Just found this sub after a doctor mentioning I could have AFRID.

I have been diagnosed with IBS but currently undergoing investigation for other illnesses that present the same. There’s literally like 8 things I can eat “safely” without having extreme abdominal pain.

Anyone here diagnosed with GI issues and AFRID? is this my life now? Eating a handful of things because I’m too scared to eat “normal” incase of pain being more intense?

POTS is making me unable to eat, which greatly limits what I feel okay with eating. Lately I've been just drinking coffee because it's the only thing I want to consume. I know it's horrible, but food puts me in so much agony that coffee is the only safe food for me right now

idk what’s wrong man i literally have eaten the same shit since i was 7 and it’s only gotten worse. i don’t have anyone to talk to about this and it’s so fucking annoying. i tried to go and eat some fucking rice today and i had to sneak in my own bathroom so that my mom wouldn’t think i hated it. i wish i could eat food dude fuck. i wish i could fucking lose some weight but i literally can’t make myself even try and eat fucking healthier foods man

I know the meme says autism but I feel like ARFID applies just as much 😂

no I totally didn’t accidentally post this without the image the first time wdym

Tl;Dr at the bottom (has bulletpoints)

Hi there. I'm 33F, I learned about ARFID back when it was still considered SED about....12 years ago??? Anyways, I brought it up to my therapist at the time and he confirmed that I most likely had it. However, shortly after the breakthrough, I couldn't return due to costs and he retired before I could come back (so I no longer have records since he was independent).

I always knew something was wrong and we dug around and figured my specific case is due to deeply rooted emetophobia and childhood trauma that most likely was the cause of both. My struggle my whole life has been avoiding foods that trigger my gag reflex or makes me sick (even if it hadn't before). Foods that trigger this are based on texture, visual presentation, scent, and taste. I also feel like I have super taste buds because I swear I can taste the literal dirt in vegetables. Unfortunately, my safe foods are very carb rich foods (so many varieties of breads and pastas), and my unsafe food list is a mile long but in general: no vegetables, no fruit (except I managed to add one single strawberry marked safe), no fish/seafood, no beans/chili, corn, and cornbread. Those are my biggest off-limits foods.

Onto my issue. I am overweight. I am 5'1" and 188 lbs. My doctors keep getting on my case about losing weight, but I keep getting dismissed when I bring up ARFID. My current main doctor actually wants to research it before making any decisions, so I guess that is a silver lining. However...on May of 2023, I had an intraparenchymal hemorrhage (a rare hemorrhagic stroke) that was caused by an unfortunate combination of oral contraceptive and having two genetic blood clotting disorders (thrombophilia) that was unknown to me. I am on blood thinners for life, specifically Warfarin/Coumadin since all the other thinners on the market most likely won't work with my condition (according to my hematologist). For those unfamiliar, this medication has a long list of food restrictions that, if eaten, can cause it to be rendered useless or cause it to work too good, where both ends of that spectrum is very very bad for me. Guess what's on that list? :D Majority of the list I don't already eat but they are considered the "diet food" in the world of losing weight. The rest? Most of the food I do eat. You'd be shocked at how much of our food had soy products in it (soybean oil, soy protein, soy sauce, etc.) Almost all cooking oils are off limits because half are soybean oil based, the other canola (another bad oil), and olive oil is on the medium threat list, so that's like over half the cooking oil aisle gone there.

Back on track from that rant, my next problem is that I am also on Keppra thanks to the stroke. My Neurologist says I'm still in the gray area of recovery where they can't say if I will have seizures permanently or if they will go away. This is where I'm stuck on my journey the most. I found out the hard way earlier this year that intermittent fasting is a HUGE problem with both my meds because it affects how fast or slow I absorb my medication. So, as a result, I ended up having 3 different breakthrough seizures, even after increasing my Keppra. We found out together that it was the fasting and I have been seizure free since July 25th after cutting out the fasting.

So here is my round-up:

• I have ARFID already and a weight problem
• I now have to restrict my diet even further due to Warfarin/Coumadin
• I'm not allowed to fast because it triggers seizures
• Not mentioned above, but I have in the past tried exercising to lose weight, back when I was only 135lbs, I was in college and spent 3 hours a day everyday in the gym for 6 months and didn't lose a pound. So I am unsure if that would even work at this point???

