Dangerous Eating Disorder Trend Emerging Among Diabetics

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Eating Disorders
Article Date: 27 Jul 2007 - 0:00 PST

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Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders, the nation's leading eating disorder treatment center, reports a dangerous new trend of manipulating insulin doses in order to lose weight is emerging among young women with diabetes and eating disorders. A recent study reports the death rate of a person who has both diabetes and an eating disorder, and who hasn't received treatment, is nearly 35 percent.

"We're seeing far too many adolescents use insulin manipulation as a form of weight control," said Brenda Woods, MD, medical director at Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders. "While most young women with bulimia purge through vomiting or excessive exercise, a diabetic purges by under-dosing insulin, which causes sugar to be eliminated from her body via urine."

Manipulating insulin dosages isn't healthy and is often lethal. When anorexia is present, the mortality rate for young women escalates to 35 percent. Even worse than the heightened death rate is the escalation of medical complications such as vision loss and kidney failure. Medical damage that a diabetic woman might more typically expect to experience in 30 years, she is accelerating to five or seven years.

"If a Type I diabetic begins insulin manipulation at the age of 17, she could be totally blind, suffering from extreme nerve pain or on a kidney transplant list by her mid 20s," adds Dr. Woods. "The ability to have children may be permanently compromised as well. Type I diabetes and an eating disorder is the worst possible combination."

Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders suggests if you or someone you know is manipulating insulin as a method of weight control, professional help must be sought immediately. Medical damage does not have to be permanent, but rarely can good outcomes be accomplished without medical intervention. Remuda has the following recommendations:

-- If you are a parent of a diabetic child and you think this behavior is occurring, you must take action and don't expect your child to be honest when questioned. Deception is a part of eating disorders.

-- Check the insulin usage. Is less being used? Have you purchased fewer bottles lately? Check the blood sugar yourself and if possible, examine the sugar log on the glucometer.

-- Go to a physician for a Hemoglobin A1C test. Often this number will be very revealing in terms of possible long-term insulin under-dosing.

"It's important to remember that the earlier you get help, the greater the possibility for a positive outcome," adds Dr. Woods. "At Remuda, we have developed a complete program to care for the diabetic patient with an eating disorder. Our focus is to assist the patient in learning to control the diabetes while recovering from the eating disorder."

About Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders

Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders offers Christian inpatient and residential treatment for women and girls of all faiths suffering from an eating disorder. Each patient is treated by a multi-disciplinary team including a Psychiatric and a Primary Care Provider, Registered Dietitian, Masters Level therapist, Psychologist and Registered Nurse

Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders
http://www.remudaranch.com