I promise you

Monday again
And it couldn't have come soon enough
I over indulged on my meds last week leaving me with nothing for Sunday
I didn't sleep a wink last night
I stayed up all night chain smoking and drinking endless cups of hot, sweet tea
I watched the movie Never Let Me Go
Perfect for an insomniac with too much time to think

I dragged my weary carcass out of my bed at 8am to go to the doctor
The first thing I noticed when I sat down was his Christmas tie
When I complimented him on it he proudly pressed a button and lights lit up on it and festive music played
I had to laugh as the music continued to play as he tried to discuss serious medical matters
The first thing he asked me was how I had got on with less sleeping tablets
I guess a face that hasn't slept paints a thousand words
I explained how I hadn't slept last night (true)
And how my sleep hadn't been great during the week (false)
So he agreed to keep me on the sleeping tablets
For now

I remarked how he had probably noticed that I am very resistant to coming off any meds
He said he had
How could he not?
He said that people are put on meds in hospital and then never come off them
That would be fine with me because the truth is I am freakin' terrified of coming off any of my meds
Especially the methadone
I'm on it 10 long years now I don't remember life without it
Even this morning, after not having it for 48 hours, I could feel the withdrawal setting in
The dull ache in my bones
The sweats
And that scares the be-Jesus out of
You would think that it would scare me in the direction of wanting to come off it
But it makes me want to stay on it even more

I had an extremely vivid drug using dream last week
It's a recurring dream
In the dream I inject myself
The thought of going back to that life is beyond frightening
I would rather die

Anyway back to the matter at hand
It's Christmas time
A veritable nightmare for an anorectic
And for a bulimic?
Well, it makes for a binge filled holiday week
I am half dreading, half looking forward to Christmas
We also have a family wedding on the 28th so there will be mucho family event, lunches, dinners, drinks etc
If I thought about it too much I would crawl in to my bed with a bottle of vodka and not get up until February

I'm trying to use the skills I learned in hospital to help me through
I'm not going to put pressure on myself
I'm going to do as much or as little as I can
I'll join in
I'll help with Christmas dinner
I'll attend the wedding
But I won't be pushing myself beyond what I feel comfortable doing
It sounds a bit selfish
A bit self serving
But it's the only way I am going to get through the next two weeks

I know that a lot of you are struggling
Especially at this time of year
Just remember to take it easy on yourself
Do as much as you can
No one expects anything more

So Happy Christmas to you!
If you are lonely
If you are sad
If you are so low you can't bear it
If you would rather eat your own foot that celebrate Christmas
If you are eating disordered
If you are underweight, over weight or somewhere in between
If you are questioning if you even have an eating disorder
If you are depressed
If you feel like you can't hold on
If you are asking yourself 'What is the point?'
If you are on your own today
If all you want is a hug from someone who cares
If you are considering disappearing
Hold on!
Find something
Anything
And hold on to that
All we have to deal with is right now
Today
The past is gone
Tomorrow might never come
Just worry about you
Right now this second
If you are reading this and are wondering how the hell you are going to get through the next week
Stop
Just for a minute
And breathe
You can  get through this
You are stronger than you think
You are more powerful than you think
I promise you

I am far from recovery today
My ED still very active
I still ambivalent about recovery
As messed up as that sounds, it's the truth
But while I was in hospital I got a glimpse of myself with my ED
A fleeting glimpse albeit but it was enough
I feel hope for the first time in a long time
Up until now I truly believed that I would never recover
I had accepted that my ED was always going to be there
And I was ok with that
I have been to treatment numerous times
I have seen countless therapists, counsellors and doctors
Lost and gained a lot of weight
A lot of people gave up on me
I had even given up on me
But now I do see a glimmer of hope
It turns out that I might not be the wretched person I thought I was
It turns out that my personality is still there
It turn out that  maybe I can come back from this
It turns out that I want to live
And if I can then you can too

Please take good care of yourselves
Please know that you are not alone
You are not the only one who feels this way
I promise you

With love,

Ruby x

To blog or not to blog?

