Hello and tackling diabetes with an ED

[LaurenNicole]

Hey all,

So I may be jumping the gun a bit here, but I was phoned up by my GP surgery on Monday and told I 'probably' have diabetes and I have been made an appointment with the diabetic nurse this Monday. Need to add I'm only 28 so it was a huge shock.

I have no idea what type I have or anything at this time, but I'm scared.

What I'm most afraid of is I used to have bulemia (ED stands for eating disorder if anyone didn't know) and I'm terrified I will be going back there when I have to restrict my diet due to diabetes and/or are told to lose weight. I am only 3 years out of my ED and everything triggers me into those thoughts - even thinking about what I eat at all! So I'm so scared. I was never formally diagnosed with my ED, so my GP has no idea I was bulemic for about 12 years.

I was wondering if anyone else on here has had an ED in their past and could maybe ease my fears a bit?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, it is a scary thing to have those words said over the phone with no immediate information or support. Sadly diabetes can hit you at any age but it is a condition which can be managed.
An important thing to find out when you have your appointment is what your HbA1C is as that will tell you how much you need to do to get to normal levels. An HbA1C of 48mmol/mol gives you a diabetes diagnosis, between 42 and 47mmol/mol will put you at risk or prediabetes.
If you are just in the diabetic zone then some moderate changes to your diet should be sufficient to bring it back in range.

There are a few people on here who have what they refer to as disordered eating so hopefully they will be able to offer you some reassuring advice.

It is automatically assumed that somebody diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes needs to lose weigh and all the advice is targeted at that goal but sometimes that is just not the case and that can indicate somebody may not be Type 2.
If you are happy to share a bit more information about what took you to the GP for the tests and your HbA1C result if/when you have it. as that would help people to make any suggestions.

 

[LaurenNicole]

Welcome to the forum, it is a scary thing to have those words said over the phone with no immediate information or support. Sadly diabetes can hit you at any age but it is a condition which can be managed.
An important thing to find out when you have your appointment is what your HbA1C is as that will tell you how much you need to do to get to normal levels. An HbA1C of 48mmol/mol gives you a diabetes diagnosis, between 42 and 47mmol/mol will put you at risk or prediabetes.
If you are just in the diabetic zone then some moderate changes to your diet should be sufficient to bring it back in range.

There are a few people on here who have what they refer to as disordered eating so hopefully they will be able to offer you some reassuring advice.

It is automatically assumed that somebody diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes needs to lose weigh and all the advice is targeted at that goal but sometimes that is just not the case and that can indicate somebody may not be Type 2.
If you are happy to share a bit more information about what took you to the GP for the tests and your HbA1C result if/when you have it. as that would help people to make any suggestions.

 

[LaurenNicole]

Thank you for your response - I think the problem is that eating disorders are a mental issue not just physical so even the mindset of having to restrict at all will be detrimental to my mental health if you understand?

I do realise I may have to restrict carbs a little even despite my eating disorder. But I just don't have a clue how it can be safe to do that.

I don't mind sharing info about why I went - I initially went to the GP because I was getting dizzy, nauseous and was extremely tired to the point where I have been falling asleep during the day while working. I then, before my bloods was taken, have recently started experiencing unusual pins and needles in my hands a feet. This has all happened over the last three months.

 

[Inka]

There are a number of people here with a history of disordered eating @LaurenNicole You’re not alone and you’ll get support here 🙂

There’s also an organisation called DWED - diabetics with eating disorders. I don’t think they have their own website now but I believe they’re still active on social media.

But - two important things: first, wait to see what the situation is. That is, what type of diabetes you have, what your HbA1C result was, and what meds if any you need. Secondly, whatever your situation, I’m sure there’ll be a way to work round your eating disorder. You’ve done so well getting over it. Don’t let diabetes ruin things. It’s a pain but it’s something you can deal with.

