Is this a selective eating disorder??
Did any of your teenagers experience that? What helped?
My 15 years old daughter had always been a picky eater but as she got older it got worse. Now she really wants to eat only cheese pizza (only from one pizza place), Goldfish crackers, Rice crispy treats, one specific type of ice cream. Those she demands all the time and if I buy she would eat them instead of everything else. Othervice she cries and refuses to eat anything else or to do homework.
She is agreeable sometimes but not always to eat chicken, lasagna, meatballs (cooked specific way), mashed potatoes, one meal combination from Chipotle and sandwich from Subway that has bread, chicken, cheese and pickles but no other veggies.
With encouragement she agrees sometimes to eat a green apple, green grapes, watermelon and one type of pistachios. If the grapes are not green or if pistachios are a from different package, or if on subway sandwich was places wrong type of cheese etc she would not eat it. Nothing else!!!!
She dislikes all vegetables, most fruits, berries, and beans.
Every time when I ask her to taste a spoon of a new meal she refuses. If she does taste she says she doesn’t like it. If we go to a restaurants she wouldn’t eat any food there so traveling is very difficult.
The problem is that she might be possibly allergic to gluten and corn because her bloodwork shows moderate allergy but skin test was negative so her allergologyst who she seen for possible asthma told ok to continue eating those because skin test more presise. She was on gluten-free diet prior to that but when allergologyst told ok to eat we included gluten back to her diet 1year ago. Since then she had worsening depression and anxiety and gets sick with cold all the time. Always has no energy. I feel her diet is contributing.
How to help her to be less selective with her food choices and allow more variety, fruits and vegetables? Coworker told her daughter had similar issues as a child and therapy helped, but her therapist moved out of town years ago. We tried 3 other therapists for her depression and they didn’t help. I don’t know what to do.
Parent Replies
Certainly keep looking for a therapist who she can see for her depression.
Does your family eat dinner together? If not, it might help to start setting the table and trying to eat together. Don't force her to join you but invite her to do so. Maybe have something on her current list but other food for the rest of you and let her be part of the connection.
She might venture out to other stuff but don't make a big deal out of it.
Work with a therapist to find out how to take stress off of her.
Note: I am just another parent and these are my thoughts having read your post. Find guidance from professional doctors and therapists.
My child was diagnosed for years with asthma. She also said the puffers never helped her. Ill make a long story short, turned out her allergies created flu like symptoms and difficulty breathing. This caused problems with her sleep cycle, which caused anxiety and depression. Finally I met with the chief of allergy. He ordered the blood draws and he referred her to head and neck. They found she had a deviated septum and inflamed nasal passages. (always inflamed.) Post nasal drip down the throat as she could not really blow her nose. A small procedure reduced the tissue and had a huge impact on her ability to breath. She was thrilled. Also added allergy shots which also provided huge huge relief.
I will tell you the Head and Neck did not really think the procedure would do much, but it did. The tissue does grow back and she will do it again. (its been about three years and she is about to do it again...she requested it.
Anxiety is now almost completely gone, grades are way up, and most importantly I have a pretty content daughter again. Still a little picky about food but not too bad. Loves vegetables so yay! (Allergy to fruit is very common when you have pollen allergies. Cooking, or a slight zap in the micro seems to take away the itch reaction she gets.)
I think the blood test is far more reliable then the scratch.
Hope this helps!
PS they were more then happy to give her ssri's and therapy. Turns out all she needed was the root problem addressed. And yes we did all things HEPA.
I didn't and still don't make a big deal out of subway and pizza and goldfish.
I can feel your pain. I would definitely recommend finding an eating disorder specialist immediately and also visit her physician if you haven't already. I was in a very similar situation with my daughter about a year ago (she was a few years younger than your daughter though). A previously picky eater, she rather suddenly became depressed and very avoidant of eating, with very OCD-like rules about food. We tried regular talk therapy for awhile and it was useless. The therapist claimed I was "giving her too much leeway" with food and that she must be acting out about some deep seated trauma (typical mother-blaming stuff!). Eventually she lost so much weight we ended up in the eating disorder unit at Stanford for a week. In her case, it turned out she was suffering from something called PANDAS and was treated with a combination of anti-depressants, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and therapy.
Now, that might not be the case with your daughter but no matter the underlying cause, I can highly recommend Elizabeth Burns Kramer in Rockridge, who specializes in eating disorders. http://www.elizabethburnskramer.com/ Elizabeth worked with us after my daughter came out of hospital and it made all the difference. She is super warm and kind and she helped us come up with some really creative strategies - not just talking! She is young too, and I think she would be relatable for teens. I can also recommend the book about childhood eating disorders called "Giving Food a Chance" by Julie O' Toole. It contains a ton of useful information and it reassured me that yes, my child was suffering from a eating disorder, and no, it wasn't my fault or hers! Best of luck to you and please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Have an Oral Myofunctional Therapist check for tongue tie. Anxiety and swallow issues can be a result of ties. Airway can be too small, and tongue position inhibits normal functional swallow. OT might help with food. It may not have to be a psychotherapist. Although some kind of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be helpful. My daughter did have to learn that a meh or bad tasting food is just that and nothing horrible happens when it sits on your tongue and you swallow.