I can't quite believe it's nearly Christmas
I swear I blinked and a whole year went by
It's been an eventful year to say the least
I was doing well at the start of the year
My BMI was almost in the healthy range
I spoke at an eating disorder conference in February
I was hospitalized with pancreatitis in March
That was when I started to lose weight again
I wasn't intentionally trying to lose
But the pancreatitis took such a toll on my body, it was hard not to
I organized a family holiday in the summer
And of course I went in to hospital for treatment at the end of October
Then discharged just over a week ago

Since coming home I have been trying to hold on to the changes I made in hospital
I'm trying to keep to structured meal times
Eating at the table rather than on my own
I am managing to do this but my portions are not as big
I was determined not to start weighing myself at home but curiosity got the better of me during the week and I pulled out my dusty old scale that I had shoved in to a corner of my bedroom
I stripped and tentatively stepped on to it
Curling my toes as I always do
I had lost
Enough to delight my ED
Enough to worry the rational part of me

Even knowing everything I know about my ED
Even knowing that losing weight will not make a difference in my life
Even knowing that losing weight will only make it more difficult when I go back in to hospital
Even knowing all this
I still can't stop

I've been in quite good form mood wise since coming home
I guess because it's Christmas it's a novelty to be home
I'm sure reality will set in soon enough though
I rand Imelda in the hospital today
I hope to be back in by January 2nd
All going to plan

I mentioned on my last post that I'm not sure where to go with this blog
I started writing this blog just over a year ago
I had been reading blogs for a while
I was desperately lonely
I had pushed all my friends away
I was a virtual recluse
Instantly I found a whole community of people that were just like me
In the beginning my blog was bordering on unhealthy
Some may even have called it pro ana
But what my blog is really about is spreading the truth of what it is like to live with anorexia, bulimia and addiction
Writing this blog gave a purpose
A raison d'etre
I have met some of the most amazing people here on blogger
And I have grown to become fond of all you
But I have to honest
In the last couple of months I have been wondering how healthy this blog is for me
Yes, there are some positives to writing this blog
But there are also negatives
My ED is all consuming
It's all I think about
All I talk about
And now I was writing about it too
I think in order to recover I need to find interests outside of food and weight
I need things to fill the hole that the ED will leave
Since coming home from hospital I have only glanced at a few blogs
And some of those were all about losing weight
It makes me so sad to think of all the girls here killing themselves trying to lose weight
It breaks my heart
I have to keep reminding myself that I am one of those girls
I am unwell
I need help and I need to help myself first

They say with addiction you only have to change one thing to get well
Everything
I think that is true for EDs also
In order to recover we need to change our whole lives
I am only starting to see that now
And I have to ask myself the question 'Is this blog helping me or hindering me?'
At the moment I'm not quite sure
I think that I need to find a life outside of blogger
I need to reconnect with my real life friends
It's a sad truth that my virtual life is more active than my real life
Don't get me wrong I love to be in contact with all of you
But words on a screen are not the same as a hug
It's not the same as a cuppa and a chat
I need those things in my life
I need start living

I was wondering about you
Do you find that writing your blog helps you or hinders you?
Do you ever find that it is an unhealthy influence in your life?

Back to Monday

It's Monday morning
My first Monday at home in 2 months
But nothing changes
Doctor
Chemist
Walk my dogs
Nothing changes

I saw my regular GP this morning
I had to inform him of my meds change
He was fine with it all up until I mentioned that I was put on a sleeping tablet
He said I didn't need it
I said that I did
He said I would be more active at home so to try going without it
Again, I said I needed it
He said I was accumulating medication I didn't need
I insisted that I needed it
At this point I realised that my inner addict was being unleashed so I backed off a bit
In the end he agreed to give me 4 and would re-evaluate the situation next week
You can bet your ass that I will go in next week and report that I didn't sleep
Bad Ruby, very bad, he he!!