 

[EmmaL76]

Hi there, Although I’m officially diagnosed as type 1, due to the fact that I live without insulin and treat my condition with diet the general feeling is im type 2. I’m really slim and have a history of food deprivation which I fear has maybe put my here. I’m hoping your hba1c isn’t too high and that’s the reason the doctors are saying probably diabetes. It is extremely difficult not to slip back into that mindset when you have a meter seemingly punishing you for what you eat. Please please resist feeling this way. You have punished yourself and your body enough. My sugars behave better with regular healthy foods and it will take time to find your balance if it turns out you do have type 2. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get this balance right immediately and the worst thing you can do is starve to see good numbers as your body will hurt in other ways. Until you get your official diagnoses try not to panic, having type 2 is trying but it may give you some structure to your eating that may have been absent before. Please whenever your feeling back in that place, talk about it, we understand and there is always help for you even when you feel helpless. Take care and keep in touch xx

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

If you turn out to have type 1 diabetes there will be no need to restrict your diet at all (except for a few things like glucose tablets and fruit juice which are only suitable if your blood sugar is too low) - type 1s inject insulin to cover the food they eat, and most of us eat a normal diet and adjust our insulin according to our food, not the other way round.

I'm going to tag @Flower as I think she is knowledgeable about eating disorders and might be able to tell you more about DWED.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @LaurenNicole

Sorry to hear about your history with disordered eating - I can completely understand why you would feel anxious and worried about the possibility of a diagnosis with diabetes, and the possibility of having to think about your eating in a way that may be quite triggering for you.

Hope your appointment on Monday goes well and that you are able to calm your worries until you have some more definitive information about whether diabetes is part of the picture, and if so, which particular type.

Was there a reason why you did not have a formal diagnosis with bulimia? Was this something you decided not to pursue? Or was it investigated but inconclusive?

I wonder if getting a diagnosis with an eating disorder might make some sources of support available, and mean that your treatment going forward can be tailored to your specific needs?

Have you discovered BEAT? That’s another charity that seeks to support people living with disordered eating. It’s not diabetes-specific, but it might provide some helpful support?

The UK's Eating Disorder Charity - Beat

Struggling with an eating disorder? Caring for someone who is? Beat is here to support you.

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

 

[LaurenNicole]

There are a number of people here with a history of disordered eating @LaurenNicole You’re not alone and you’ll get support here 🙂

There’s also an organisation called DWED - diabetics with eating disorders. I don’t think they have their own website now but I believe they’re still active on social media.

But - two important things: first, wait to see what the situation is. That is, what type of diabetes you have, what your HbA1C result was, and what meds if any you need. Secondly, whatever your situation, I’m sure there’ll be a way to work round your eating disorder. You’ve done so well getting over it. Don’t let diabetes ruin things. It’s a pain but it’s something you can deal with.

Thank you, I do hope I can deal with my eating disorder if it turns out I do have to worry about my eating more. I'm not much of a sweet tooth so that's a plus I guess. I'm not going to lie I was devestated on Thursday when I got that call, I felt like I'd been given a death sentence but talking to other people with diabetes has helped plus finding out more about it. I used to think, for example, that type 2 was down to lifestyle so I was beating myself up already (even though I don't know what type I have yet) which is probs part of the ED. But now I know it's not down to lifestyle. I'll need to take a notepad with me tomorrow I think! Can you tell me how they test for they type of diabetes and whether this is always offered?

 

[LaurenNicole]

Hi there, Although I’m officially diagnosed as type 1, due to the fact that I live without insulin and treat my condition with diet the general feeling is im type 2. I’m really slim and have a history of food deprivation which I fear has maybe put my here. I’m hoping your hba1c isn’t too high and that’s the reason the doctors are saying probably diabetes. It is extremely difficult not to slip back into that mindset when you have a meter seemingly punishing you for what you eat. Please please resist feeling this way. You have punished yourself and your body enough. My sugars behave better with regular healthy foods and it will take time to find your balance if it turns out you do have type 2. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get this balance right immediately and the worst thing you can do is starve to see good numbers as your body will hurt in other ways. Until you get your official diagnoses try not to panic, having type 2 is trying but it may give you some structure to your eating that may have been absent before. Please whenever your feeling back in that place, talk about it, we understand and there is always help for you even when you feel helpless. Take care and keep in touch xx

