I’ve been struggling with this for about two years now. I’m in the process of finding someone who can help with my mental health. All I want is to have control again. I want to have a family one day. But how are they going to help me if they don’t understand what it is I’m going through? Are there therapists specific to diabulemia? How do I find the one right for me?
#Diabulimia
If you heard the word #Diabulimia, chances are that you wouldn’t know what it means. The truth is, up until a few days ago, I didn’t even know what it meant….but I did know someone that struggled with the condition.
Sarah was my husband’s cousin; a devoted and loving mother, daughter, granddaughter, niece, and friend. She was a hard-worker and was selfless in her acts of helping those around her, especially her loving family. Sarah’s relationship with her son was the most important to her; she would constantly talk about him and express her love for him. She had a big heart and on the outside, you may believe that she had it together.Sarah suffered from a condition known as diabulimia. diabulimia is an eating disorder which may affect those with Type 1 #Diabetes and is the reduction of insulin intake to lose weight. Sarah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was in 6th grade. During this time, she became incredibly self-conscious with her weight and never felt thin enough. She went on a massive diet, took diet pills, laxatives and obsessive exercising; she lost over 100 pounds but still didn’t feel good enough. By the time that she was 16, she learned how to omit her insulin as a way to stay thin; yet no matter how thin she became, she still didn’t feel good enough. She had so many people that loved her and would endlessly tell her how wonderful she was. She was selfless and did so much for the ones that she cared about. If only she would have taken care of herself.Within two years, the complications soon begun. Her once thick head of hair was falling out and turning brittle; and downy hair started to appear on her body. Although she was losing the weight and in a great deal of turmoil, Sarah kept a smile on her face and continued to do for others. If you were an outsider looking in, you would never expect what she was going through, however, her close family and friends had speculations and it killed them to watch this vivacious young lady wither away to a shell of a person. Despite her struggles, Sarah’s passion was to help and care for others. Sarah was a daycare worker for several years at her Grandmother’s home daycare; she loved all of her kids, and they sure loved her. Within the past year, Sarah also got a job at a nursing home as a LPN and fell in love with it. She devoted herself to her patients and working long hours to give her son the life that he deserved.Unfortunately, Sarah lost her battle on Christmas Eve 2017. Her loss came as a cruel shock to everyone that came to know and love her, and her impact she left in this world is one that cannot be easily forgotten.
Sarah is deeply missed and this article isn’t even skimming the surface of how much she was loved. She left behind a loving family that is lost without her. She left behind a son that now, can only cling to the memories and photographs. She was so loved and like me, I know there are many people out there wondering: “I hope she knew how special she was.”
I didn’t know anything about until I talked to Sarah’s mother and also researched about it. I was shocked to learn how common this condition is. According to www.diabulimiahelpline.org, affects over 30 percent of diabetic women between the ages of 15 and 30 and studies show that Type 1 diabetics are two and a half times more likely to develop an eating disorder than other women.
The fact that a lot of people don’t even know this is a possible condition, including myself, astounds me. I want people to know that is real and to be aware of it.
If you or someone you know is suffering from , there IS help out there. Please reach out to the 24 hour hotline at: (425) 985-3635.
Hello there. My name is beth and this is my story. I’ve struggled with #Diabulimia for 7 years (since I was 14) but unfortunately due to lack of awareness & diabulimia not yet being an official diagnosis I struggled to receive help. There was simply no help available and nobody even considered my condition to be an eating disorder so I went on silently suffering! My Hba1c was consistently high (off the scale) I was eating & binging regularly but omitting all of my insulin except for my long acting one. In recent months I have found out I have nerve damage in my legs, and retinopathy, maculopathy and diabetic macula Edema in both eyes causing me to loose a lot of vision. This is all due to years of diabulimia, a condition which is still not recognised as an eating disorder! This illness is extremely dangerous and it makes me so sad that so many people suffer and are suffering in silence. I am now receiving inpatient treatment for my however the term is still dismissed and I’m classed as bulimic so help is still very minimal (non existent for ). If anything can come out of my story, I want to raise awareness and let people know they are not alone with this illness. I hope that one day soon will be officially recognised as an and more help will be available! Because without help the results can be fatal. #EatingDisorders alone are serious illnesses but when you combine a #ChronicIllness such as type 1 #Diabetes with an the prognosis can be deadly! Please share my story to help raise awareness and help support the official diagnoses of ! X
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