So how are thing going now that I am back in the big bad world?
Well, the first positive thing I can report is that the purging has vastly decreased and I have had no major binge purge episodes
That is a revelation in itself!
The bad new is that I'm not purging because I am eating very little
I have no idea how much I weigh
I don't care
It doesn't matter anymore
The other good news is that I am sitting at the table with my mother for my 'meals'
Baby step all the way!

I miss hospital
I miss the people
I miss the chat, the craic, the banter
I am in daily contact with my friends there but it's not the same
I can't wait to go back
That in itself is not a good sign
The hospital is like a cocoon
So safe
All I had to worry about was turning up to meals and groups
Not like the real world
But I guess it's good that I want to go back
If I want to go back for the right reasons

During my first 2 week in hospital I was very shy and quiet
My ED had stifled my personality so much that I didn't know who I was any more
I spent a lot of time in my room
Only venturing out to the smoking room every so often
I was beyond anxious
I could barely speak to anyone and had anxiety attacks in groups
I couldn't relate to anyone
Even the other girls on the programme
It's such  lonely place
But as the weeks passed I began to come out of my eating disordered shell
The girl who had been so hidden under layers of anorexia, bulimia and addiction began to emerge
I started to smile
I started to enjoy talking to and being around people
Heck, I even laughed
Mostly at myself
It felt good
It gave me a glimpse of what my life could be like without this illness
I wanted more
I want more

An anonymous comment was left on my last post
Wondering why, when I had a 'golden chance' to get well, surrounded by so much support, why I couldn't take that chance
It's a very good question
One I asked myself every day in hospital
It's true
I had a great opportunity
I was in the best psychiatric hospital in the country
With the best psychiatrist
With every support both in hospital and from my family
So why didn't I avail of that opportunity?
I know a lot of people would kill for a chance like that
The honest answer is that I didn't want it enough
Yes, I went in to hospital extremely motivated
Very clear in my mind what I was going to do
But being in hospital can be a strange experience
You are given the label of 'anorectic'
In some ways I felt I had to live up to that label
But it wasn't just that
In all honesty weight restoration was my  biggest hurdle
It's very difficult to accept that you have to gain a significant amount of weight when you can't see that you are underweight
And I genuinely don't see it
In my mind I am of a normal healthy weight
Not thin
Not over weight
Just normal

Unfortunately you can't have recovery without weight restoration
It just doesn't work
God knows I have tried
It's like an alcoholic saying that they will have just one drink a day
It just doesn't work

Getting well has to come from us
We can have all the support in the world
But no one can make us eat
Or stop purging
We have to want it so badly
If love and support could get us well then I would have recovered a long time ago
I was very torn in hospital
There was a constant battle going on in my head about whether to try or not
The truth is that I hang on to my ED because it serves a purpose
Yes, there are many, many negatives to my ED
But I hold on to it because it keep me numb
Safe
I don't have to grow up
I don't have to take any risks
I don't have to face life
I don't have to live

I am still ambivalent about recovery
I want to  want it
But I will go back to hospital and I will try my best
That's all I can do
That's all any of us can do

I think it's very normal to feel this way
Recovery is scary
It frightens the be-jesus out of me
It's uncharted territory
But what is the alternative?
End up like my friend
55 years old and still battling this thing?
No thank you very much
I'm still young
I can still have the life I dream of
I can still follow my dreams
I can still hope and believe
It's not too late for me
It'a not too late for you too

All my love,

Ruby x

Home Sweet Home?

I'm home
I was discharged yesterday after failing to meet my weight target for the umpteenth time
I had to gain 1.7kg to stay in hospital
An impossible task
I had been water loading in order to not be sent home but it came to the point where it was getting ridiculous so yesterday I decided to do it the honest way for once

I prepared my parents for the fact that I probably would be coming home
Still, it was so hard to ring them yesterday morning to come and get me
Their disappointment was palpable

I spent 7 week in treatment
And gained the grand total of 0.1kg in all that time
How pathetic
I didn't manage to get on top of the purging either and only got one day purge free
In my first 2 weeks I did get the purging down to once a day but then it gradually started to increase again