That's really interesting that you think there may be a link between having your ED and developing diabetes as that's exactly what I've thought might have happened! Obviously I'm no scientist so it's just conjecture, but yeah, I feel it might have a part to play in what has happened. I'm glad you understand how hard it is not to slip into ED thinking. I've not yet been diagnosed and when I went out with friends yesterday I was worried about what I ate and drank . I struggle with structured eating to be honest - I'm not a very regular eater and I tend to eat whatever I fancy at the point, no planning and this has been a massive part of getting over the ED so I am even worried about adding structure!

 

[LaurenNicole]

If you turn out to have type 1 diabetes there will be no need to restrict your diet at all (except for a few things like glucose tablets and fruit juice which are only suitable if your blood sugar is too low) - type 1s inject insulin to cover the food they eat, and most of us eat a normal diet and adjust our insulin according to our food, not the other way round.

I'm going to tag @Flower as I think she is knowledgeable about eating disorders and might be able to tell you more about DWED.

Well, it does sound like

 

[LaurenNicole]

Well, it does sound like

Well it does sound like it would be easier for me to be type 1 then with my ED history. Hopefully they will tell me more tomorrow but I'm sure more tests need to be done to determine the type.

 

[LaurenNicole]

Welcome to the forum @LaurenNicole

Sorry to hear about your history with disordered eating - I can completely understand why you would feel anxious and worried about the possibility of a diagnosis with diabetes, and the possibility of having to think about your eating in a way that may be quite triggering for you.

Hope your appointment on Monday goes well and that you are able to calm your worries until you have some more definitive information about whether diabetes is part of the picture, and if so, which particular type.

Was there a reason why you did not have a formal diagnosis with bulimia? Was this something you decided not to pursue? Or was it investigated but inconclusive?

I wonder if getting a diagnosis with an eating disorder might make some sources of support available, and mean that your treatment going forward can be tailored to your specific needs?

Have you discovered BEAT? That’s another charity that seeks to support people living with disordered eating. It’s not diabetes-specific, but it might provide some helpful support?

The UK's Eating Disorder Charity - Beat

Struggling with an eating disorder? Caring for someone who is? Beat is here to support you.

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

Thank you for your response. I have managed to calm myself somewhat since Thursday - if I'm honest I've been forcing myself not to think about it too much but it has helped speaking to other people with diabetes.

The reason why I've never had a formal diagnosis of bulemia is that I never told anyone about it at the time. I stopped throwing up my food around 6 years ago which is the main sign of bulemia but then went on to restrict my food quite severely for another 3 years, bringing us to the time when I stopped restricting with the help of my family, some great books on intuitive eating and a few podcasts and Instagram profiles of people who deal with the same subject plus fat positivity.

I'm going to tell my GPs all the issues I've had with bulemia tomorrow so they know what has happened in the past and why I'm so afraid of restricted eating. Not sure if that will lead to a retroactive diagnosis.

Yes I'm aware of Beat, I think I'm going to make use of their helpline when I know more about what my diabetes situation is.

 

[Flower]

Hi and welcome @LaurenNicole

I'm sorry to hear about your history with bulimia and the worry you now have about a diabetes diagnosis.

I hope things are clearer for you tomorrow after you have seen your GP and have a better idea of what is going or get a diagnosis or more diagnostic tests.

A diabetes diagnosis does put emphasis on food choices it's inevitable, all carbohydrate turns to glucose in the body to a quicker/slower and bigger/smaller extent, some food groups such as protein/ certain vegetables etc have a negligible effect on glucose. Experimenting with food combinations that you feel comfortable with helps to find a way to keep blood glucose under control whether through matching insulin to carbs/ other medication /diet/exercise, it doesn't mean you can't have a good diet or have to sit down to 3 set meals per day. Diabetes is such an individual thing and foods that cause my blood sugar to spike may have a negligible effect on someone else. It doesn't mean a drastic across the board restriction.

