Struggling to eat at the moment - am I doing enough to stay healthy

[BornWorrier]

Hi guys

For reasons that are too boring to go into, I'm struggling with my age-old swallowing problem at the moment. I put food in my mouth and immediately panic about swallowing & choking, so spit it out. (NB: Purely anxiety, nothing physically preventing me swallowing).

Trying to force myself to eat just makes things worse and is making me worry more and more. So, I decided to just take the pressure off and give myself an easy liquid diet so that I can at least stay healthy while I gradually get over this. (Which I will, eventually. I always do).

This is what I'm getting through each day, and wondered what you all think:

I start the day with a glass of Innocent Smoothie and a cup of coffee (milk & one sugar)

About midday I have a "Berroca" dissolved in a glass of water (an orange vitamin drink)

At lunch I have a Complan sachet mixed with full fat milk (400 calories) and the same for dinner.

I have moments of calmness during the day when I can eat a little something - either fruit or some cheese and biscuits etc. I also have maybe 3 cups of tea or coffee through the day.

I reckon I'm getting about 1000 calories.

I know it's not ideal, and I shouldn't keep this up for too long - but do you think it's OK for now?

Thanks for any advice

(PS: I should add, for anyone who doesn't know - Complan is a very nutritious meal replacement shake, lots of vitamins and minerals etc).

[BornWorrier]

Gosh - thank you all so much for your heartfelt advice. Much appreciated.

Maybe I should be panicking about a vague pain in my knee, eh? Is that all you morons understand?

[pooh]

Hi Born

I dont tend to panic about vague knee pains but I do admit to having the odd moronic moment whether or not this fits me neatly in the box labelled morons I'm not to sure LOL I also don't have any issue with swallowing so I am perhaps not best, how shall I say, placed to answer your query.

By your own admission you seem to have it sussed ie overcoming the issue and still maintaining some kinda of food intake. I'm not a doctor but I would imagine to sustain over a long period wouldn't be healthy but on an extremely short term.. well it sounds a bit like a detox doesn't it? Have you spoken to your doctor about it? A nutritionist/dietician? And also what about the underlying cause of the symptom? There is lots of useful advice to the left hand side if you care to scoot over and have a look. I highly recommend it!

On a slight aside.. a wee bit of patience dear. You posted on the weekend. You allowed less than 24 hours for the right person or persons to respond. Sometimes the forum works like that but in my experience of the site someone generally always will get back to you :D

Take care

Pooh

[12ema]

Hi .havent been on here in ages but i wanted to reply to this because iv had really bad problems with eating aswell caused by anxiety. An your right the more you worry about not been able to eat the harder it gets so i think youve done the right thing by taking the pressure off yourself. As you say you will get over this .i am loads better an now when i have a day when i feel to sick an choked to eat i just tell my self its no problem il just eat when im ready to where as before id panic an think what if i can never eat again an then i d feel even more sick an chocked an couldnt eat at all an was constantly being sick.

full fat milk is really good an complans are great just totally take the pressure off your self dont worry about how many calories your eating an youl find youl start relaxing an gradually youl be eating again! also try and challange the thoughts like when your eating and you feel that choking feeling..remember that its acctually impossible to choke from eating.its a strong feeling but it cant do anything to you at all. hope this helps a little x

[Utility]

Hi

As "pooh" said people will reply to posts but sometimes it can take a wee while. Also and again as "pooh" asked have you been to your GP? Sounds as though some CBT may be heplful.

[Jaco45er]

Gosh - thank you all so much for your heartfelt advice. Much appreciated.

Maybe I should be panicking about a vague pain in my knee, eh? Is that all you morons understand?

I tell you what lady, talk like that won't get you any advice.

Check your inbox

[suzy-sue]

Gosh - thank you all so much for your heartfelt advice. Much appreciated.

Maybe I should be panicking about a vague pain in my knee, eh? Is that all you morons understand?



How nice ..:mad: Patience is a virtue and manners cost nothing ...Have a nice day ....:whistles: Sue

[KK77]

Gosh - thank you all so much for your heartfelt advice. Much appreciated.

Maybe I should be panicking about a vague pain in my knee, eh? Is that all you morons understand?


That's incredibly rude. For you anxiety manifests as a problem with eating or you wouldn't have posted here. For others it could be a pain in the knee. I can understand your frustration but we all suffer here in some form or another and to be insulting in this way will make everyone feel worse.

You say that you "appreciate" help and advice but looking through your other threads you haven't once thanked members for the help and advice they gave you - and you've had lots of replies.

There's no rule to say that you have to thank people for the time they take to try and help but courtesy doesn't require a rule-book.

[nomorepanic]

I can understand it being frustrating when you don't get immediate replies to posts but the weekend is surprisingly the quietest time on here and people will get round to replying in time.

You can make the topic active again by posting and asking for help but calling people morons is not the best way of going about it.

I do hope you will come back and aplogise for that at least.

[lior]

I can understand your anger but you have to remember that lots of people are sensitive, and the internet is not a very good place to unleash anger.

I personally haven't experienced eating problems like yours, but I do know that the human body needs fibre to function properly, eg Weetabix, some biscuits, wholegrain foods. If you don't have it, the muscles in your digestive system will weaken and you will not be able to digest food properly. Why not try softening Weetabix with milk - that way it's easier to eat, and you still get enough fibre. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[smudger]

Hi. Ive been away for the weekend so I couldn't reply! Id like to help you given the chance because it must be very scary to feel like you are choking when eating. My Dad has this and it is awful to see him suffer. I'm concerned about your calorie intake.1000 calories is what I used to eat to lose weight and it worked so I would be concerned about that. Are you losing weight?

What about enjoying food too. Food isn't just about nutrition, do you miss enjoying social occasions, eating out etc. Liquid diets can be very lonely. Im sure you have thought about this.

While I think you are doing your best to ensure you eat for your health, your calorie intake is very low but then again it does depend on how active you personally are doesn't it? CBT wud definately be a good idea as a first step. Definately consult your GP. Good luck.

[JT69]

I have only been a member of this forum for around 2 weeks and I think that if you are PATIENT you eventually get a reply. There are certain members who visit the site everyday and reply and in my experience that is so valuable and caring. We are all stressing about our own individual problems but posting something like that will not get you anywhere. Hope you feel better now. Jo.

[barbn]

Hey, I have posted and not got a repsonse...don't take it personally. Sometimes, I start to respond and get distracted ...and move on to the next post not realizing I haven't repsonded. Or maybe I don't have anything to say at the moment - who knows. If you don't get a post - repost with a different "RE" to get people's attention...we are all in the same boat here...struggling with some type of anxiety issue.

Okay, about not eating solids - 1,000 calories a day is not enough to keep you moving....I think the average person needs 2,000 - 3,000 calories a day (depending on size and your metabolism). I would suggest going to see your GP...he or she will get you up too speed on what your personal intake needs to be and also chat about CBT....that might help!