Diabulimia featured on BBC Breakfast 7:40 am 25th September 2017

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this is such a serious issue. I went through something similar and lost tonnes of weight doing this. however, you do feel like rubbish and living every day with high sugars is knackering. but the fact everyone said how great I looked was worth it, I was/am overweight so to abuse your diabetes is so easy to do!!! im now a mum so my outlook has changed but I do slip up from time to time, I had a wedding in april and started missing injections, lost half a stone in like 3 days

such a sad story but needs to be talked about
 
hellbell84 said:
this is such a serious issue. I went through something similar and lost tonnes of weight doing this. however, you do feel like rubbish and living every day with high sugars is knackering. but the fact everyone said how great I looked was worth it, I was/am overweight so to abuse your diabetes is so easy to do!!! im now a mum so my outlook has changed but I do slip up from time to time, I had a wedding in april and started missing injections, lost half a stone in like 3 days

such a sad story but needs to be talked about
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I thought the piece was good. At first I thought it's a shame that the documentary they referred to is on BBC3 so only available online, but I suppose it is the channel targeted at the age range most at risk.

When I was diagnosed I had full-on DKA, due to lack of insulin (unknown to me, of course, at the time!) - that's something I would never want to risk happening again. Those at risk should certainly have the dangers fully explained, because the consequences of insulin-restriction may take quite some time to develop, and I can imagine that it's easy for someone to become complacent and overlook the considerable downsides :( It first came to my attention a few years ago - a couple of our forum members were/are involved with the DWED charity, and I ran the Bath Half Marathon in 2012 to raise money for them - the more publicity this receives, the better! 🙂
 
Northerner said:
I thought the piece was good. At first I thought it's a shame that the documentary they referred to is on BBC3 so only available online, but I suppose it is the channel targeted at the age range most at risk.

When I was diagnosed I had full-on DKA, due to lack of insulin (unknown to me, of course, at the time!) - that's something I would never want to risk happening again. Those at risk should certainly have the dangers fully explained, because the consequences of insulin-restriction may take quite some time to develop, and I can imagine that it's easy for someone to become complacent and overlook the considerable downsides :( It first came to my attention a few years ago - a couple of our forum members were/are involved with the DWED charity, and I ran the Bath Half Marathon in 2012 to raise money for them - the more publicity this receives, the better! 🙂
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I did not see the full article but I believe it was shown on the Victoria Derbyshire they were discussing it when I switched over to it.
 
Being insulin dependent makes abusing your body in one way or another easy, whether keeping numbers too low or too high, not eating, taking too much or too little insulin or just plain ignoring it. People who have had mental health issues need to be flagged up to health professionals and get the appropriate help, sadly I suspect a lot of people are under the radar :(
 
Lucy Honeychurch said:
Being insulin dependent makes abusing your body in one way or another easy, whether keeping numbers too low or too high, not eating, taking too much or too little insulin or just plain ignoring it. People who have had mental health issues need to be flagged up to health professionals and get the appropriate help, sadly I suspect a lot of people are under the radar :(
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The crux of the feature was that there is little expertise or understanding on the condition from either Diabetes Specialist or Mental Health Specialists. Many who have had problems contacted the programme and said they were labelled as bad Diabetics even when they tried to seek help.
 
Northerner said:
Featured on One o' Clock news too, so hopefully getting widespread attention. They also said that 70 specialist teams were being set up around the country, so that is hopefully good progress 🙂 The iplayer link to the documentary is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05gh0lf
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The way I understood the 70 specialist teams were for Eating Disorders not specifically for Diabetic Eating disorders.
 
The main problem is the NHS don't do joined up thinking or services very well.
 
I am pleased to see diabulimia being talked about.

It is distressing to watch the programme when you have been through the same battles yourself.:( I was referred to an eating disorders clinic but the Type 1 / insulin part of it- which really did control the actions I was taking- wasn't addressed. It took a lot of help from my diabetes consultant at the time working with the eating disorders clinic to get me on a slow road to recovery. It was an ad hoc way to try to address such a serious illness, I was a Type 1 with an eating disorder and the two chronic issues weren't considered as a whole.

It is a relatively easy pattern to slip in to. You can get up, go to work and function with high blood sugars, it doesn't immediately stop you in your tracks like a hypo - more's the pity. The complications aren't usually apparent immediately and may take months/years to appear then take a devastating toll on your health. The recovery goes on for ever more, I keep any remaining gremlins firmly locked away and focus on keeping myself as well as I possibly can.

Diabulimia is utterly destructive and all consuming. It needs to be recognised as an illness and it needs specialist clinics to help with the complex issues faced by T1's trying to cope with such a challenging situation.
 
Just Hear, hear.

There's little enough help available at the moment for anorexia/bulimia - it will be 'interesting' to see whether there is any light apparent at the end of the tunnel for diabulimia or even whether these centres ever appear.
 
I was disappointed that during the program there was little or no mention of a suitable diet if you gain weight when on insulin. For many, but not all, if you gain weight when on insulin it may be due to simply eating too much and in particular the carbs. I suspect if some of the people with this condition were advised to keep the carbs down but have proteins and fats with fruit and veg fairly freely they will avoid weight gain without the damage caused thru withholding insulin. Some with the condition will have mental health issues but others just need good dietary guidance understanding that insulin enables the body to metabolise carbs and they get stored if not used. I got the feeling in this program that this guidance was not high on the agenda.
 
Diabulimia is an eating disorder with the deadly addition of control of your own insulin supply. It is way beyond any rational reasoning to cut back on carbs and manage your weight through a healthy diet. I had a distorted body image and wasn't overweight when I started to manipulate insulin and limit food. No good dietary advice could begin to touch the issues and mental battles I faced as others do when living with diabulimia. It is an extreme disorder about control. The fact that good dietary advice for dealing with it wasn't touched on in the programme is because that advice doesn't begin to touch the mental turmoil you face when in control of your own insulin supply at the same time as battling anorexia and/or bulimia.

I had seen dietitians since diagnosis and understood what insulin was needed for in my body. This powerful illness overrides rational behaviour.
 
Topic was also covered on You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 today, 26th Sept 2017 - probably on iPlayer.
 
Darn it, I missed the lot! :( I'm not Type 1 but I like to read/see everything diabetes/nutrition because to be forewarned is forearmed.
 
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