Jezebel

This is horrifying on so many levels.

Very sad.

Are they just releasing this story now in response to Halle Berry's stupid claim that she beat Type 1?

Oh my God, this is awful.

I've heard of this....I feel like I saw it on some show. It's going to drive me nuts trying to remember...

Who cares about being skinny if you are blind and minus a leg or two?

@Captain_Morgan: Of if you're dead. Alas, serious EDs aren't about being skinny as much as being in control.

@Captain_Morgan: For real. 'See how skinny I am? I'd admire myself in the mirror if I weren't blind.'

Fucked up. And sad.

that's why halle was "weaned" from her insulin and is so frigging skinny (before being preggo)! it all make sense!

Fuck yeah, bitches! Imma be skinny now!

I remember about 5 years ago in this magazine for teen diabetics and their parents there was an article about a girl who almost died because she was doing this. She would tell her parents she gave her shot, or (if she was doing it in front of them) use saline solution, then eat, then throw up, so not only would she not be getting the nutrients from the food, but her body would start eating itself for energy.
Gross.
Diabetics (esp. teens) have a much higher risk of developing emotional disorders (I have anxiety disorder), and a whole lot of diabetes camp (go ahead and laugh, I know) was spent talking about our feelings.
A related story: I had a diabetic friend who had been drinking and her blood sugar went so high she passed out (insulin+alcohol=nono). She was date raped while she was out. Luckily, a friend found her and brought her to the hospital.

This is extremely sad. To me, the saddest part is that it is clear that these young woman have no understanding of how serious their illness is. You have to wonder if a doctor or parent ever explained the implications of diabetes in a way they could relate to.

Sad

Haven't there been polls in which women chose losing a limb or dying early over being obese? So no big shock here.

@Archetype: I'm always amazed that very, very few people realize it's about control.

@elitza: But a diabetic loses more control of her body by not taking care of the condition. As somebody who has a chronic illness, it often feels like I'm being controlled by my disease when I'm forced to pop pills at a certain time or can't eat food that I want. But I've learned that following my treatment protocol is actually taking control of my body.

@elizamulcahy: scary. i have a friend who has struggled with this. i saw her get so low that she passed out and nearly went into a diabetic coma. luckily i was there when it happened and was able to get some juice into her. scared the shit out of me.

@Lymed: Oh yeah, absolutely. But, ie, anorexia isn't necessarily about wanting to be skinny per se--it's more that food becomes the single, only thing you can actually control in your life.

Taking control of your disease is, absolutely, taking control of your life; however, sufferers of EDs generally don't see that--so it's a double whammy.

@elitza: I agree with you. I've had my borderline ED moments, usually only lasted a couple months, and they were directly related to my illness. I also had a period of over-partying as a way to try to control my body. But those periods only made me sicker.

I just wish somebody could get through to these young women and help them learn how empowering it is to take control of your illness.

@Lymed: Me too, honestly. ED is really, really fucking scary, and it stays with you. In combination with something like diabetes... I can't even imagine. Hurts me to think about.

@Archetype: CNN.

Doesn't surprise in the least. The desire to be thin has become a driving force in our society and girls will stop at nothing to acheive it. What's a limb when you'd rather be dead that fat?

My question is why does no one care?

Over 4Million results are served up when you google pro ana....girls promoting anorexia as a "lifestyle" and we just keep chugging along like this is normal.

Pathetic.

I'm a nutritionist and recovering bulimic... for all the crazy stuff I was willing to do to be thin I would have never dreamt of this. If it makes me shudder it's scary! I once told my hubby I fully anticipated knee replacement surgery by age 40 because of running... I was serious too.

Its true. When I was a mental health counselor we had a patient, a young woman, who had type 1 diabetes with a borderline personality. And yes, she manipulated her body to manipulate the people around her. She was hospitalized many times for this.

@Looker: But if you lose a leg you're that much closer to your ideal weight.

I can totally see someone thinking they had control over their insulin abuse/diabulimia, and that's what scares me the most about it. Missing a shot just feels different than vomiting, and the results are so fast that it would be hard to resist doing it "just once". I can't say that I wouldn't be tempted if in their position and I've certainly never felt that way about any other eating disorder. But I'll never understand how someone gets down to 80lbs, has chunks of hair missing, and still thinks they don't have a problem. Hopefully, diabetics will read the risks so well-described in this article while they still have the strength of mind to know that skipping insulin shots could get batshit crazy.

OMG I can't believe this. Where are these horrible trends going to end?

@elitza: I don't buy that completely. There are a lot of people out there who don't like taking responsibility for the things in their life (ie. being overweight, being underweight). It's not always about control, it's often about not taking responsibility for feelings or circumstances that are completely within their control.

Before anyone goes nuts on me, I grew up with an anorexic mother so I'm not trying to be insensitive, but I truly believe that there are a lot of weak people out there who place the blame on (or readily adopt the behaviors of ) an eating disorder to compensate for being overwhelmed and giving up on themselves.

@bourgeoisie: And for the record, the insulin-related EDs are a different breed of crazy. If you are actively willing to destroy your body to get thinner, or to exert some sort of "control" over your body I think you deserve the destroyed body you've asked for.

@bourgeoisie: I know someone who is an insulin bulimic, as she puts it. She's in no way irresponsible - like most of the other people with eating disorders I've known she is a SUPER Type-A high achiever. She just left for Harvard Law School this fall.

@magic1: That's exactly my point, Type-A-Friend can handle Harvard Law but feels her body is out of control?

@bourgeoisie: Eating disorders share a lot of similarities with drug addiction. You absolutely have to WANT your recovery and OWN it. There isn't a chemical dependency involved though, so it really boils down to behavior and habits, both of which we choose as free human beings.

@Captain_Morgan: Who cares about being blind and minus a leg or two if you are skinny? That's the beauty of the mentality of the eating disorder sufferer :-(

I knew a woman who had been diagnosed with severe Type 1 diabetes when she was five years old. She had been on insulin for something like 25 years, and her diabetes was so bad, actually, that her shots were automatically adminsitered through this gadget attached to her hip. She actually constantly had to eat carbs to keep from going into insulin shock, and was distressed about the weight gain. So, she just stopped eating carbs. And eventually went into a coma, and died. it was discovered the insulin sans the sugar, had caused her organs to begin to rot. Poor thing. Sort of the opposite of the above situation, but still just as depressing. I mean, this was a woman with a serious disease who was so stressed about the weight gain she didn't take care of herself properly.

These are teenagers. Kids never think anything bad will happen to them. Blindness, kidney disease, loss of limbs: that happens to other people.

you would think that diabetics would be really careful about how they eat, but it can also just make them obsessive about what they eat.