Diabetes, Middle-Age, and Eating Disorders

I used to think that anorexia and bulimia were diseases of adolescence, until I cam across the following link earlier today:

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=602851

Perhaps older people can indulge in binge eating without others knowing. Come to think of it, I do know some people who seem to undertake severe fasts and diet restrictions on occasions, though I have not associated such behavior with anorexia until now.

Eating disorders, at any age, have serious implications if you have diabetes. Anorexic thoughts can lead to potentially fatal hypoglycemia, while complications of diabetes may surface quickly if a person with a glucose metabolism problem indulges in bulimic behavior.

An HbA1c test will help a physician uncover eating disorders in a patient with diabetes, and such doubts can be reinforced by keeping track of changes in the BMI (Body Mass Index).

It remains to be said that rigorous and unvarying adherence to a given diet is a fulcrum on which diabetes management is balanced. Therefore, please seek urgent medical help if you have diabetes and develop strange feelings about how much-or how little you eat!

Please email me in confidence if you wonder whether you may have anorexic or bulimic tendencies, which could complicate your diabetes condition. I can guide you with points to discuss with your physician.