# DWED - Diabetics with eating disorders



## DWED (Sep 24, 2010)

My name is Jacqueline Allan and I am the Director of DWED (Diabetics with Eating Disorders), a not for profit organisation working towards charitable status. Recent research shows that not only are female* type one diabetics at twice* the risk of developing anorexia or bulimia, as many as40% of 15 – 30 year olds regularly manipulate or omit insulin in order to lose weight. This practice can have devastating consequences such as organ failure, infertility, blindness and in the worst cases, death. Despite these horrendous complications and staggering prevalence deliberate insulin manipulation/ omission is not diagnosable and there are no current guidelines for the NHS on how to deal with the issue.
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DWED has two main purposes. Firstly we offer support to those type one diabetics affected by eating disorders and their carers. We try to find suitable services in their areas and as such one of the reasons I am contacting you today is to ask for information. Do you have anyone in your team or do you know of anyone who has experience dealing with Diabetics who also have eating disorders? This information will be posted on the website so that those who are ready to seek help know where to go to get it. DWED also supports sufferers and their carers personally through emails, phone calls, where possible home visits and through a variety of social networking sites. There are 500 members across groups. All of the sites are completely pro recovery with no emaciated pictures or talk of numbers allowed.
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*The second purpose of the organisation is to campaign for better (in some cases any) facilities for Diabetics with eating disorders. DWED is in support of Deliberate Insulin Manipulation/ Omission being recognised as a mental disorder. We have a number of members who have been simply deemed as non - compliant and left at that. Not only is this unsatisfactory it is potentially lethal.* As something that is not officially diagnosable deliberate insulin manipulation/ omission tends to cause a confused reaction among professionals. To be honest when this project began the core aim was to raise awareness within the health service. The overwhelming reaction from all the PCTs contacted is that nearly everyone is aware of it but no one knows what to do about it; there is no ‘strategy’, no guidelines and little UK based research.** As such DWED is putting together a Professional Advisory Board composed of Eating Disorder and Diabetes Professionals in the hope that a dialogue will open and a multi – disciplinarian, patient centred approach will be promoted.
I hope that I have explained adequately what Diabetics with Eating Disorders does and that this is something you are interested in supporting.* I would greatly appreciate any information you could give me on if or how this issue is dealt with in your locality. As previously mentioned we are also recruiting board members, if this is something that you are interested in, if you have any questions or comments then please get back to me.
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Kind Regards
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Jacqueline Allan
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Director
Diabetics With Eating Disorders
*mobile number removed - please Private Message Jaqueline for contact details* - Admin
www.diabeticswitheatingdisorders.org.uk
jacq@dwed.org.uk


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## Northerner (Sep 24, 2010)

Hi Jaqueline, welcome to the forum  I wish you every success with your endeavours. I removed your mobile number and ask that people contact you via private message if they need it - this prevents your number being picked up by those who may wish to abuse it. Also, moved to its own thread so it wouldn't get lost.


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## gail1 (Sep 24, 2010)

quick question is this open to type 2 who take insulin as well?


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## grahams mum (Sep 24, 2010)

hi i am not surprise that a lots of hospital dont know what to do in our area we dont have even a simple pediatric diabetic dietitian


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