Anorexic Diabetics Treated 'Too Late'

The lack of treatment on offer for diabetics who also suffer from eating disorders is a "national scandal", campaigners have warned.

Research suggests women who have type 1 diabetes are twice as likely to develop bulimia or anorexia, while 40% of sufferers aged 15 to 40 regularly skip life-saving insulin jabs in an attempt to keep their weight under control.

Missing the medication on a regular basis can cause infertility, organ failure, blindness and even death - but a specialist charity is claiming that many GPs are dismissive of the dual condition, which is sometimes referred to as "diabulimia".

Among those demanding greater support for sufferers is the family of Lisa Day, a diabetic student nurse from West Hampstead, north London, who died after deliberately missing her insulin doses to drop dress sizes.

The 27-year-old had struggled with type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder since she was a teenager and passed away in September 2015 after developing diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication caused by a lack of insulin.

Her mother, Doreen Proud, said: "She would always say 'it's not a problem, I'm all right' but all anoxerics say that.

"She would never listen to me about the anorexia side of it. But the two together are awful.

"There are so many Lisas out there, they are being missed.

"She was diabetic, and by right she should still be alive, but all I've got are her ashes."

Miss Day's brother-in-law, Matthew Edwards, said she was only given specialist help "too late" - and he called for better care provisions to stop people from "falling between the cracks".

Jacqueline Allan, who founded the Diabetics With Eating Disorders charity, added: "I know personally people who have gone into their GP and said 'I'm diabulimic' and the GP says 'that's made up on the internet'.

"Then, they have completely disengaged from healthcare teams and don't go again for several years by which time they have massive complications."

A Department of Health spokesman said £150m is being invested to help develop community eating disorder services for young people, while children with diabetes are supported by multi-disciplinary teams which include dieticians and clinical psychologists where necessary.

He added: "It's absolutely right that people with complex conditions need a tailored approach.

"That is why the NHS is supporting new care models that can be used in different combinations according to a patient's own needs."