Hello Everyone
I am new here and I registered to answer one of the questions in the fourm does insulin cause weight gain, the reason I want to start this topic is to prevent anyone else from suffering like I did, also so people can recognize what is happening before it is to late. First off I will tell you what it is, how to recognize it, what it does, my complications and experience. I hope that this saves at least one person then it will be worth it.
What is Dia-Bulimia?
Dia-Bulimia is when diabetics let their sugars run high inorder to achieve rapid weight loss! Some stop taking insulin altogether (like me) others just take less then what they are suppossed to, in any event it basicly only works if you let your sugars run high. The reason it is classified as bulimia is because you are bining and purging (eating lots of food and then basicly peeing it out)! Insulin causes your body to uptake food and calories and convert them into something usable in your body, when your insulin doesn't work then your body is starving. That is why it is classified as an eating disorder.
What are the signs
You will notice rapid weight loss, to the point of looking anorexic (nothing but bones), this will generally occur very quickly. Before it gets to that point though you will notice an increase in the consumption of liquids (because the body is dehydrated) and a huge increase in the food intake. People with this condition often find that they can think of nothing but food and when they are going to eat next. The other sign is constiant urination and defication. Also it effects the brain and hormones so rapid mood swings and iritability are signs that someone has stoped taking their insulin or their sugars are running high.
Complications you may not be aware of
Beside the obvious complications of death and diabetic ketoasidosis (DKA) there are a great many others. Ones that I experienced (but others may have different ones) are:
Being tired all the time (I would fall asleep playing a card game with a friend)
Constinatly thinking about food and eating
Dehydration
Cotton mouth (Things would taste funny, I could not drink water towards the end because it tasted weird)
This is caused by an increase in glucose in the mouth
Constant itching in the vaginal area... to the point I thought I had a yeast infection
This looks like the skin is peeling off and it will not test as a yeast infection, it is caused by high levels of glucose in the urine
Heavier and longer periods (for 2 weeks at a time even though I was on the pill)
Feet and hands cracking and being dry as well of loss of feeling in them
Constant urination
Temporary loss of vision (I have perfect vision but I could not read small print or my phone)
This is caused by the your natural lens not being able to adjust to the high sugar levels
Mental... I was moody and irritable and I would latter describe that it felt like my life was moving way to fast almost like a blur or a drug trip.
I think that is all the ones I experienced but others may have more sever complications like loss of sight or limbs... I was lucky not everyone is.
My Experience
I have always had trobles with my weight but after I wasfirst diagnosied with type 1 diabettesat age 21 I gained 30 pounds and I was misrable. I weighed 150 pounds and I am only 4 feet 10.5 inchs so I looked enormous. It all started with me deciding to give up food and there fore insulin as well! However I love food so after a week I said to myself okay I'm going to eat one meal and not tke insulin cause then I will not gain weight... That was the first mistake after that all doors were open and I ate everything without ever taking insulin! The weight just poured off after about 9 months I weight 85 pounds and felt liked I looked great... The truth is I looked awful one of my sisters friends was anoerxic and after seeing me she started eating again. It was then that I was taken to the eating disorder clinic and started to see the doctor there this really did no good for me... I was conviced that if I was going to die at least I would be skiny. Well on January 28th I went into sever DKA and it took them 12 hours to get me out of it... they didn't even know how to treat me cause my weight was so low, they thought I was going to die. I scared everyone in my family and my friends, I am missing 32 hours of my life because I did not really regain conciousness for that long or at least my brain doesn't remember. My friend told me though that I kept saying that I was going to keep going no matter what I would stop eating, I would never be fat again. All she could do was cry, they nearly commited me to the eating disorder clinic, that is a place no one wants to be it is horrible. They also don't know how I servived because I did not take insulin for a year, most people would be dead. The only thing that saved me was my room mate in the hospital, an old man who never said a word to me but he constantly used the bed pan and stunk up the room... It was awful... I was determined never to go to the hospital like that again! So I have taken steps to make sure that never happen, it is hard though I went from 85 pounds to 95 pounds in a week cause I was so dehydrated it took 4 litters of water to finally hydrate me. Now I am up to 107 pounds but I have to work out 6 times a week for almost 2 hours a day and i still gain weight. My expensive pants that I spent over $1500 ($300 for each pair) aquirering don't fit anymore, my body is totaly messed up for reacting normally and if my blood sugars run at all high I get symptoms right away. It is almost impossible for me to loss weight and I still have bad days were I don't want to take insulin because it is so addictive to loss weight fast but if I do that it takes 3 days to loss 5 pounds and 1 day of insulin to gain it back. It is frustrating and hard to go through recovery and I just recommend to people not to start, you are better off lossing weight with better techniques. It is hard for a diabetic to loss weight normally I will not lie but not impossible, why go through the pain and worry I went through when there is a better way (See fourm does insulin cause weight gain for my solution)! This was a horrible experience to go through, it may sound easy but it was not, I was pulled out of University which I attended for 6 years and now have no degree to show for it, I am having to rebuild my life from theground up and it is very hard, harder then anyone could imagine! Please don't walk down the path I did!
There is Help
Please contact me if you need help fighting this or helping someone else fight it, I have many solutions and ways of fighting this horrible disease and would like to help. Just reply to this forum and I will watch if anyone needs anything. Thank you for helping me fight this together we can beat it!
