>Oh, missypie, I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this. I’ve been going to Overeaters Anonymous meetings for a little over a year and it has literally saved my life. Would your son be willing to go to a meeting, since he doesn’t think he has a problem?</p>
<p>Eating is a funny thing: you need it to live, too much and it could kill you. My Asperger’s son also has an impulse issue. There are times when he needs reminders that he needs to stop eating. It’s especially obvious when he comes downstairs around midnight and he starts to eat all different meals, from some frozen meal, to nachos, to ice cream milkshakes, and then onto potato chips. </p>
<p>He admits he just took his meds (Seroquel) and that makes him hungry. I tell him, “the kitchen is closed” and he gos to bed. Fortunately, he stops, but it’s unfortunate he has to have me tell him when to stop.</p>
<p>Missypie - big hugs to you, this must be heartbreaking. </p>
<p>I know things didn’t work out at the LAC, but I have a hunch that leaving there was the trigger for much of this. For all of his life, he may have been quirky, but at least he knew he was a bright, capable student. Going to a CC must have been tough on him, no matter how he reacted. I am not saying it wasn’t a good decision - but one that would have punctured his pride. </p>
<p>I know the medical aspects of this are of utmost concern, but I hope someday he can return to a more demanding academic setting. </p>
<p>One last thought - how has your DH been handling all of this. It seems to me I recall his approach to food is different than yours. </p>
<p>i echo the sentiment of a poster above who recommends asking your PCP for a referral to an eating disorders program in the area. Even without the Asperger’s and other behavioral complications, it’s my understanding that eating disorders are exceptionally complex. So if I were in your situation I would go to an academic medical center if at all possible. Best of luck to you as you sort this out.</p>
<p>The bright spot here is if he’s not purging. That is so devastating for overall health. Yes, find a specialist for eating disorders, but don’t make eating or weight an issue at home. I’m a psychologist and have treated young people with eating disorders. It is tough, but I have seen kids go on to better futures. Don’t be the food police, I’d say. Just provide healthy food at home, model healthy exercise habits and find good professional help (for yourself if your son won’t accept it).</p>
<p>Missypie, I know you realize your son’s eating is a problem, and we here realize it’s a problem, but he is not currently admitting that it’s a problem. If he is not motivated to change, I don’t see how you can impose it from the outside.</p>
<p>Wishing all of you the very best as you figure out how to meet these new challenges. I’m actually surprised the EFD therapist isn’t helping with this issue as well, but perhaps he feels very specialized. Know that you & your S & family are in our thoughts & prayers.</p>
<p>Compulsive eating–especially if it’s not an occasional event–is a problem. Seems that it affects women more than men. If you’re interested in learning more–look at some of the books by Geneen Roth. I would definitely ask your son’s PCP about finding a therapist or a program for eating disorders. Basically, Roth’s view is that compulsive eating is a microcosm of the way people feel about issues in their lives; they use food to deal with those issues. Good luck Missypie–this has got to be a tough issue. I know from my own experience that nagging/suggestions of going to OA, etc. won’t work unless the person buys into it.</p>
<p>YES! That is my life. But it’s also him leaving the house in the middle of the night to get fast food (imagine your child alone at an all night fast food place eating cheeseburgers! heartbreaking.) Or he sneaks the food out of his car. There were academic bumps the first 18 years, but Son’s “behavior” was always exemplary. I was not prepared for this!</p>
<p>The EFD therapist specializes in educational issues. We may need to switch since he won’t be going to college any more.</p>
<p>The point about his pride being hurt by being home from the LAC is right on target. I don’t think he had close friends in the dorm, but he had a gang of guys to hang around with. If I were crazy rich, I’d just keep sending him away to school, having him take a class or two every semester, because the social aspects and intellectual atmosphere were good for him.</p>
<p>I want to thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. I expected to receive a lot of “back off you helicopter mom” responses. I am touched by your concern.</p>
<p>I posted this same question years ago, but how in the world do all of you find great psychiatrists and therapists? I guess it may be a regional thing but “no one” I know goes to, or has a kid who goes to, a psychiatrist or therapist…of course, that’s not true but no one talks about it. People share intimate details of their lives but won’t admit to seeing a therapist. I’ve asked for recommendations from other health providers and every single time I’ve been told, “use whoever takes your insurance.”</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to insult the entire psychiatric profession when I called my son’s previous psych worthless. That particular individual was…cancelled appointments with little notice, etc. He really just wanted us to tell us what drugs we wanted and be done with it.</p>
<p>I work at a medical center, so I always think everyone is surrounded by experts or, at least, by people who know other experts. What I guess I would do is poke around the website(s) of the nearest academic medical center(s) and send out feelers. I hope I’m not insulting you by suggesting something that may seem so obvious (go to the Web!). What I’m saying is to dig a bit, maybe call the referral numbers at a few places–you may find that there is someone (depending on how close your are to a major center) who specializes in just what you’re looking for. I know of a center near me that compiles lists of everything from horseback riding centers to hair stylists who are happy to work with kids with Asperger’s, autism and autistic spectrum disorders. But I’m in Chicago so that would not probably be so helpful to you. </p>
<p>I’m amazed at how little information there is about medical or behavioral specialists on the web! Many don’t have web sites and there are about a thousand “rate a doctor” sites that contain little or no information.</p>