My med were increased in hospital
Quite a lot
My olanzapine was increased and I was also put on a sleeping tablet
In fact I am on so much medication now that I find it hard to get through the day without falling asleep
The last two weeks I was falling asleep in every group
So I was missing out on a lot

It' not all bad though
I do have the option to go back after Christmas so I think I will
I also made some amazing friends in hospital
I always do
I miss them so much already

I am determined not to start the binging and purging again
It was killing me
Being home is lovely and I was so delighted to see my dogs
But I am back in the place where my ED was rampant
I have no appetite and the temptation to lose weight is very strong
I am not going to start weighing myself
I'm going to try and keep some structure to my meals
I am going to keep fighting

There was a lady in treatment that I got very friendly with
She was 55 and had been suffering from her ED for 40 years
40
Years
She was so underweight it was shocking
It scared me so much
It still scares me to think of her

I glanced through some other blogs this morning
One blogger wrote how she had lost x pounds
There were 5 comments congratulating her
I just don't understand that
Surely we should be trying to help each other
Encourage each other
Not urge each other on to lose weight
That is just so wrong to me
Surely we have learned by now that losing weight does not make us happy
It does not make us more popular
Or more loved
Or more successful
All it mean is that we weigh less
That we take up less space

I have been there
Trying so hard to shed the pounds
Because once I reached x pounds then every thing would be ok
But it wasn't
In fact it made everything worse
Now the number doesn't matter so much
I know losing weight won't make me happy
But I still can't stop
Even knowing everything I know about EDs
I still can't stop

I'm not sure where to go from here
Or what to do with this blog
All I can do is take it day by day and meal by meal

I'm home
I'm ok
I'm still fighting

Update!!!!!

Hey everyone, longtime no blog!!!

Today is the first day that I've checked my blog since coming in to treatment
I'm here five weeks today
Where does the time go?
I'm using my room mates iPad so this will be a very quick update

Treatment is every bit as hard as I thought  it would be
I am on bed rest at the moment as I haven't been meeting my weight targets
The good news is I am here and fighting hard
My food intake has increased and the purging has decreased
The bad news is that I haven't had a purge free day since arriving here

Allowing myself to gain weight is proving very difficult
In fact my weight is lower now than it was when I arrived
The other bad news is that if I don't gain weight by next Wednesday i will be discharged
But i will do everything in my power not to let that happen
This all sounds very negative but there have been a lot of positives too
Being here away from home has shown me just how crazy my life was before I came in
I was spending all  my days every day binging and purging
Sometimes up to twenty times a day
Now my purging has decreased to two to three times a day
Still not ideal but a vast improvement

Before I came in here i was incredibly isolated
Now I am on a ward with many others
At first I really struggled and spent a lot of time in my room
But now I am growing in confidence every day
My personality that had been so stifled by my Ed is now starting to emerge
Despite my struggles I am hopeful
Bit by bit I am starting to believe that there is a life beyond this cruel illness

I will update again soon
I hope you are all doing well
Thank you so much for the cards, gifts, emails and texts
They mean more than you know

Until the next time
Take care
Stay strong
And above all else keep fighting

Your friend,

Ruby x

See you on the flip side

I had my last appointment with Mary yesterday
I am officially discharged from that service
No more Mary
She wished me luck
She said that she had every confidence in me
Before I left she gave me a huge hug
I probably won't see her now for a few months but I said I would stay in touch

I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday
My Dad and I were looking at a photo on the internet and he commented that this particular girl was thinner than me
I didn't show him but I got so angry
I wanted to hop the laptop off his head
I went in to the living room and cried tears of pure temper
I was angry at him
Angry at this bloody ED
But most of all I was angry with myself
I have never felt so big
The thought of walking in to hospital at this weight is soul destroying
Even though I know it's more about my behaviours than my weight
Even though I have never been so disordered
I still feel that I'm not sick enough
Not worthy of a place in treatment

If there wasn't so much on the line I would be running in the opposite direction
I would be telling everyone to stick treatment up their ass
I would be running in to the open arms of my ED
But I can't do that now
 I know that's just the fear talking
Not at the eleventh hour
I would be letting so many people down
And most of all I would be letting myself down