Recovery from an ed is an ongoing situation and certain situations trigger thoughts relating to food and food choices but there are ways to manage the situation and talking about your ed with your GP is a very good thing to do. I'd say don't overthink it, yes I know easy to say, but there is a balance out there that you can find for a healthy future.

I don't eat a restrictive diet, I've found an amount of carbs that suits me and my insulin doses. It's what I need to do to be ok. Yes I still have ed gremlins in my head I need to keep a lid on and when I'm stressed is when thoughts creep in but I cannot go back there, it was so destructive & damaging and took such a huge effort to move away from. You have done the really hard yards in getting to a better place and that will help you so much with what happens next if/when you get a diabetes diagnosis.

Please let us know how things go and try not to let it overwhelm you and all the hard work you've put in to getting to a better place. Best Wishes.

 

[Inka]

Thank you, I do hope I can deal with my eating disorder if it turns out I do have to worry about my eating more. I'm not much of a sweet tooth so that's a plus I guess. I'm not going to lie I was devestated on Thursday when I got that call, I felt like I'd been given a death sentence but talking to other people with diabetes has helped plus finding out more about it. I used to think, for example, that type 2 was down to lifestyle so I was beating myself up already (even though I don't know what type I have yet) which is probs part of the ED. But now I know it's not down to lifestyle. I'll need to take a notepad with me tomorrow I think! Can you tell me how they test for they type of diabetes and whether this is always offered?

I think blaming yourself or seeing diabetes as a kind of punishment isn’t uncommon - in everyone, not just people with EDs. Don’t fall into that trap.

No, they don’t offer tests to determine your diabetes type to everyone. Usually, they make an educated guess, taking into account a number of factors. But if there’s doubt, they can do two blood tests that can help them work out your type. One of those is the Type 1 antibodies test, which looks for the antibodies associated with Type 1 (because Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where a person’s own immune system mistakenly destroys the crucial insulin-producing cells in the pancreas). The second test is the C Peptide test. This gives an indication of how much insulin you’re producing. Many Type 2s produce plenty of insulin but can’t use it properly because they have insulin resistance.

Definitely take a notepad and pen to your appointment! Take a list of questions too. Jot down the answers you’re given, and write down any numbers you’re given. Make a point of asking for your HbA1C result and get the actual number not just a vague comment.

 

[LaurenNicole]

Hi and welcome @LaurenNicole

I'm sorry to hear about your history with bulimia and the worry you now have about a diabetes diagnosis.

I hope things are clearer for you tomorrow after you have seen your GP and have a better idea of what is going or get a diagnosis or more diagnostic tests.

A diabetes diagnosis does put emphasis on food choices it's inevitable, all carbohydrate turns to glucose in the body to a quicker/slower and bigger/smaller extent, some food groups such as protein/ certain vegetables etc have a negligible effect on glucose. Experimenting with food combinations that you feel comfortable with helps to find a way to keep blood glucose under control whether through matching insulin to carbs/ other medication /diet/exercise, it doesn't mean you can't have a good diet or have to sit down to 3 set meals per day. Diabetes is such an individual thing and foods that cause my blood sugar to spike may have a negligible effect on someone else. It doesn't mean a drastic across the board restriction.

Recovery from an ed is an ongoing situation and certain situations trigger thoughts relating to food and food choices but there are ways to manage the situation and talking about your ed with your GP is a very good thing to do. I'd say don't overthink it, yes I know easy to say, but there is a balance out there that you can find for a healthy future.

I don't eat a restrictive diet, I've found an amount of carbs that suits me and my insulin doses. It's what I need to do to be ok. Yes I still have ed gremlins in my head I need to keep a lid on and when I'm stressed is when thoughts creep in but I cannot go back there, it was so destructive & damaging and took such a huge effort to move away from. You have done the really hard yards in getting to a better place and that will help you so much with what happens next if/when you get a diabetes diagnosis.