So what are my options to lose this weight that makes my doctors so mad about having after all of this? I want to know if any of you have experienced this, have tips and tricks, or anything really that can help me until I can find someone who can help treat my ARFID. Please don't tell me I'm doomed 🥲

Thanks in advanced!

a few months ago i discovered a new safe food that i really enjoy (a sandwich from a specific store) that i’ve been eating a lot recently. my friends have all noticed how frequently i eat this sandwich, poking fun at me lightheartedly for it (which i don’t mind at all) and even offering to buy it for me when there’s nothing else for me to eat. however, the other day one friend decided to try the sandwich and apparently didn’t like it very much. they started making fun of “how boring it is” and teasing me for liking it which really hurt my feelings. i know i’m probably majorly overreacting, especially since they don’t know i have ARFID, but i feel kind of embarrassed to eat it around them anymore. i’m not mad at them at all but i’m bummed that it kind of ruined a meal i enjoy.

im honestly so proud of myself rn, i have a Lot of problems when it comes to getting past the whole "well others have it worse"/"my symptoms arent That presentation/severe/etc"/whatever mentality, where ive known quite a few people with more body image oriented eds (leading to "oh i dont have an ed, then, it must be something else") with the exception of one who Did have arfid but was significantly more limited on safe foods (leeeading to "its not that severe", instead, ofc), whereas i deal more with lack of interest, so opening up is def a big deal for me. im like still pumped full of adrenaline even lol

i have auDHD with what i consider is ADHD forward presentation, so i need: novelty, interest, and variety. which is to say that while there might Physically be food available i Could normally eat just fine, when arfid kicks up it makes everything not quite right or god forbid Boring, which, fellow adhders can understand, is like the worst thing ever to my brain- even above resulting gi problems and the discomfort of going hungry 🙄

but yeah wooo! opening up! my gp rocks so while shes a bit limited on what shes able to do herself (shes actually a family nurse practitioner, which truly just leads to a lot of referrals lol), shes very attentive and willing to hear me out and work through different scenarios and options with me instead of having a "i know whats right" mentality (which! bless when it comes to me commonly hyperfixating on researching what is or could be wrong with me lol), which is so refreshing. if anyone an relate to where im at/have been, i believe in And believe you yo, uncertainty fucking sucks but it really is better to be wrong than untreated- go at your own pace but at least go, yknow? anyways thats all lol thanks for listening to my rambling :]

i know it’s been said here many times before, but this book really is great!! i wasn’t that interested in picking it up since i was already in treatment, and this is more aimed towards self-help, but i was really curious about the contents of it and i am very pleasantly surprised. i’m not very far in yet, but safe to say it has my official ARFID stamp of approval. it’s absolutely worth the money!

a quick synopsis for anyone interested, the book layout is like this:

1. defining ARFID and what it specifically means for you
2. the steps towards change (and what change means for you!)
3. ways to tackle each subtype of ARFID (sensory, fear, lack of interest)
4. how to not relapse (or, how to keep these new changes going)

one part of ARFID that gets in the way of my everyday life is food smells. i am extremely sensitive to food smells, almost anything will make me gag. to combat this issue my brain pretty much automatically switches me to mouth breathing when im around any food/ food place. it’s crazy because i don’t even think about it or comprehend right away that im breathing out of my mouth and not my nose

whenever i go to a potluck or gathering and my food choices are very limited i tend to go for the meatballs and just rinse them off under water and dry them so that there is no sauce.

i’ve been known to rinse sauce and seasoning off multiple different foods…

Here's an update to my previous post.

I don't know what to do. The hospital gave me 1L of NS drew labs, and sent me on my way. They sent a DM to my GI in hopes that it will be enough to help me. It's not. I'm still not eating enough, have raging ARFID, and dropping weight. I also sent a DM to my RD last night and haven't heard back (granted, it is less than 24 hours since the DM got sent to I'll give leeway here). Does anyone have any ideas?

How was people's experiences with Megace? I heard it's an appetite stimulant. Even if my appetite improves, that doesn't change the fact that I have ARFID and will literally starve if I don't get help. I fear that my aversions/ARFID and GI issues are too intense for Megace to override.

