How to Detect Diabulimia Symptoms

Diabulimia is a life threatening eating disorder that afflicts some diabetic individuals. When people have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and they attempt to lose weight by cutting way, way back on the number of times they take insulin each day, this self destructive behavior means that they are suffering from diabulimia. After all, people with Type 1 diabetes need to self administer insulin doses, typically several times each day, in order to stay healthy. Manipulating insulin doses in any way, including not taking enough of them, as diabulimics do, is extremely dangerous. Read this article for specific tips about how to detect diabulimia symptoms if you suspect that someone you love may be struggling with this particular eating disorder.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Note first that diabulimia differs from conventional bulimia in that it does not involve binging and purging behavioral patterns. (Note also that if a diabetic person who has diabulimia also binges and purges, this means that the individual is actually struggling with two separate eating disorders: diabulimia and bulimia nervosa.)

2. When trying to detect diabulimia symptoms in someone you love, it's important to be aware that these symptoms often vary depending upon the stage and severity of the person's disease. One very noteworthy symptom of diabulimia, as you may have already surmised, is significant (and often very rapid) weight loss.

3. When people have been struggling with diabulimia for a short period of time, some of their diabulimia symptoms may include the following: feeling tired all the time, feeling mentally "fuzzy" and having difficulty concentrating, urinating excessively, feeling thirsty all the time, having a huge appetite, having an extremely high blood glucose level (sometimes well over 600), feeling weak, achy and dizzy, and/or excreting urine that contains a great deal of glucose.

4. When individuals have been struggling with diabulimia for a somewhat longer period of time, and have not yet received any medical and/or psychological treatment for the problem, they might experience an even more extreme level of diabulimia symptoms, including even more extreme weight loss, severe dehydration, acid reflux, gastro-intestinal distress, atrophy of the muscles, and dangerously high cholesterol. In this middle stage, they may even die.

5. At the most advanced stage, when people have had untreated and unresolved diabulimia for an even longer period of time, some of the most severe diabulimia symptoms that they can experience are osteoporosis, blindness, severe kidney problems (even renal failure), neuropathy, cardiac problems, and even death.

Tips & Warnings

• As you can see, the longer a person struggles with diabulimia, the more serious the problem can be. But even in the short term, diabulimia can be life-threatening. If you or someone you love is struggling with this very serious eating disorder, it is absolutely essential to seek medical attention and psychological counseling immediately.