Medical Complications

Diabulimia: Disordered Eating in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Tetyana 15 Comments

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DMT1) is a lifelong chronic disorder that occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin – a hormone that is required for carbohydrate metabolism. Patients must learn to manage their disorder by monitoring their blood sugar levels on a regular basis, carefully selecting the foods they eat and how much exercise they do. Before insulin was extracted and purified (at University of Toronto!), type 1 diabetes, which usually occurs in children and adolescents, would very quickly lead to death – the body, unable to take in the very thing it needs to survive.

Unfortunately,  patients with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of developing eating disorders or disordered eating behaviours. Diabulimia refers to an eating disorder in patients with DMT1 who reduce or skip insulin doses to reduce their weight.

The exact prevalence rates vary study by study, depending on the population sample, … Continue reading →

Medical Complications in Patients with Eating Disorders: An ER Perspective

Tetyana 7 Comments

A healthy-looking young woman comes into the emergency room complaining of lightheadedness, dizziness, tiredness, dehydration and constipation. She tells you she doesn’t know what’s wrong, but what she is not telling you is that she has an eating disorder. How do you find out? More importantly, how do you avoid complications that may arise from using conventional treatments for patients without eating disorders?

I often come across questions posted on websites and forums asking if others have experienced a particular symptom, what could be causing it and whether going to the hospital is necessary. I am not a physician, not training to be a physician and not doing research in anything directly relevant to medicine or health. Moreover, I always use caution when answering questions online – the best advice is to go see a doctor (but of course, that’s not always possible, unfortunately).

My goal with this post … Continue reading →

What You Should Know About Anorexia Nervosa and Bone Health

Tetyana 7 Comments

Recovery from an eating disorder is really hard. Unfortunately, the negative effects of that occur as a result of the eating disorder often persist long after recovery. It is hard to undo the mental and psychological aspects of anorexia or bulimia nervosa, but it may be just as hard, if not impossible, to undo the damage done to body.

What are some of the long-term health effects of eating disorders? What do patients with eating disorders – recovered or not – have to live with, for years, often decades, after recovery?

A really common consequence of anorexia nervosa is osteoporosis: thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density. Unlike delayed gastric emptying – another consequence of EDs – which can make every meal a nightmare (particularly for someone recovering from an eating disorder): acid reflux, stomach pain and abdominal bloating are just some of the symptoms, bone density … Continue reading →