I guess I am just afraid
Terrified
I am venturing in to the unknown
In to recovery
I have to keep telling myself that all I have to do is give it a shot
If I don't like it I can always go back
My ED will always be there but recovery might not
I have nothing to lose and everything to gain

This will be my last post for a while
I don't know when I will post again
Maybe at Christmas when I am home for a few days
This isn't goodbye
Not at all
More like see ya later

I started this blog just over a year ago after reading blogs for quite a while
I had no expectations when I started
I just wanted to write and connect with others like me
Overall this blog has been a positive thing in my life
There are some negatives and I will have to look at them but for the most part it's been good
I've met and befriended the most amazing people
I've had the privilege of following your stories
Of being part of your lives
We may all live in different countries and may never even meet each other
But we are all bound by a common thread
We are eating disordered
We are hurting
We are a bit lost
We fight a daily battle
Sometimes we win
Sometimes we lose
But the important thing is that we keep going
We keep hoping
We share our experiences so we don't feel so alone
And in the hope that maybe we could bring some comfort to someone in the same boat
We feel a pain that it is almost unbearable
We put ourselves, our bodies and our minds through hell every single day
But it is because we feel this pain that we are able to empathize with others
We know because we live it every day

I want you to know that it doesn't have to be this way
There is a way out
I truly believe that
I don't believe that our EDs ever go away
It will always be there
As I've often said before, I compare my ED to taming a wild animal
I can train the animal and manage the animal
But there is always the possibility that it will bite
With determination and hard work we can tame this animal
We can live our lives on our own terms
We can follow our dreams
We can learn to like and even love ourselves
We can be the people that we always wanted to be
We can do the things that we always wanted to do
It is possible
I just know it is

Please take care of yourselves
Please stay as safe as you can
I won't be here but I will be thinking of you and sending love your way
This is Ruby over and out
See you on the flip side

Your friend,

Ruby x

Monday

Monday morning
Usual rituals
Doctor
Chemist
Walk my dogs
Come home and sleep the day away
It's funny how I get such comfort from ritual and routine
Knowing that things are the same
That this is what happens
Knowing it's predictable
It's less anxiety provoking
It's safe
Little things throw me
Running in to someone in the street
An unexpected knock at the door
Any change to my routine makes me feel anxious and scared
But it's next to impossible to avoid unpredictabilty
Life is unpredictable
Things don't always go the way you planned
Why is that not ok with me?
Today was slightly different as it will be my last Monday morning ritual for a while
If everything goes to plan I will be in treatment by the weekend

My doctor doesn't seen to enthused that I am going in
I suppose he's thinking that we've been here before and nothing changed
He increased my meds as he could see that I was quite anxious
Now I have 8 days meds when I only need 4
I didn't say anything
I wanted the extra meds
Bad Ruby, very bad!

This week there is a lot to do
Getting packed
I probably have way too much stuff but I live 3 hours away for the hospital so I need to prepare for every eventuality

Some motivational reading
An apple a day by Emma Woolf (Virginia Woolf's great grandniece)
And Gaining, The truth about life after eating disorders

 Not forgetting Ted
I will have no doggies to cuddle so this is the next best thing

My favourite cup that I bring every time I go in to treatment because a lot of time is spent having a cuppa and a smoke (Anything can be resolved over a cuppa and a smoke

Not forgetting my favourite notebook

I may even take up knitting!

This week I will be spending a lot of time with my best girls, I can't tell you how much I am going to miss them

Sorting out my meds

Reading and signing my contracts (Including weight restoration aaaaagghhh!!)

And you can bet your ass I will drinking copious amounts of tea and chain smoking

I'm worried about going in
I'm worried about fitting in with the other patients
I'm worried about being judged
 About gaining weight
About not gaining weight and being discharged
So many things
But if I thought too much about these things I would never go

I was wondering about you
Have you been to treatment?
Do you have any words wisdom?
Any advice greatly appreciated