Healing from Within

Torrance Memorial transforms lives through a comprehensive eating disorders treatment program.

Written by Lisa Buffington

Since pediatric and adolescent medicine specialist Linda Schack, MD, began practicing in 1994, she has seen the number of patients with eating disorders steadily increase over the years—leading Torrance Memorial Medical Center to establish its unique Eating Disorders Medical Unit (EDMU) for patients ages 13 to 26 who are experiencing medical complications of a severe eating disorder.

“The program didn’t start so much as it evolved to meet the needs of a growing number of patients,” says Dr. Schack, who specializes in treating teens and adolescents with eating disorders. “Through our program, we provide medical support to stabilize each patient so they can enter an outpatient or residential treatment program—including managing the refeeding process and offering psychological support.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Schack and her colleagues—including internist and adolescent medicine specialist Lindsey Brucker, MD, and Sarah Wohn, PsyD, who also specialize in treating eating disorders—saw a spike in eating disorders among young people.

“The term ‘eating disorders’ refers to any abnormal pattern of eating that can be detrimental to one’s health,” says Dr. Brucker. “Eating disorders are complicated because they can have many causes. Anxiety, depression, trauma, societal expectations and distorted body image, which can be fueled by social media, can all factor into the development of an eating disorder. The pandemic exacerbated many of these factors among young people.”

Comprehensive Help for Young People

Torrance Memorial’s EDMU provides the highest level of care for teens and young adults up to age 26 who are experiencing medical complications of an eating disorder, such as electrolyte imbalances, slow heart rate, unstable vital signs or gastrointestinal issues.

“Eating disorders can be fatal if left untreated, and we take a comprehensive approach to caring for very sick patients using evidence-based protocols,” says Dr. Brucker. “In addition to our adolescent medicine and pediatric gastrointestinal specialists, our team includes a dietitian, psychiatrist, psychologists and nurses who are all specially trained in refeeding and caring for young people with eating disorders.”

Dr. Schack says the EDMU is the only program of its kind in the South Bay—and one of only a few similar programs in California and the U.S. “There really aren’t a lot of programs like ours in the country with fellowship-trained adolescent medicine specialists and pediatric GI specialists who are involved in every patient’s treatment.”

She notes Torrance Memorial has treated out-of-state and international patients. “And because we are treating teens and young adults, we work closely with the family and incorporate a child life specialist into our program to engage patients in art projects, activities and crafts.”

Spotting an Eating Disorder

According to Dr. Brucker, most eating disorders don’t develop overnight and can’t be attributed to only one cause. In fact, eating disorders often begin gradually, with teens developing habits such as skipping breakfast or lunch at school, adopting an entirely new diet or avoiding certain food groups altogether.

“Although these habits might initially seem harmless, they can sometimes get out of control—especially when combined with other challenges, such as the pandemic, mental health concerns, social considerations or other types of trauma,” says Dr. Brucker.

“Early in the pandemic, we saw a lot of elite athletes who were no longer training and were struggling to balance lower activity levels with their food intake,” says Dr. Schack. “When kids started to return to school after the pandemic, we saw a lot of patients get sick or relapse due to social anxiety.”

In addition to skipping meals and changes in dietary habits, other signs of eating disorders to watch for include:

• Rapid or profound weight loss
• Preoccupation with body appearance
• Frequent stomachaches, reflux or heartburn
• Absence of menstrual periods
• Eating alone, or declining to eat in front of others or at family meals
• Strict elimination of food categories from the diet, such as “junk food,” sugar/sweets, carbohydrates, gluten or red meat
• Use of laxatives, diet pills, teas or other products marketed for weight loss or energy
• Use of amphetamines, cocaine or other appetite suppressing stimulants
• Preoccupation with preparing food without eating the food
• Large quantities of food missing from the house without explanation
• Disappearance into the bathroom directly after eating
• Compulsive exercise

Parents can promote healthy behaviors for their teens by modeling a positive body image and relationship with food. Keeping the lines of communication open with teens and young adults can also encourage healthy, nonjudgmental discussions about body image, healthy eating, mental health and social media use.

If parents notice any worrisome behaviors in their teens or young adults, scheduling an appointment with their primary care provider is a good place to start. However, Dr. Schack, Dr. Brucker and the rest of the team understand seeking treatment for an eating disorder may seem daunting—and they want patients and families to know they aren’t alone.

“It can take a while for some patients to want to recover because an eating disorder can become part of their identity and they worry about what will happen if they let it go,” says Dr. Brucker. “Eating disorders can affect anyone, and they are treatable. We can help patients and families get to the root of what’s going on.”