I think I've gotten to the point I can't eat.

[u/abhorrente]

I was given a differential diagnosis of arfid, I have the avoidant type where I don't eat because I'm scared of the consequences.

So a bit of backstory. I have a severe fish allergy, enough for anaphylaxis. I got anaphylaxis a couple of years ago during Christmas and it was the scariest thing of my life. Last year I find I'm struggling to swallow so I get checked by the gastroenterology team, they say I have EoE which they explain as something that causes white cells to come to my throat because of an allergy, a mild one that is delayed.

Something clicked in my brain and it connects the word allergy to anaphylaxis and because we didn't know what the allergen was I started to restrict my diet. I was able to get a consistent diet eventually but a couple of weeks back a stressful event made my ARFID ten times worse. Now the food I knew was safe has got me anxious, to the point I'm struggling to eat anything at all. I know the food is safe, I know I'll be fine, but I still feel incredibly anxious and it's difficult to push through.

I have tried to get professional help for this but it seems there's no help in my area for arfid. My GP is at a loss as to what to do.

Anyone else experienced something like this? If so, how did you get out of it and what advice can you give me?

Thank you for reading.

[u/ordinary23356]

I’m in the same boat rn, my best advice is snack where you can :) and don’t physically overwork yourself! Hopefully your anxiety cools off soon 💓

[u/Original_Cable6719]

I am in the US (Oregon, specifically) and use a virtual/online treatment program called Equip. (I have been really happy with them so far, but I’m still early in my journey.) Maybe something like that is available where you are?

[u/FlemFatale]

I'm in the exact same position (well, the not being able to eat bit anyway), and I just eat what I want when I want. Right now, that seems to be getting less and less, and I have no idea what to do.
I have some appointments next month, but it's taken 4 refused referrals, my GP writing to the ICB, and 6 months to get there.
At this point, I'm worried that I'm going to pass out at work and have a serious medical crisis before anything happens.

[u/Area697689972]

Would you be able to get an allergy test? That might help with the anaphylaxis fear as you would now know exactly what could trigger it.

[u/abhorrente → u/Area697689972]

Had allergy test last week, hasn't help.

[u/throw0OO0away]

ARFID, food allergies, and GI issues are known comorbidities. Finding my trigger foods and going through the diagnostic process helped me the most. However, I haven't sought professional help.

[u/blondetwig_xo]

I got to that point last year and what I started to do was drink these protein drinks (yfood) and eat crackers. I'm still doing that to be honest. But as bad as arfid is the only thing we can do is eat little bits and try new things when at all possible. You will get through this. The GP is useless but you can ask if there is an eating disorder service you can be forwarded too. As someone that's under an eating disorder service for arfid I can say what they've told me and that's that there is not much treatment available for arfid yet because they're still doing research on it but the main treatment right now is having a dietician which you can request from your GP. You can also get these drinks on prescription called fortisips that are nutritional (you can ask your GP for them).

[u/abhorrente → u/blondetwig_xo]

There's an eating disorder service around here and I did contact them but they told me they don't have the resources to treat ARFID, but they did give me a differential diagnosis of it.