I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit, but I figured some of you would have good advice. My grandma is 100 years old. Naturally, she has very little energy and her strength has declined quite a bit in the past few months. Her age of course plays a part, but I also think her diet is playing a role. She has become really disinterested in food and the only foods she will reliably eat are biscuits with jelly for breakfast, oatmeal, and the mini Ritz peanut butter crackers. She will only nibble at other stuff we give her or refuse it altogether. The only thing I can think of is putting some protein powder in her oatmeal.

CW: Therapist reducing need for safe foods to behavioral symptom

I had something weird happen the other day in my ERP session.

My therapist and I have spent a fair bit of time on a handful of issues that have both autistic and OCD "roots." I will say that while she's overall ND friendly I have sometimes felt the need to push back and advocate for my autism in-session. Somewhat I understand this, she is an ERP specialist after all! It's her job to go through and help me understand what is and isn't OCD compulsions or avoidances.

When I mentioned something about my diet being easier to manage on my new medication, she seemed to want to latch on to improving my diet. This is a pet peeve I have with therapists, assuming that because I barely brought something up in session, it's the thing I want to spend our entire time on. Then I'm forced to either go along or be in charge of redirecting the session which isn't comfortable for me.

Personally, I found this immediately entirely inappropriate as someone that isn't my nutritionist or ED psych given I have ARFID specifically. Finally, I had to specify that although avoidant and restrictive are in the name, that my issues with ARFID have to do with autism not OCD.

For one I guess I'm curious if others have experienced this. She effectively likened leaning on "safe foods" as a compulsion or restriction. It genuinely seemed foreign to her that someone could enjoy their quality of life while eating the same thing every day (ableism alert much!!!). I clarified that if anything, my only restrictions and compulsions associated with eating come from things like body dysmorphia or orthorexia associated with other OCD themes or phobias, and accommodating ARFID radically allows me to avoid those habits. Basically, I made it clear that exposure therapy around food would mostly serve to damage my relationship with food.

Secondly, I'm curious how others would handle this. I'm someone that was severely underweight until I removed EVERY amount of restrictions of any type. As in, absolutely no restrictions, even if that means I eat the same meal for every meal for weeks. So to me, I'm absolutely engaging in restriction-free eating every time I allow myself to eat what I either need or want to eat, whether it's impacted by ARFID or not. The concept that safe foods are a compulsion has rattled me in general and very much pissed me off during the session.

I'm determined to not let this impact my diet, and it was already looking like I was switching therapists for insurance reasons. She's very very good at OCD work, but my review will likely be four stars, one removed for feeling forced to tirelessly advocate for my autism anytime it came into the picture. In the past I have pushed past this but in this case I feel like I might feel safer if I say something. To me, all I should need to say is "I am certain that's my autism, not OCD," for us to QUICKLY move on to the next topic.

I started testing out some meal replacement options recently (if you have access to yfood, I rly recommend their drinks! I ordered their test package recently)

But genuinely like every single time I mention & tell someone (all of the ones im currently trying are drinks) they'll ALWAYS say "you have to eat solid foods too" like- yeah?! I never phrase it in a way that'd imply I'm switching to just meal replacements why does everyone think that's what I mean?? And never do they acknowledge I get way more nutrients (& in some cases calories) from them than most of my safe foods-

No one is outright against it, I always try to re-explain that its just a good option to have available when I'm rly struggling to eat enough/at all, it's not that serious ik but it just happened again & im getting rly frustrated.

I am 41 and recently diagnosed with ARFID. I have so many questions and start to think about everything. So, i have a big problem with drinking water. I find it disgusting, i hate it and i never want to drink it. I had a coca cola addiction, which i am glad i got rid of after 15 years. I hate alcohol, can't stand the test so i have never drank it. No beer or wine or whatever. No coffee, no hot tea of other hot beverages. I usually drink cold green ice Thea. Arfid usually is affected with foodz but how are you with drinking (water)?

I only get about 800 calories a day eating bagels and quick snacks. What are some cheat foods that isn’t a big serving and has high calories. I don’t really like the feeling of being full.

Bonus points if it has good nutrition.

Hello everyone,

I have a very small friend group and only a couple of my friends know that I am a very picky eater. My ARFID isn't officially diagnosed but my symptoms fit extremly well.