I am new here and I registered to answer one of the questions in the fourm does insulin cause weight gain, the reason I want to start this topic is to prevent anyone else from suffering like I did, also so people can recognize what is happening before it is to late. First off I will tell you what it is, how to recognize it, what it does, my complications and experience. I hope that this saves at least one person then it will be worth it.
What is Dia-Bulimia?
Dia-Bulimia is when diabetics let their sugars run high inorder to achieve rapid weight loss! Some stop taking insulin altogether (like me) others just take less then what they are suppossed to, in any event it basicly only works if you let your sugars run high. The reason it is classified as bulimia is because you are bining and purging (eating lots of food and then basicly peeing it out)! Insulin causes your body to uptake food and calories and convert them into something usable in your body, when your insulin doesn't work then your body is starving. That is why it is classified as an eating disorder.
What are the signs
You will notice rapid weight loss, to the point of looking anorexic (nothing but bones), this will generally occur very quickly. Before it gets to that point though you will notice an increase in the consumption of liquids (because the body is dehydrated) and a huge increase in the food intake. People with this condition often find that they can think of nothing but food and when they are going to eat next. The other sign is constiant urination and defication. Also it effects the brain and hormones so rapid mood swings and iritability are signs that someone has stoped taking their insulin or their sugars are running high.
Complications you may not be aware of
Beside the obvious complications of death and diabetic ketoasidosis (DKA) there are a great many others. Ones that I experienced (but others may have different ones) are:
Being tired all the time (I would fall asleep playing a card game with a friend)
Constinatly thinking about food and eating
Dehydration
Cotton mouth (Things would taste funny, I could not drink water towards the end because it tasted weird)
This is caused by an increase in glucose in the mouth
Constant itching in the vaginal area... to the point I thought I had a yeast infection
This looks like the skin is peeling off and it will not test as a yeast infection, it is caused by high levels of glucose in the urine
Heavier and longer periods (for 2 weeks at a time even though I was on the pill)
Feet and hands cracking and being dry as well of loss of feeling in them
Constant urination
Temporary loss of vision (I have perfect vision but I could not read small print or my phone)
This is caused by the your natural lens not being able to adjust to the high sugar levels
Mental... I was moody and irritable and I would latter describe that it felt like my life was moving way to fast almost like a blur or a drug trip.
I think that is all the ones I experienced but others may have more sever complications like loss of sight or limbs... I was lucky not everyone is.
My Experience
I have always had trobles with my weight but after I wasfirst diagnosied with type 1 diabettesat age 21 I gained 30 pounds and I was misrable. I weighed 150 pounds and I am only 4 feet 10.5 inchs so I looked enormous. It all started with me deciding to give up food and there fore insulin as well! However I love food so after a week I said to myself okay I'm going to eat one meal and not tke insulin cause then I will not gain weight... That was the first mistake after that all doors were open and I ate everything without ever taking insulin! The weight just poured off after about 9 months I weight 85 pounds and felt liked I looked great... The truth is I looked awful one of my sisters friends was anoerxic and after seeing me she started eating again. It was then that I was taken to the eating disorder clinic and started to see the doctor there this really did no good for me... I was conviced that if I was going to die at least I would be skiny. Well on January 28th I went into sever DKA and it took them 12 hours to get me out of it... they didn't even know how to treat me cause my weight was so low, they thought I was going to die. I scared everyone in my family and my friends, I am missing 32 hours of my life because I did not really regain conciousness for that long or at least my brain doesn't remember. My friend told me though that I kept saying that I was going to keep going no matter what I would stop eating, I would never be fat again. All she could do was cry, they nearly commited me to the eating disorder clinic, that is a place no one wants to be it is horrible. They also don't know how I servived because I did not take insulin for a year, most people would be dead. The only thing that saved me was my room mate in the hospital, an old man who never said a word to me but he constantly used the bed pan and stunk up the room... It was awful... I was determined never to go to the hospital like that again! So I have taken steps to make sure that never happen, it is hard though I went from 85 pounds to 95 pounds in a week cause I was so dehydrated it took 4 litters of water to finally hydrate me. Now I am up to 107 pounds but I have to work out 6 times a week for almost 2 hours a day and i still gain weight. My expensive pants that I spent over $1500 ($300 for each pair) aquirering don't fit anymore, my body is totaly messed up for reacting normally and if my blood sugars run at all high I get symptoms right away. It is almost impossible for me to loss weight and I still have bad days were I don't want to take insulin because it is so addictive to loss weight fast but if I do that it takes 3 days to loss 5 pounds and 1 day of insulin to gain it back. It is frustrating and hard to go through recovery and I just recommend to people not to start, you are better off lossing weight with better techniques. It is hard for a diabetic to loss weight normally I will not lie but not impossible, why go through the pain and worry I went through when there is a better way (See fourm does insulin cause weight gain for my solution)! This was a horrible experience to go through, it may sound easy but it was not, I was pulled out of University which I attended for 6 years and now have no degree to show for it, I am having to rebuild my life from theground up and it is very hard, harder then anyone could imagine! Please don't walk down the path I did!
There is Help
Please contact me if you need help fighting this or helping someone else fight it, I have many solutions and ways of fighting this horrible disease and would like to help. Just reply to this forum and I will watch if anyone needs anything. Thank you for helping me fight this together we can beat it!
