Diabulimia

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Manny Hernandez on July 4, 2007 at 5:00am

WOA! I hadn't heard of that either:
"Charity Diabetes UK estimates that up to one-third of young women with the disease miss injections to stay thin."

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steve RRR on July 4, 2007 at 9:57am

A very similar story was circulated in the US by the Associated Press On June 17. It was reported on the web sites of Fox News, CNN, and other news organizations.

A reporter left a message on another Type 1 message board June 22 looking to speak with some people who under-dose to lose weight.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katrina on July 4, 2007 at 9:41pm

I couldn't believe this when I read it. Like Steve said, there was an article that went around earlier in June. The girls in the article said they would skip their shots WEEKS at a time in order to lose weight. One girl lost 42 lbs in a year!

I hate that these women feel the need to go to these extremes to lose weight. At the same time, I am angry too that they are abusing their bodies that way. Having diabetes is like running a marathon - not a sprint. You have to think of your long-term health. Especially since we are "uninsurable" as it is! :(

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lea B on July 5, 2007 at 8:30am

This makes me so sad. While we were learning how insulin works, I wondered if anyone did this- here's the proof. It's terrible that we've come to a point that people put more value on being thin at any cost than being healthy. There is apparently no education going on in regards to how to exercise, control portions, etc.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sharon Stokes on July 5, 2007 at 1:43pm

I had an experience with bulimia also. It was a way I could eat whatever I wanted without having to take injections for it in high school. I was still coping and learning to accept diabetes in my life. I can understand why someone would want to do that and the pressure to stay thin in this society is frightening. You are absolutely right. Eating disorders aren't rational. Now that I have accepted who I am I do my best to take the best care of my body I can. I want to be around for a very long time. :)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chloe on July 5, 2007 at 2:51pm

I'm a little hesitant to reply to this one, but here goes. I have been recovered from a 10 year bout of anorexia for about 3 years. In fact my almost vegan diet, and running habits are a product of that obsession. So when I was diagnosed with diabetes, it has brought back many bad thoughts. I have to say the initial weight loss was intoxicating. The fear of insulin causing weight gain is still very real. Hardest of all is my change in a very regimented diet. Most of my foods were high in carbs, and I got a lot of my energy from pure sugar candy. Now I'm analyzing my diet and counting my carbs and calories and putting all that energy into meals. It has taken me back to a place where I never wanted to go, and again seems easier just to skip the meal or the shot. It has definately made swallowing the diagnosis difficult. My entire medical team knows my history, and my issues of denial and have tried to push me into "talking to someone. Just until you adjust" I do believe my CDE & nutritionalist are a little fed up with me. I tend to be stubborn, and the diet plan is riddiculous. Anyway, I can only imagine that having to be so attuned to your diet while growing up could easily push someone over the edge into an eating disorder, even if they aren't predisposed.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by burcu on July 6, 2007 at 5:19am

the news is sad, but it is real...and i can totally understand where these girls are coming from. i think i had something similar, not blumia but i did play with my diet irrationally to loose weight 15 years ago. by then, i had a type 1 diabetic for 10years. i just lowered my insulin and food, but without any guidance. i had a lot of hypos which i did not treat properly, and i was just lucky. i ended up not having any menstural periods for over a year tho.
ok now that i am thinking of it, it was very stupid of me. I was size 12-14 and I am a bit over 1.70 cm, so I looked normal and healthy. but at that age when everyone around me was dieting (these extreme ones where you live with one apple a day!!), and when i felt the need to be normal (read it thinner!), it was peer pressure. even girls of size 6-8 (UK standards) were trying to loose weight!
when there are all these things in media, it becomes irrelevant if u r diabetic or not.. a teenage girl just wants to look beatiful. and all the complimenets u get and being size 0, make u forget abt all the consequences that u may face.
I think it is not mainly due to these young diabetics being ignorant abt stuff, it is just the result of these media imposed images on people and how 'beautiful' is defined. it is just that the consequences may be much harsher for the diabetics! and i think this is why there is more need for professional help for supporting people with diabetes.
I dont know abt US but I can say that it was quiet poor in the UK and Turkey.
nowadays, i am just grateful that I have a healthy body, two legs that i can run with ;) the rest i dont care. I leave the moaning and groaning abt fake weight problems to unhappy and ungrateful people.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cara on July 6, 2007 at 3:30pm

There is a book that has been out for several years by Lurlene McDaniel called "All the Days of her Life" which deals with this to some point. The book has a copyright date of 1994, so it was before insulin pumps were widespread & much less was known about carb counting or anything like that. But it sheds some light on this disease. The author's son is a type 1 diabetic, so she has some great knowledge for the time it was written. It is a young adult fiction novel and was my first exposure to anyone playing with their insulin to loose weight. Thank God I never did that, although I did let my blood sugars run WAY to high for about a year when I was in college (my a1c was 12.1). I did skip some insulin and never tested my sugar levels, but it was not with the intentions of loosing weight. I just didn't want to have diabetes and ignored it to the best of my ability.

▶ Reply to This