#JustTwoHours: "My son almost died after GP didn't spot signs of anorexia"
A Leeds mum is joining our calls for GPs to receive mandatory training in eating disorders
Last updated 8th Feb 2022
A Leeds mum whose son nearly died because of an eating disorder says GPs don't have enough training to spot the signs.
Beverley Mattocks, from near Leeds, said it took around two months for her son's GP to realise he was suffering from anorexia.
Ben had to wait a further 3 months to be referred to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent mental health Services) to see the team there.
She's supporting our calls for GPs to have mandatory training in eating disorders.
"I really felt like I could lose him"
Beverley's son ben began displaying the signs of anorexia when he as 15-years-old.
He played lots of sport and had a particular interest in rugby. But this soon turned into an unhealthy obsession with exercise.
"Ben was quite a bulky boy but quite muscly as you can expect with someone who plays rugby.
"Everything was going perfectly and we thought "wow we are so lucky to have a son who's so good at sport.
"Then over a summer things really started to change and it wasn't until my mother in law came to visit in the September and he'd gone from being this big rugby player to someone who was quite skinny.
"We'd been with him and had noticed these weird behaviours. His sports teachers at school also noticed his decline in weight and that's when we realised something was seriously wrong."
Beverley took Ben to the GP multiple times over the period of a couple of months but found it difficult to make them see the dramatic transformation he had gone through.
Ben was also in denial he had a problem.
"One of the key aspects of someone who has an eating disorder is that they lie and tell everybody there is nothing wrong and that's exactly what ben did."
By January Ben ended up in hospital with a pulse of around 29 beats per minutes - the normal rate is 60 to 100.
"I picked him up and took him to hospital where he was then transferred to another hospital in the city with a specialist cardiac ward.
"He was wired up to all the machines and I was absolutely terrified because I was thinking this is my only child, he only has one heart and it could just give up any moment.
"He was kept in over night but even then the emdical staff on the cardiac ward didn't pick up that he had a serious problem, that he had anorexia.
"They said his heart had just become accustomed to all the exercise like an Olympian athlete."
Typical signs
Although boys and men who experience eating disorders can often go undetected due to the stereotype that eating disorders only affect women.
"Eating disorder can affect anyone from different genders, ages, race but the signs in males can be easily overlooked.
"Males can often want to build muscle but due to the amount of exercise they're doing and restricting their food they are actually losing fat and muscle and end up in this spiral.
"Exercise can often be mistaken for a dedication in mena dn is actually praised.
"It's so easy for boys to slip through the net because sometimes they may have a high BMI.
"The thing GPs need to realise though are the typical signs for girls and boys who have an eating disorder. Some signs may vary but most of them are so typical and obvious, it's almost like a carbon copy."
More support
Beverley believes mandatory for training GPs in eating disorder will help spot the signs early and begin treatment sooner.
"Gps also need to trust the parent's instinct. We know our children better than anyone else and know when things are seriously wrong.
"They also need to recognise that patients do tend to lie to the point where you think they're perfectly okay.
"It's not just student doctors who are training, but current GPs, new GPs, older GPs. There needs to be a real drive in raising awareness because the GP is often the first port of call for any medical issue.
"They really need to be trained in recognising the difference between girls and boys presenting with an eating disorder."