Please let us know how things go and try not to let it overwhelm you and all the hard work you've put in to getting to a better place. Best Wishes.

Thank you. I know it's quite inevitable that there will be a stronger focus on food in my life, but it's good to hear it's not full on restriction. I'm just scared any emphasis on food, how much carbs, how much sugar etc is going to send me into ED spiral. I stopped being bullemic by becoming restrictive instead which wasn't good. I finally got out of both of those things three years ago and the only way I managed it is basically not really thinking about food that much, just eating what I felt like when I felt like it. I guess I will have to get the idea of the whole situation before I know how much things will have to change.

 

[LaurenNicole]

I think blaming yourself or seeing diabetes as a kind of punishment isn’t uncommon - in everyone, not just people with EDs. Don’t fall into that trap.

No, they don’t offer tests to determine your diabetes type to everyone. Usually, they make an educated guess, taking into account a number of factors. But if there’s doubt, they can do two blood tests that can help them work out your type. One of those is the Type 1 antibodies test, which looks for the antibodies associated with Type 1 (because Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where a person’s own immune system mistakenly destroys the crucial insulin-producing cells in the pancreas). The second test is the C Peptide test. This gives an indication of how much insulin you’re producing. Many Type 2s produce plenty of insulin but can’t use it properly because they have insulin resistance.

Definitely take a notepad and pen to your appointment! Take a list of questions too. Jot down the answers you’re given, and write down any numbers you’re given. Make a point of asking for your HbA1C result and get the actual number not just a vague comment.

Yes I have been in the situation of blaming myself already. The common thing being 'maybe I'm diabetic because I let myself get fatter'. I'm not huge but I'm not thin. And people are always blaming fat people for having diabetes even though it's not even a main factor in getting any type of diabetes. But with an ED past it's very easy to get into that type of thinking. Maybe if I carried on restricting I wouldn't be diabetic.etc etc.

Ah I see, I'm going to request and push for tests as I don't trust their judgment/educated guess think of that what you will. Thanks for letting me know what the tests are so I know what to push for!

I've made a list of things I want to ask/request on my phone notepad and things I want them to know. Hopefully it all goes OK.

 

[Drummer]

I find eating a low carb diet frees me to eat as much or as little as I like, but I always know that it is both nourishing and beneficial, plus I lost at least 50lb soon after diagnosis, and I am still shrinking - I just found all my winter clothes are too big, again.

 

[LaurenNicole]

I find eating a low carb diet frees me to eat as much or as little as I like, but I always know that it is both nourishing and beneficial, plus I lost at least 50lb soon after diagnosis, and I am still shrinking - I just found all my winter clothes are too big, again.

I'm glad that this works for you, however this type of restriction would trigger me back into my eating disorder. Even reading about it makes those thoughts come back. I'm also not interested in weight loss - that's what started me off being bulemic, pursuing weight loss.

 

[Drummer]

I'm glad that this works for you, however this type of restriction would trigger me back into my eating disorder. Even reading about it makes those thoughts come back. I'm also not interested in weight loss - that's what started me off being bulemic, pursuing weight loss.

Well - sometimes for dinner I have a beef or pork steak with mushrooms sweet pepper courgette tomato and part of a pack of Chinese or Italian stirfry (frozen from lidl) and then jelly with Greek yoghurt or cream and berries followed by coffee with cream.
Other days I have fish with a humungous salad, or a curry served over steamed chopped cauliflower.
Breakfast on a cold morning is bubble and squeak made with swede rather than potato, with a couple of eggs beaten in, cooked in the pan after bacon has been fried and then put under the grill to brown the top.
If you don't do bacon then a layer of cheese before grilling works well.
Also, almost cooked cauliflower, into a warm dish, cover with cream cheese, sprinkle with some spice or herb you like, cover with grated hard cheese and then bake until very lightly golden and melting.
If you think that is restricted - what more could you crave?