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In resonse to the article, I know that it doesn't seem logical that someone would sacrifice their bodies for size 2 pants or a slimmer boddy, but there's more to it than that. It's bulimia, only a diabetic woman found a new way of purging her body other that vomiting or over-exercising...not taking insulin. It's almost like you don't have a choice and it's the only thing you can do. You hurt and feel ashamed and alone because you can't tell anyone. It's a disease and woman with this disorder don't really need your judgment...they need help.
It's just not that simple 'diabulimia' can become a mental illness just like ana or mia.
My name is Jacqueline Allan and I am the Director of www.DWED.org.uk (Diabetics With Eating Disorders), a not for profit organisation working towards charitable status. Recent studies show that not only are female* type one diabetics at twice the risk of developing anorexia or bulimia, as many as 40% of 15 - 30 year olds regularly manipulat or omit insulin in order to lose weight. This practice can have devastating consequences such as organ failure, infertility, blindness and in the worst cases, death. Despite this it is not officially diagnosable and there are no current guidlines for the NHS on how to deal with the issue.
DWED has two main purposes. Firstly we offer support to those affected by deliberate omission and their carers. We try to find suitable services in their areas This information will be posted on the website so that those who are ready to seek help know where to go to get it. DWED also supports suffers and their carers personally through emails, phonecalls, where possible home visits and through a variety of social networking sites and from tudiabetes to facebook (public and private). There are 500 members across groups. All of the sites are completely pro recovery with no pictures of talk of numbers allowed.
The second purpose of the organisation is to campaign for better (in somecases any) facilities for Diabetics with eating disorders. DWED is in support of Deliberate Insulin Manipulation/ Ommision being recognised as a Mental Disorder. We have a number of members who have been simply deemed as non - compliant and left at that. This is not only unsatisfactory it is potentially lethal. As something that is not officially diagnosable deliberate insulin manipulation/ ommision tends to cause a confused reaction among profesionals. To be honest when this project began the core aim was to raise awareness within the health service. The overwhelming reaction from all the PCTs contacted is that nearly everyone is aware of it but no one knows what to do about it, there is no ‘strategy', no guidlines and little UK based research. As such DWED is putting together a Professional Advisory Board composed of Eating Disorder and Diabetes Professionals in the hope that a dialogue will open and a multi - disciplinarian, patient centred approach will be promoted.
I hope that I have explained adequately what Diabetics with Eating Disorders does and that this is something you are interested in supporting. if you have any questions or comments then please het me through the website
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Cherise
Thanks for sharing your experience with the issue and pointing out just how not-worth-it diabulimia is. It's so hard to find really great doctors but it's definitely something worth being picky about. It's never too late to become the best freakin' diabetics we can be! I'm not always so great at it myself.
Wish you well!
Ginger