Anonymous wrote:Her weight is not the issue, its the weight loss and changed eating habits.

My 13 yo also weighs 80 pounds. But that is her normal weight - she gains a little each year as she grows.

This isn’t about your daughter. It’s about a 13 year old who went from a normal 96 lbs at 5”2 and dropped 16 lbs in a very short time. That's almost a 20% weight loss. That could be a serious health issue and she needs a doctors appointment right away.

DD is 5 ft even and weighs 125. Mostly muscle.

Anonymous wrote:Her weight is not the issue, its the weight loss and changed eating habits.

My 13 yo also weighs 80 pounds. But that is her normal weight - she gains a little each year as she grows.

+1
My 14 year old weights 87lbs and is 5'7". She has always been skinny, so this is her normal. I would worry about the emotional issues attached to the changed behaviors.

Anonymous wrote:My sister was severely anorexic and spent months in and out of the hospital during her high school years. It nearly killed her and she has life-long health consequences from it. It was terrifying. You need a team of doctors, not dietitians.

This. She likely needs to go inpatient for a time, OP. She is dangerously ill.

At 5'2" her BMI is lower than 98% of girls her age and height.

Anorexia can be very risky re: electrolytes and cardiac issues. Her weight is so low already, this is not something that 45 min of therapy is going to put a floor in. She needs to be stabilized and monitored before psych interventions can take effect.

Is it an eating disorder? Or could it be a health issue like stomach pain or cancer? Is she trying not to eat or is it painful for her?

More resources

https://centerfordiscovery.com/locations/mclean/

https://www.sheppardpratt.org/the-center-for-eating-disorders-at-sheppard-pratt/

Hopefully your ped can also guide you.

There is sometimes a genetic component, any other EDs in the extended family?

Close family member went through this. She took meds and that helped the most. She wasn’t eating as a way to control her life and it was also anxiety.

Cousin went though this too. She worked with a therapist to address root causes. Hers was an overweight family who had unhealthy relationships with food. Years later she mentioned she wished she had been hospitalized instead because it would have gotten her help faster versus piecemeal.

I’m sorry OP. Yes, call your pediatrician tmrw for a appt & give them this info.

This happened to 2 people I know and it was a dairy allergy for one and food allergy / sensitivity for the other.

One is now vegan

The other has eliminated foods like bread (besides sour dough) and other foods on the IBS list like broccoli.

OP, I'd call the ped tomorrow. That is close to a 20% drop in weight. She may need to go inpatient for a time. Hopkins has a good program. She needs to be stabilized and this may be past the intervention of a therapist and dietitian at present. Her BMI is lower than 96% of girls of her age and height, this is a very serious situation.

My sister was severely anorexic and spent months in and out of the hospital during her high school years. It nearly killed her and she has life-long health consequences from it. It was terrifying. You need a team of doctors, not dietitians.

Her weight is not the issue, its the weight loss and changed eating habits.

My 13 yo also weighs 80 pounds. But that is her normal weight - she gains a little each year as she grows.

Please get her to her pediatrician asap. While therapy and a dietitian are great resources- your #1 priority is handling her acute medical need. Her heart rate could be dangerously low, her electrolytes could be off, these things are very dangerous. Please make take her in tomorrow

We just made her weigh herself since she’s clearly lost weight. She weighed 96 pounds in August (only 5’2”). We noticed a huge change in her eating habits the past two months. We’re getting her therapy and a dietician, but we thought she had lost maybe 5 pounds. This is much worse than we thought.

Anyone who has been through this, please share your advice. This is my first time dealing with anything like this and I’m not sure what to do.