Type 1 Binge eating disorder

Me too help x

 

You're not alone ever with everyone being here for you. Good luck and a warm hug

 

Boy, reading all these posts makes me realise how not alone I am. Because alone is how we feel. Binge eating and over eating is more often than not driven by far too low glucose levels. So, the answer is about managing insulin, diet and excercise to avoid the lows and the highs. It is really really difficult and people that don't actually live with Diabetes really realy don't know what is it like and how hard it is. I am Type 1 and have struggled for years with weight and eating, and it is only now that I realise that the insulin and the low glucose drives appetite in a way no one can understand. From being on this Forum, I am learning that there are many people grappling and battling, and it is so important to know that you are not alone in this daily battle.

 

One thing that really helps me with this is trying to limit how much novorapid i'm taking. For me the more sugar I eat the more I want! When my bloods are over the 12/13 mark all i can think about is sugar. Trying to keep yourself full with fats and protein (try not to think calories!) will help to prevent you from wanting to binge, and hopefully help to break the cycle.

 

This is difficult. Having diabetes is restrictive, and it's hard to stick to the rules for a long period, so at some level the desire to binge for a few weeks, is probably quite normal in a way, who wouldn't do that, if their diet was so restricted?

However, it's not good. I remember having periods when I didn't think about what I was eating at all, and I would binge on things. Now I'm very good, and just don't do it at all, but it was a very long journey to get here. I don't remember quite how I got did, there were a lot of mistakes made on the way.

We all have an inner critic that say unhelpful things to us, that are often the cause of behaviour that isn't good for us. Unfortunately, we all have a different inner critic, so there is no simple basic rules on how to overcome it.

It's just trying to understand yourself, without being critical, but with the intention of changing behaviour that is unhelpful to you. One of the roles a good counsellor can play is being the voice of a "reasonable adult" that helps to overcome the critical voice.

I think the advice above about accepting your weight, and just allowing you to be you is good advice, that's very much the reasonable adult voice speaking there. That is who you have to nuture in yourself. Hopefully, you can start to find the reasonable adult.

 

It is a very difficult thing to manage, and people don't appreciate what goes into to keeping blood sugar stable between 4-6/7mm/l. My relationship with food has been made very difficult because of feeling the low blood sugars, then injecting to bring the glucose down, and gaining weight and then feeling down which drives the comfort eating. So you are not alone, but it feels like a lonely journey. I am trying to focus on nutrition and giving my body good things that can help it be well and healthy. I am also trying to lose the breads as well as alcohol. Alison has wise words. But it boils down to have stable blood sugars so that the other issues can be dealt with. It's hard, but you are not alone. Believe me.

 

Hi, sounds like battle fatigue. It will have taken a while to have got this bad for you so it's important to allow yourself to take as much time as you need to restore yourself. Try to find 3 acts of self kindness you can do each day - not food related - simple low demand activies that allow you to create space to pause and breathe. This helps reduce overwhelm. When you have a bit of space you can remember what helped you get well in the past and make a conscious decision to reintroduce one small thing back into your daily life. Start with something you know you will succeed at and be kind to yourself- self compassion creates lots of possibilities to explore change. Good luck.

 

Burn out.

Like any condition which needs managing 'burn out' can occur.

Like I've said for a long time once another condition to manage is mixed with diabetes it makes management so much harder..... but not impossible.

For type1s it can make a huge difference as hypos/hypers can be in the dangerous zones, very quickly too.
Its harder for type1s when another additional pressure takes your mind away from daily (hour by hour) management.

Type1s with ED must be very scary but thankful good experience on here.
The post grabbed my attention so I felt rude not to read.

Type2s management is far different as not as urgent to iron out the sugary spikes. Mainly liver induced, for me. Type1s spikes can kill but are due to no insulin or very little.
Sooo different.

 

Sorry I'll edit adding..... 'for me'. Like you say I agree that sentence not relevant to some type1s. Thanks for correction.

 

Me too, I just can't find a balance I'm 24, 25 in Feb and my weight is up and down. Due to some other problems in my life sometimes it's easy to binge and eat takeaways and forget about problems.. that's what I do anyway. I've found fruit is good for me when I feel like I want to eat crisps and chocolate.

 

Hello @bjones1927 Have you spoken to your DSN if it's having an impact on your control then it will help to see what support is available to you ?

It might help but have you thought about trying 'mindfulness eating', it's simply eating a meal without any distraction, so no phones, TVs iPads etc, and eating each mouthful slowly thinking about how it was made, where did the ingredients come from , what countries etc, by eating more mindfully gives the brain time to acknowledge what's being eaten and to know when you are full. We live in an age where we are bombarded all the time so having time to sit and eat without distraction will help slow everything down and appreciate food more and to stop bingeing.

 

Hi, I’ve just joined the forum and 100% identify with your post at this moment in time. I see you posted a year ago and wondered if you have come through this and any advice on what has worked to help? Many thanks!!

 

Hi, I’ve just joined the forum and wondered if you could also send me any information on this as I am struggling just now with Binge eating , many thanks!

 

Hello and welcome to the forum @HaggeNat

Can you explain more about your circumstances and diabetes care ?

 

Thank you. I have had Type 1 diabetes for 20 years and have been on a pump for 15 years. I have always managed reasonably well till the last year or so when I started to get burnout alongside anxiety and depression. I have put on quite a bit of weight since diagnosis and have always been a comfort eater but find myself binge eating late at night. Any ideas on how to stop this and to understand why I am doing this would be greatly appreciated as I feel it is a form of self harm!!

 

I have been offered extra support at my annual review for the burnout and have a follow up booked with my diabetes specialist nurse and we are going back to basics and a Dafne course as they didn’t exist back then but did not mention the eating as I thought it was just me till I saw this post!!!

 

Hello @HaggeNat The easiest way to avoid binge eating is to remove the temptation, just clear out your cupboards, restock on stuff which will have minimal impact on your BG levels, olives, nuts, cheese but will fill you up. Try and also stop for a moment when you get the urge to work out what's going on in your head at the time, so keep a diary and in it write this down, learning what's triggering this will help you figure out why you're doing it. Getting support is vital though so doing DAFNE will help get you back on track and at least speak to other t1's as well as healthcare professionals, but please do fess up and admit to them you are struggling with this, they are not going to judge you but maybe able to put you in touch with your local mental health team who could help with something like CBT which will help you.