Hello all. My girlfriend has had type 1 since she was a very young girl (she is 30 now). She has been using an insulin pump for a few years. Her eating pattern is she may have a piece of fruit and yogurt for breakfast and then wait all day until around 6 to eat. I asked her if that is wise with her being diabetic. She said it doesn't matter because she has the pump. Can someone please weigh in on that?
I can't comment on whether or not she is eating enough or has a disorder, I can tell you that the pump is wonderful for allowing you to skip meals or eat at irregular times. It was liberating!
DITTO! I love my pump for that very reason...no longer do I have to stop what I'm doing to run and eat because it's a certain time of day. And I can even fast once a year on Passover.
I will say, however, that it's generally not a good idea to go that long between meals. It actually promotes weight gain, as the body perceives you to be in starvation mode, so it doesn't burn calories the way it should. This is true whether you're diabetic or not. Your metabolism actually slows down, and later in life, when we usually become less physically active, that slower metabolism can cause weight gain.
Your GF may just be enjoying the freedom described by others, with the pump you are less of a slave to the clock about when you have to eat. But be warned, many type 1 diabetics can be silently battling a dangerous Eating Disorder called Diabulimia. I suffered from this for over 10 yrs and It almost killed me. I went to treatment and am happily living in recovery now, but its been said that 1 in ever 3 t1 diabetic women battle this at some point in their life.
Last edited by moderator2; 08-05-2011 at 07:27 PM.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, Namaste, but isn't diabulimia when diabetics withhold their insulin (causing a mild form of DKA) so that they lose weight rapidly? If her pump is set correctly and she's not withholding insulin, I would think that she's just gotten into the bad habit of not taking time for lunch. Or, possibly, trying to lose weight in what some would be considered a safer way than diabulimia - that is, eating a bit less so one needs less insulin, as insulin CAN cause weight gain in some people.
And she may also find it very freeing to not HAVE to eat at certain times, especially since she's had D for so long and was probably on some of the older insulins, like NPH, which absolutely necessitated eating meals at proscribed times.
Ruth you are correct about what diabulimia is, but what a lot of people dont know is that having a pump is an easy way to LOOK like you're being a healthy diabetic but you can easily manipulate the pump to give only a fraction of the insulin to cover meals etc. I know many suffering from this disease who did just that for years without anyone ever knowing. I hope that this isnt the case here, but I have dedicated my life to bring awareness to this issue. Its so much more prevalent then the medical world knows.
The Following User Says Thank You to namaste11 For This Useful Post: SamQKitty (08-12-2011)
Thanks for the clarification, Namaste. Let's hope that isn't the case here. So hard to know when one only gets part of a story...but then, that's as true in real life, often, as it is on the internet.
I am Type I, but don't have a pump. I have a couple of friends who have a pump. They love it. Their A1C is very good. They say it's the pump that causes this. They are both quite thin and are thrilled they don't have to eat any certain anount of food or eat at any certain time. They both skip lunch a lot! It may be that she is doing just fine with her insulin levels. Her A1C would determine that.
If someone is losing weight or staying thin because they are taking too little insulin, it will show up on their A1C. I suffered from weight gain with insulin so, years ago, I let mine stay high. I lost lots of weight, but my A1C was terrible, at almost 10. You can't last long like that. It took a stay in the hospital with Ketoacidosis to scare me into proper dosing. I am now doing much better, but boy, the weight gain was terrible. I'm trying to deal with that now.
The Following User Says Thank You to Kendra01 For This Useful Post: SamQKitty (08-12-2011)
Kendra, that's part of the beauty of the pump. You can temporarily lower your basal rate while exercising (like taking back part of your lantus) and then not have to eat extra because of a low and undo the exercise. I found it easier to lose some weight with my pump.
