Diabetes and Eating Disorders

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Permalink Reply by MeadowLark on September 29, 2009 at 8:56am

ugh! I carry diet soda with me everywhere. I drink it all day long as I cannot stand the taste of our water here. sigh.. being on a well instead of city water stinks.
I'm also addicted to bread and anything sweet sends me into a search for more. Literally stuffing my face for hours without even realizing it.
This is all physically and emotionally damaging for me.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Manwaring on September 29, 2009 at 10:00am

there is no correlation between eating disorders and type one diabetes. try looking for a correlation with type two. There is only poor eating habits which make type one worse.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Mayshar on September 29, 2009 at 10:14am

I tend to agree with Steve on this. Although I can see the other points of view. I have no craving for sweets or desserts. I've been T1 for 54 years since age 4 and at least in my case it made my eating habits significantly better. I see T1's who don't eat well but it appears to be more a case of denial than anything else. Perhaps I'm sure just what an eating disorder is? Bulimia nervosa is certainly one we hear of, is it more prevalent in T1's?. Many people say insulin makes you gain weight??? I thought that overeating made you gain weight. You need to eat a balanced diet. Since we were intended to be Omnivores I would think that being a Vegetarian an eating disorder?

I'd be interested in what you find.

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Bruggink on September 29, 2009 at 5:47pm

I agree about a thousand percent with LeAnn. While you may not have experienced eating problems, the scientific literature does support a link, particularly in adolescent girls. But the more important factor than getting you to believe this is for people suffering from disordered eating to know that a) it isn't uncommon, and b) that they have a real problem - for which there is help.

Aside from the more well-known eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, there is a particular type of eating disorder recently termed "diabulimia," in which sufferers omit insulin to lose weight... you basically urinate out all the carbs you eat (and become extremely ill in the process). This is, sadly, not at all uncommon, though it ranges from people who've done it occasionally to those for whom it becomes a very serious problem.

As to the need to eat a balanced diet, yes, that is something that is obviously healthy for all diabetics (as well as non-Ds). But an eating disorder is far more than simply not eating healthily. It is a mental illness focusing on food to block out or cope with the problems of life. Some people use alcohol or drugs or even work to do this, but diabetics - particularly but not exclusively young women - already have food as a central and inescapable issue, which can increase their risks dramatically.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Ann on September 29, 2009 at 10:35am

I'm afraid that's incorrect. From Diabetes Spectrum, vol 22, no 3, Summer 2009:

"Eating Disorders and Diabetes: Introduction and Overview" by Colton, P., Rodin, G., Bergenstal, R., & Parkin, C

"There has been controversy in the literature about the association of eating disorders and type 1 diabetes. However, interview-based studies and a meta-analytic review support the view that there is an increased risk for both subthreshold and full-syndrome eating disorders in girls and women with type 1 diabetes... Using a standardized diagnostic interview, full-syndrome eating disorders were diagnosed in 10% of teenage girls with type 1 diabetes and 4% of age-matched girls without type 1 diabetes. Subthreshold eating disorders were even more common, diagnosed in 14% of girls with type 1 diabetes and 8% of the nondiabetic comparison group... Deliberate insulin-omission is the most common method of purging in girls with type 1 diabetes and becomes progressively more common through the teen years. This behavior is reported by 2% of pre-teen girls, 11-15% of girls in the mid-teen years, and 30-39% of those in late teenage years and early adult years."

I have a stack of research articles on the subject, and I've personally interviewed one of the country's top experts in this field.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila Green on September 30, 2009 at 4:47am

Very good - whatever its called I have been there, done that. Now I am old enough, and certainly more knowledgable to know better. Besides, withholding insulin makes you feel "awful"...
Sheila

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Permalink Reply by Andy Mayshar on October 3, 2009 at 8:40pm

Yes, especially when you die because of it, Remember that a type 1 who doesn't get insulin dies in just a few days

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Permalink Reply by Lee Ann on October 4, 2009 at 6:38am

People just don't take as much as they should. They don't completely stop taking it. I think all of us with T1 have the part about No insulin = death figured out pretty well.

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Permalink Reply by Rose Joelle on October 4, 2009 at 9:01pm

Funny, I am actually google-ing various diabetes/eating disorder topics tonight because my dad and boyfriend "interventioned" me last night with a proposal that I go to a dibulima specific eating disorder program, There is a lot of excellent info on diabetes and eating disorders here, http://www.thebuttercompartment.com/?page_id=131
also this is the site for the specific treatment program http://www.centerforhopeofthesierras.com/diabulimia.html
Good luck with the paper!

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on October 6, 2009 at 5:30am

Hello Rose, thank you for posting these links!

Have you had experience with this treatment program yet?

Please reach out whenever you need us! There are so many people who can help remind us that we are not alone!!!

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Permalink Reply by Colleen in NH on October 5, 2009 at 3:43pm

Yup, go read Lee Ann's Butter Compartment!

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