Diabulimia, also known as 'Eating Disorder - Diabetes Mellitus Type I' (ED-DMT1) is a severely clinically under-recognized condition, where diabetic individuals essentially omit doses of insulin in order to purge calories and control their weight. It is a complicated illness with multiple etiologies and potentially lethal complications.
In this book, the author fuses her unique perspective as a former diabulimia patient with her medical training to expound upon all aspects of the condition. Including sections intended for the clinician, patient, and general layperson, this book is unprecedented in the detailed and nuanced information offered. The author's personal experience also enables her to describe in painstaking detail the psychology underlying diabulimia, the hoops that patients must jump through in order to conceal the illness from their close contacts and physicians, the destructive complications and daily travails, the difficulties encountered during treatment, and the realistic stipulations surrounding recovery and relapse.
Leaving no stone unturned, Diabulimia: Towards Understanding, Recognition, and Healing, adopts a scholarly medical approach towards important components such as history, epidemiology, symptoms, methods of execution, screening, prevention, treatment, recovery, and relapse. It synthesizes clinical testament and patient interviews with existing evidence from the medical literature, and questions that have thus far been ignored are addressed in technical and concise terms.
Whether you are a clinician, a patient, a parent, friend, or spouse of someone with Type I diabetes or diabulimia, this book is an invaluable resource - a go-to guide for anyone seeking insightful answers and reference for the tough questions arising from the course of this exquisitely complex and toxic illness.
For more information, visit:
www.diabulimia.info
About the Author: Aarti Sharma was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes in 2000. She holds a bachelors of science in chemistry from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is a former recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, American Scandinavian Foundation Fellowship, and Endocrine Society NIH Research Grant. She is currently completing her medical training at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
"While eating disorders in type 1 diabetes represent a serious women's health problem in diabetes, relatively little is known about best treatment practices and strategies for prevention. Ms. Sharma has made a significant and comprehensive contribution to raising awareness and understanding of eating disorders and type 1 diabetes."
- Ann Goebel-Fabbri, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Joslin Diabetes Center
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
"This book is an incredible summary of the available knowledge on pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment option of diabulimia, a condition which has neither been recognized nor viewed as a medical disease for many years. It is extremely important to be able to diagnose its medical and psychological complications. I would definitely recommend this book for any level of health care professionals involved in the care of type I diabetes individuals."
- Marina Basina, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Stanford University Medical Center
Division of Endocrinology, Gerontology and Metabolism
"Aarti's book is the first of its kind; a much needed resource for patients and clinicians alike in the battle against diabulimia. It shows an in-depth understanding of how this disease works and the devastating effect it can have. This should be required reading for every healthcare professional working in the field of diabetes."
- Erin M. Akers, CEO of Diabulimia Helpline
www.diabulimiahelpline.org
"Ms. Sharma's expertise in diabetes combines with her personal history of struggling with "diabulimia" to afford us the leverage of her rare vantage point. Her knowledge about "diabulimia" brings readers to explore not only what the illness is and how it develops, but more importantly, what we can do about it."
- Maryjeanne Hunt, author of Eating to Lose: Healing from a Life of Diabulimia (Demos Health)
