Letters to the Editor
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I'm shocked, shocked to find that people do stupid shit to lose weight
Welcome to the world.
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As a diabetic of 23 years...
I can tell you this is nothing new. As soon as you are diabetic, you start figuring out what works for you and makes you sick (different people react differently to foods).
Lots of diabetic girls I knew back in the 80s would skip shots for a week to fit into a prom dress, or for some other reason. Sadly, many of them aren't around to read this article, as they are dead.
A point of contention, however. While insulin itself does make you gain weight, the majority of weight gain many times comes from eating to raise the blood sugar when you "overshoot" or take too much insulin. This is most common with new diabetics, because it takes a while to figure out the correct regimen. Which brings me to my other point: most Type 1 diabetics should be on insulin pumps, which constantly feed insulin the body 24/7, and can help regulate better. However, I've noticed that many doctors have been very slow to recommend it, even though even person I've known who has it said it made their lives easier (I lost 10 pounds after going on it because I didn't have to eat as much because my blood sugars were regular). Not sure why the doctors have been reluctant to do it. Also, it would take more effort on the diabetic girls' part to stop taking her insulin. She would have to disconnect or stop the pump altogether.
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Interesting article
I'm sure this is nothing new for those with diabetes, but as someone who didn't know much about this, I thought you did a great job of illustrating the dilemma faced by those who have Type 1 diabetes. I hope that if I found an easy, yet dangerous, way to lose weight I would resist the temptation. But I'm not sure that I could resist 100% of the time. I know that's messed up. I know that on this subject, American women have been brainwashed by corporations and advertisers who profit from our sick obsession with our bodies. I find it appalling and I want to simply reject all of that crap...
Yet, I feel so much better when I'm slim. I was mildly chubby in college, then I naturally lost weight after I graduated and left the beer and pizza lifestyle behind... and I feel so much prettier and happier at this size. It's fucked up! But I can't help feeling that way. I can only imagine how it must feel for people with diabetes who gain weight on insulin, and lose it easily when they skip shots. No matter how determined you are to be comfortable in your size, it can be very hard to tune out the anxious little voice that thinks thin is pretty and fat is the end of the world.
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Thank You...
As a parent of a 16 year old diabetic (my daughter was diagnosed with Type I diabetes 6 years ago), thanks for bringing this issue to light.
Like many juvenile diabetics, my daughter had no problem staying at a decent weight and continuing her athletic pursuits at the same high level for a while... then came adolescence and everything changed. Diabetes magnifies the already difficult problems.
The irrationality doesn't stop with her, though. Even though I know better I sometimes (and to my regret) pester her about her weight, knowing full well that she is trying pretty hard to deal with an unfair situation. I'm not a bad, selfish parent, I just want her to be able to succeed at the things she so badly wants to do.
I'd love to put her on a pump, but like many people my insurance company will pay little or nothing towards the significant expense even though, in the long run, it would probably save them money to cut down on other health problems and dr. visits...
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Bout time
I had this condition before it even had a name. At 13, I became one of the thousands of kids who got adult onset (type 2) diabetes due to be overweight and sitting on my butt more often then going out and running around. I started skipping shots not because I thought I'd lose weight, but because I was lazy, angry, rebellious, etc. I just didn't want to do it. After a year and fifty pounds off my weight, I caught on to what was happening. I was skinnier, but I also sleptthrough every class in senior year of high school, almost flunked out of college, always irritable, my eyes always hurt, and most people thought I was a narcoleptic because I could fall asleep anytime, anywhere. It wasn't until I started getting kidney damage that I got knocked out of the whole thing. The insulin made me gain about half the weight back, not all- because I stuck to a diabetic diet. I also moved to a 4.0 GPA, had more energy to put into every aspect of life from school to social life, my eyes stayed opened and the kidney damage reversed.
If I had known how many teenagers were doing the same thing and what they suffered, I wouldn't have put two years into skipping the injections.
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The miracle diet
Diabetes type I is a very serious illness, and up to the time that Banting and Best and others developed a way to synthesize and administer insulin in the early 1920's it was a fatal disease.
It is still a fatal disease. A person who lives and eats healthily, exercise, watches their health, takes their insulin etc. can live a fairly normal lifespan and avoid complications which may include loss of vision, impotence in men, arterial disease and a slew of other nasty things. There is a new type of insulin now called Lantus that keeps the blood insulin level very steady through the day.
Insulin does not really cause weight gain, though it may stimulate appetite. It is the overeating that causes the weight gain. You cannot deny the laws of physics. You can only gain weight when dietary intake is greater than energy expended.
There have been many famous and successful people who have been diabetics including Halle Berry, Mary Tyler Moore and Ella Fitzgerald.
However, many young diabetics find it hard to come to terms with being diagnosed with such a serious disease and do not properly comply with what is necessary for them to remain healthy. Reading food labels is all very well, but any person who wants to remain healthy needs to stop buying and eating processed foods--and learn to prepare and cook their own meals.