Medical Centric

Diabulimia

Men's Health, Mental Health, Women's Health / By

DEFINITION

  • Diabulimia is a word coined from two medical conditions, diabetes and bulimia.
  • Diabetes describes a metabolic disease whereby a person has high blood sugar due to an inability to metabolize sufficient quantity of hormone insulin
  • Bulimia is an eating disorder.
  • Diabulimia describes the diagnosis of an eating disorder in an individual with type 1 diabetes.
  • A diabetes patient cannot produce insulin in their body.
  • So they need insulin injections to permit their body to process glucose and avoid
  • An individual suffering from diabetes deliberately turns the insulin intake into a weight control mechanism by:
  • Reducing the prescribed dosage
  • Entirely omitting their insulin dosage
  • By rendering the insulin inactive through certain manipulations.
  • Females of all ages are twice likely to fall the victim when they have type 1 diabetes.
  • Women who withhold insulin to lose weight die an average of 10 years earlier than women without an eating disorder.

CAUSES

Explicit to diabulimia, countless factors impact the increased risk of developing an eating disorder alongside type 1 diabetes.

  1. The inception of insulin treatment is often accompanied by weight gain particularly among adolescents, this change often times can be physically and emotionally uncomfortable and can result in the manipulation of insulin intake for weight loss.
  2. To effectively manage type 1 diabetes, dietary constraints and meal formulations are important. This can create a toxic concentration on food.
  3. Depression and anxiety are among the common psychological effects of having to deal with type 1 diabetes, they are also among the factors that prompt an eating disorder.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The warning signs and symptoms of diabulimia are both emotional and physical

Emotional Symptoms include:

Increase disregard of diabetes management

Depression or anxiety

Constant fear of being fat due to insulin injections

Anxiety about body image

Strict food rules

Withdrawal from friend and family

Rigorous exercise

Fear of low blood sugar

Physical symptoms include:

Yeast infection

Lack of menstruation

Fatigue

Unexplained weight loss

Dry hair and skin

Blurry vision

Vomiting

Frequent thirst and urination

Low sodium and potassium

Slow wound healing

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

DIAGNOSIS
  • It is common for diabulimia patient to go undiagnosed for many years as they simply fool their diabetes educator.
  • To diagnose bulimia in a type 1 diabetes patient, the healthcare provider should carry out Haemoglobin A1c test
  • Haemoglobin A1c test is a type of blood test that is used to check and monitor people with diabetes.
  • If the Haemoglobin test shows a high Haemoglobin level that is greater than 7%, it may indicate a drop in insulin intake by the patient.
  • This may signal a case of diabulimia
TREATMENT
  • To handle the issue associated with diabulimia one needs to employ the help of multiple professionals that has deep knowledge of the eating
  • The patient may need to see:
  • An endocrinologist  who works with your health care provider to try and pescribe the best possible treatment.
  • A nutritionist who has multiple knowledge of diabetes and eating disorder to help develop an effective and healthy dieting plan
  • A mental health professional with experience in dealing with such cases. The mental health provider helps in developing methods that help you cope with stress and monitor mood that affects the eating pattern.
  • Other treatment may include:
  • Joining a group therapy program where you can get the needed support from other people going through diabulimia.
  • Family-based therapy which involves the whole family support, this can be helpful for a parent with kids dealing with diabulimia.