Next week, I will go to a Café with some friends who don't know I have ARFID. I already looked at the menu, they don't really have something for me, so I will probably just get something to drink.

My problem is that my friends will most likely ask me why I'm not eating, but I also don't want to lie to them or just say something like "I'm not hungry". How do I tell them that I am a very picky eater due do ARFID?

I'm scared that they won't understand or think I'm weird. I also don't want this to ruin our friendship because I get along well with them.

This also applies to many other occasions. When people ask me why I'm not eating with them (for example on work), I always just say that I'm not hungry or something similar.

I would be very grateful for any advice. Thank you in advance!

This might be a weird question but I'm wondering if other people also dislike oral sex because of their arfid, I feel bad about it to my partner cuz he does not have any issues with it. Arfid is destroying my life man I just want it to magically disappear 🥲 I just wanna know if I'm the only one here or not

I've had arfid since I was a baby, all the typical symptoms and signs. I struggled to eat a lot or eat variety for a long time. But now I eat more foods than I ever did and if I don't like something I can force it down. I still gag and almost throw up if I force something down, but I get it done. I just wanted to share my victory, thank you for reading!

hey! so i just got diagnosed with arfid and my doctor prescribed me cyproheptadine. i’ve been psyching myself out looking at the side effects and i’m so scared.

has anyone taken this? and how was your experience? i’m taking it tonight.

Hello I'm 36 mom to a 2.5 year old boy nonverbal and for background we have been battle feeding aversion since 6 weeks old, believe it no he hasn't been hospitalized because I feed him bottle an entire year while asleep on schedule because he never showed hunger cues. This didn't work after he turn 1 as he had a lighter sleep. Distraction was the whole next year using tablet of phone. To all this he has also solids aversion but the last 8 months he had a lot of progress and started finishing his bottles and accepting to taste foods sometime swallowing 2 or 3 bites. He even ate when sick and everything looked promising. He doesn't seem to understand me neither at all and he can't comunicate other way than crying.

Well he just got a cold last week he refused a bottle ( still formula) because of a clogged nose I offered again an hour later and he refused again. The rest of the day he accepted the bottles fine. Next day he refuse again a bottle and all solids offerd. His bottles are 95% his calorie intake. 2 days ago he was constipated because he ate a little less I guess or the spoonfuls of yogurt he usually takes which he refused) kept him regular. Anyway he cryed a lot and after he pooped he took his bottle but he threw up almost immediately, since then the bottle aversion came back worst that ever he is now not accepting anything not even water, jello, pures of icecream. I feed him 6 ounces of formula last night while his heaviest sleep but that was it today he took one ounce of formula and 3 spoonfuls of jello but he threw up again immediately and it was more than what he ingested so I'm guessing he is going to dehydrate if he doesn't drink soon.what I think it's happening is he is really anxious cries everytime I Check his diaper or offer anything I guess he gets nauseated and has no appetite because of his anxiety ( panic to this point I guess) his cold completely disappeared after the second day. I know I need to take him to get iv fluids soon but was giving him a chance to take something to avoid it because he is super scared of hospitals and clinics (he cries everytime I we go to the bank because he thinks is a hospital). My concern is after they give him fluids how is he going to get his calories because I'm guessing the hospital visit will just make him panic even more. He is volume sensitive and as I said he throws up from anxiety which I guess no medication can help with that. I also have anxiety and panic disorder which explotes whenever he's not well. I think I'm just venting and wanting some encouraging stories about feeding tubes that I've tried to avoid at all costs this past years. Thank you for reading

He was denied feeding therapy because he tried some solids in his evaluation. He was about to start ABA at home this month and speech therapy too. No anatomic anomalies that prevent him from eating.

Can he be given anxiety meds this young because with his zero receptive language therapy might not work.

