Post 4

Good morning, last night I spoke to a psychiatric hospital in Phoenix over the phone. Unfortunately I wasn't able to talk to an actual psychiatrist because they were too busy but I did get to speak with a psychiatric nurse. The hospital was Mercy in Gilbert, the psychiatric unit (acute cases only).
I asked the nurse the following questions and received the following answers:
1. Do you receive eating disorder patients? Answer: yes, we receive patients in critical conditions often when their weight is too low.
2. Is anorexia the most commonly treated? Answer: yes
3. How is it treated here? Answer: patients are discharged when some weight has been restored and they're stable enough to go home.
4. Is this a permanent solution? Answer: no, this is a life-saving measure but therapy should follow after.
Furthermore I had an appointment with my former psychiatrist and asked him similar questions but got different responses.
1. Do you treat eating disorders? Answer: yes.
2. How? Answer: first step is diagnosing and next is often with medication.
3. Last year you mentioned to me that eating disorders were mostly social disorders rather than mental disorders, could you elaborate? Answer: They are social disorders because they are heavily influenced by media and usually are in an attempt to please someone or some aesthetic.
4. If taken too far can they become mental disorders? Answer: They are partly mental to begin with because it has to start from something, the media isn't all to blame. However, once a patient gets to a certain point, it becomes a physical disease that is too often life threatening.

These 2 point of views have gotten me thinking about treatment methods. In my last post I mentioned about how patient compliance is very important in treatment, but after speaking with Dr. Figueroa, I realize that Doctor compliance is likely an important matter as well. I will be speaking with a representative from an eating disorder facility in California tonight or tomorrow and visiting a center in Phoenix soon.
An added question will be as so: if the doctor doesn't believe an eating disorder is psychiatric, how does that influence patient care?
Finally, I will be meeting with Dr. Busath at Northern Arizona University to talk to him about his experience with eating disorders and what he has found this Friday.