Type 2 Diabetes - A New Kind Of Eating Disorder: Diabulimia!
Most people are familiar with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, binge eating, and bulimia.
However, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation issued a report stating there is a new kind of eating disorder that has surfaced among diabetics.
Experts have coined this particular eating disorder as "diabulimia".
It happens when a Type 1 diabetic skips or restricts their injectable insulin in order to lose weight.
In people who have Type 1 diabetes, the insulin producing cells in the pancreas...
called beta cells...
have been destroyed or are unable to produce insulin.
Often this is the result of an autoimmune destruction of the pancreas.
It's very dangerous if it's left untreated.
When a Type 1 diabetic doesn't take their insulin, it can cause a whole host of dangerous situations to occur.
In the case of a Type 1 diabetic not injecting their required insulin doses, their blood sugar levels increase which will naturally result in copious urination.
This is the body's attempt to get rid of the extra sugar that's floating through the bloodstream.
This is also the same process by which a person with Type 1 diabetes can lose weight, which is why this eating disorder is so concerning.
Excess urination, excess drinking and excess eating is the effect when the pancreas is not producing insulin and the diabetic is not taking their prescribed insulin.
Anyone experiencing these changes may seek medical advice.
But if they don't, these serious symptoms are likely to follow in a month or two as the insulin deficiency becomes more profound:
These uncontrolled, unstable blood sugar levels can turn into very long-term complications such as:
Parents should be on the lookout for these early warning signs of an eating disorder:
These may be changes that simply need to be looked at by a doctor so that medication dosages can be adjusted.
However, sometimes it is simply a matter of something the individual is doing to harm their own health, knowingly or unknowingly.
For that reason, it's important for parents maintain an active role in the health of their children when they have any variety of diabetes.
However, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation issued a report stating there is a new kind of eating disorder that has surfaced among diabetics.
Experts have coined this particular eating disorder as "diabulimia".
It happens when a Type 1 diabetic skips or restricts their injectable insulin in order to lose weight.
In people who have Type 1 diabetes, the insulin producing cells in the pancreas...
called beta cells...
have been destroyed or are unable to produce insulin.
Often this is the result of an autoimmune destruction of the pancreas.
It's very dangerous if it's left untreated.
When a Type 1 diabetic doesn't take their insulin, it can cause a whole host of dangerous situations to occur.
In the case of a Type 1 diabetic not injecting their required insulin doses, their blood sugar levels increase which will naturally result in copious urination.
This is the body's attempt to get rid of the extra sugar that's floating through the bloodstream.
This is also the same process by which a person with Type 1 diabetes can lose weight, which is why this eating disorder is so concerning.
Excess urination, excess drinking and excess eating is the effect when the pancreas is not producing insulin and the diabetic is not taking their prescribed insulin.
Anyone experiencing these changes may seek medical advice.
But if they don't, these serious symptoms are likely to follow in a month or two as the insulin deficiency becomes more profound:
- significant malaise,
- vomiting, and
- even loss of consciousness.
- 10 to 20% of females with diabetes in their mid-teens, and about
- 30 to 40% of those in their late teens or young adult years
These uncontrolled, unstable blood sugar levels can turn into very long-term complications such as:
- eye problems,
- heart attacks,
- CVA's or strokes,
- neuropathy of the hands and feet,
- gum disease, and
- kidney damage,
Parents should be on the lookout for these early warning signs of an eating disorder:
- blood sugar levels fluctuating wildly for no apparent reason
- exercising more than normal or necessary
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- delayed puberty
- avoiding being weighed
- frequently hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis
- very low blood sugar
These may be changes that simply need to be looked at by a doctor so that medication dosages can be adjusted.
However, sometimes it is simply a matter of something the individual is doing to harm their own health, knowingly or unknowingly.
For that reason, it's important for parents maintain an active role in the health of their children when they have any variety of diabetes.