Some brands have more twigs in them than others. Do you know of a good brand without twigs? It's like my only good protein food other than Soylent at the moment.

sometimes when I find a safe food, I can’t stop eating it. until my stomach is so overfull and I physically can’t anymore. Currently, it’s pasta for me.. I figured out how to make a sauce from scratch that I actually love and I’ve been eating a huge amount of it every single day. I just finished a big bowl of it and I’m currently cooking another. The past few months I haven’t been eating much at all because I haven’t been able to find any of my regular safe foods (I’m in a different country) so I lost a bit of weight, and now that I found a safe food I like, I’m gonna gain it all back🥲

A lot of the time I feel like my arfid isn’t valid because I’m a bit on the larger side due to my B.E.D

hi! i'm starting to lose weight because of arfid, which has always been a problem, but hasn't gotten to the point of actually starving myself. i'm in my second year of college, and i don't have access to a meal kitchen through school for the first time, so i have to buy groceries for myself.

i've been obsessing over not getting the safest and easiest foods for me because i want to eat healthy. however, because i have adhd i usually end up not having time or energy to prepare meals. and in addition to this, i have ocd with severe emetophobia so the meat, milk, and other perishables that end up sitting in my fridge for over a week i deem already spoiled (someone pls tell me that even if my milk has been there for a week it hasn't already spoiled and also how do i deal with that????) WHAT CAN I DO!?

safe foods are usually just carbs. i'm going to get more protein shakes, but what are some other quick snack foods to help get the nutrients i need? and is there like a master list of supplements that would be good to take if im literally eating just carbs? for now im going to try and get iron supplements and pro/prebiotics. any other snack + supplement suggestions? any advice is greatly appreciated tysm

My mom got a new brand of bagels. It shouldn't be a big deal, they aren't that different.

But I saw them and I panicked and I'm frustrated that A) she got a new kind she has never seen me eat before when she knows I have ARFID and I struggle with new textures and new foods. But probably more that B) I'm reacting so strongly to this. I am so stressed, even looking at them makes me feel panicky. And I feel bad because they are probably just going to sit there and not be eaten. At least not unless someone else eats them...

I'm also just frustrated because I know we have food in the house, but almost none of it is safe food for me (or if it is, I have to cook it and I just don't have the energy lately) so it feels like we don't have anything. So then I just end up not eating in general.

TLDR: I hate ARFID and I hate how much it affects me and I wish I could just eat normally and not want to cry everytime I think about food 👍

Lunchables makes a pretty good and crispy grilled cheese that microwaves in one minute. Also put the hotdogs in the airfryer (way better than the microwave) and ketchup HAS to be Heinz brand - all the others taste odd

I recently went home to see my family for thanksgiving, and I think it made arfid worse. I’m so frustrated because my parents are some of the most unhygienic people I’ve ever known. My mother has mental health issues, which she refuses to address so it’s understandable, but my father is just a slob, especially around food. He recently purchased a home less than a month ago and I feel like he’s already ruined it. The kitchen stinks, his room stinks and theirs food spills all over the floor among other things. All of those things came to a head during the break and I found myself eating the same meal from the same fast food place every day. Now I’m back at college and I haven’t eaten anything that hasn’t came from a package or a fast food place. I already don’t have trust in my dining hall, and this is making it even worse. Every time I look at food I feel anxious or unsafe, everything feels tainted and rotten.

It just baffles me how others are so indifferent to mess. I’m trying to understand but I’m just so frustrated. I’m very grateful to have housing, both in college and at home, but I just don’t understand why others can’t respect their own places. I’m looking forward to the day I can move out on my own, but in the meantime, I have no say on what either of my parents do. Although I do have legitimate concerns about their health and safety. I don’t even want to go back home at this point but I have to go back in 3 weeks, and I’m worried about falling back into old habits (eating and binging strictly fast food) and restricting more than already am having rely on the dining hall.

Hello :) I've booked a holiday to Tenerife and wondering if anyone can help me with some food safety questions.

In the UK, anywhere that serves food has to display a food hygiene rating. Is there something similar in Spain? If so where would I look to the the rating of a place before I go?

Hey guys I’ve been navigating two weeks post breakup and I just needed to vent and be sad. I have ARFID, emetephobia, and a severe fear of choking to death.

Every meal is a struggle. I’m trying my best out here but it’s so tough to be without my saftey net.

When I would get scared that I’m going to choke I would reach out to my boyfriend and just make contact with him in some way. These days I’m reaching my arm out in reflex and nobody is there to bring me comfort.

It is so hard eating three meals a day all alone.

I’m just trying to break the habit of relying on the presence of another person but man is it tough on my mental health.

Thanks for reading my rant. ❤️