I think i am suffering from Diabulemia...?!
Question: ive had it for years, and i find it really hard to talk about i only just told my parents and they dont really know how to deal with it, information is limited, has anyone else gone through this and have/ how have you been able to fix it?
Answers: ive had it for years, and i find it really hard to talk about i only just told my parents and they dont really know how to deal with it, information is limited, has anyone else gone through this and have/ how have you been able to fix it?
Yes, I'm 40 now but I'm ashamed to say I did this from about 18 to 25. I finally had the body I wanted and was able to eat like crazy (never mind my BG's probably ran 180-250 most of that time), and I knew if I tightened my control I would put on some weight. I gradually woke up and improved, and when I was about 31 I finally went on a pump. I put on about 10 lbs., but I was able to lose it once I stabilized and started eating better. I don't know how to best fix it, it sounds like you're still a teenager? What woke me up is something I read where when your BG is high, it's like maple syrup running through your veins. For some reason, that gave me the visual I needed to start taking care of myself, and if I put on a few pounds, so what? And seeing a diabetes educator would be a good idea to help you get your BG's under better control. Hopefully she will not be judgemental and will want to help you.
You need to seek the help of a therapist, and possibly your endocrinologist (if you've got one). While bulimia is dangerous for anyone, purposely injecting less insulin than your body needs in order to force weight loss WILL kill you, and more quickly than you think. Don't mess around with this, seek help immediately. Your life depends on it.
I am a type I diabetic, but have never resorted to short-changing my shots..so in terms of personal experience, I have none to give you. Again, please seek help. I do, however, commend you for actually coming out and admitting that you have a problem. This is the first, and most important step in your recovery.
I understand why people do this to themselves, honestly. When my sugar was high, I was the thinnest I have ever been. I actually thought I looked good. As soon as I went on insulin, I gained back 35lbs in less than a month and I felt fat. Body image is such a hard thing for people to deal with, especially young girls. I am 34 and I LOVED being thin, but I was so damn sick, I was miserable. I also knew that I was killing my body slowly so I accepted being a little fatter and HEALTHY. You need to decide what most is important in your life- looking 'good' or being healthy. PLEASE get in to see your doctor. You really need to get this under control so you don't suffer long-term affects of high blood sugar. (HUGS) to you... I know what you are experiencing is very difficult.
Diabulimia (a portmanteau of diabetes and bulimia) refers to an eating disorder in which people with Type 1 diabetes deliberately give themselves less insulin than they need, for the purpose of weight loss.
Failure to administer insulin places the body in a starvation state, resulting in breakdown of muscle and fat into ketone bodies and subsequently ketoacids, while a the same time making the body unable to process sugars that have been consumed, so the sugars are excreted rather than being used by the body for energy or stored as fat. This typically results in significant weight loss but also places the patient at risk of a life-threatening condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis. Prolonged failure to administer insulin results in long-term complications such as diabetic neuropathy.
Following a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, a patient is prescribed insulin injections, given a controlled diet, and must checkblood sugar several times a day. This lifestyle may result in weight gain, which some (particularly teen girls) may be unhappy about. This may lead them to neglect their insulin treatment for the purpose of losing weight.
Often, people with Type 1 diabetes who omit insulin injections will have already been diagnosed with an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and/or compulsive eating. In cases where a person with Type 1 diabetes has another eating disorder, there is a tendency to discuss the other eating disorder more openly than they discuss diabulimia, as many people with diabetes are embarrassed or don't want to deal with the reality that they have lost control of their diabetes. These individuals are often not aware that diabulimia is more common than they think and is also very difficult to overcome. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, diabulimia sometimes requires the afflicted individual to stop caring for a medical condition. Unlike vomiting or starving, there is sometimes no clear action or willpower involved. Diabulimia may be more appealing to individuals who want to lose weight and do not want to feel hungry, or do not want to engage in purging via vomiting. Often there is an obsessive compulsive urge to engage in this activity for the purpose of emotional disassociation or a need to satisfy feelings of control.
This condition can be triggered or exacerbated by the need for diabetics to exercise constant vigilance in regard to food, weight and glycemic control. In adolescents the need for parental control over the young diabetic's life, and the increased weight gain that insulin treatment can cause, may play roles in the increased risk for onset of anorexia and/or bulimia. The frustration of managing blood sugars and their subsequent effects on weight and self perception (altered by dealing with a chronic illness) can also be damaging to self esteem and body image.
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A person with diabulimia, especially if not caught and treated early, is likely to suffer the negative effects on the body of diabetes earlier than a person with diabetes who is managing their diabetes in a faithful manner. Long-term potential repercussions of diabetes include renal failure, blindness and diabetic neuropathy. With diabulimia there is an increased chance of death. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is very common in persons with Type 1 diabetes who have diabulimia. This is due to the body's need for a constant supply of energy, which lack of insulin prevents. DKA is a very serious condition that occurs when one doesn't have enough insulin; without treatment it results in death within a very short span of time.
Diabulimia tends to start in adolescence and is more likely to occur in women than men. One can identify a patient as having diabulimia if there are many unexplainable spikes in their Hemoglobin A1c, weight loss, lack of marks from finger sticks, lack of prescription refills for diabetes medications, and records that do not match the HbA1c.
Short term
These are the short term symptoms of patients with diabulimia
Constant urination
Constant thirst
Excessive appetite
High blood glucose levels (often over 600)
Weakness
Fatigue
Large amounts of glucose in the urine
Inability to concentrate
Electrolyte disturbance
Severe ketonuria, and, in DKA, severe ketonemia
Low sodium levels
Medium term
These are the medium term symptoms of patients with diabulimia. They are prevalent when diabulimia has not been treated and hence also includes the short term symptoms
Muscle atrophy
GERD
Indigestion
Severe weight loss
Proteinuria
Moderate to severe dehydration
Edema with fluid replacement
High cholesterol
Death
Long term Symptoms
If a person with Type 1 diabetes who has diabulimia suffers from the disease for more than a short time