'Diabulimia'?

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Monday, June 18, 2007
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I’d heard of this briefly once a few years ago: Type 1 diabetics running their blood sugars very high regularly and purposefully to lose weight. Apparently, this frightening habit has become a sort of weight-loss fad most commonly among young women and teenagers. And not only will skipping yo...

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Untitled Comment
Cherise Loe
Monday, June 18, 2007 at 05:30 PM
I used to try this but learned the hard way that it can cause a lot of complications including DKA. I have two eposides of DKA in which I was place in either ICU or CCU. The first eposide, about 8 months after my diagnosis, I came down with the flu and we werent sure how to treat it. I ended up in CCU for 24 hours and basically comatose. The second time which happened this past April 2007 was because of this new fad diet with not taking insulin. It doesnt work as well as some people might think it does. You might lose weight but you also lose muscle mass as well. I'm only 23 years old and have the starting of neuropathy in my left leg. This is caused from doctor's who didnt know what they are doing. I am finally with a new doctor that understands what he is doing and is a specialist. I still have a regular doctor for everything else but he doesnt deal with my diabetes.

Cherise

Cherise!
Ginger
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 03:19 PM
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

re: Untitled Comment
Kelly
Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 09:57 PM
Hey Cherise! Thanks for sharing your experience. I was diagnosed w/type 1 diabetes two years ago at the age of 26. After the birth of our second child last Aug. I stopped using my insulin pump in order to loose weight. Two months later I was in the CCU with DKA! I was very close to dying and stayed in the hospital for three, very long days! The first of which I don't remember much of. After that terrible scare, and knowing the seriousness of insulin deprevation, I've, in the last month or so found myself slipping into the habit of just getting by on my basal rates; rarely giving myself a bolus or a small one at times. I've started going to Weight Watchers and have lost 37 lbs. in the last four months, however the weight seems to melt away with less insulin! It's so easy to skip my bolus without anyone knowing! I hate that I do this b/c I know the long term effects. I can't imagine leaving my family"early", all b/c I want to be thin!

re: re: Untitled Comment
GingerVieira
Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 11:11 PM
Kelly, thanks for sharing your story. I hope eventually you can break that habit because it is very dangerous and extremely detrimental to your body (but you already know this!). And being thin just to wind up in the hospital can't possibly be worth it...right? Congrats on losing 37 pounds which hopefully was also due to exercising and healthful eating!!!

More thoughts on Diabulimia from Dr. Steve Ponder
Anonymous
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at 10:54 PM
http://challengediabetes.diabetech.net/2007/06/19/diabulimia-the-rest-of-the-story/

Untitled Comment
Ginger
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 12:14 PM
That is a very upfront, honest article--no nonsense: this is an extremely dangerous habit--thank you to whomever posted it!
-ginger

diabulimia
Nicole
Monday, August 13, 2007 at 07:39 PM
i am recovering from this disease which has effected my life for almost 5 years now. Diabulmia is a very dangerous and scary eating dissorder. It is my best friend and my enemy at the same time. I look to it for comfort and control but know that it really is eating me alive. To tell you the truth i am scared of dieing but i am even more scared of not being as perfect as i can be(that is my eating disorder talking). One thing that many people dont understand about this disease is that just like anorexia or alchohalism, it is very hard to take control of and no one including any doctors or therapists can make you take control, only you can defeat this.

Research results from Joslin Diabetes Center
JJs Mom
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 11:30 AM

Here is a link to the research done on this issue.

http://www.joslin.org/1083_4281.asp

I DO get it
Anonymous
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 07:12 AM

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.