Discussion Any formerly disordered people experiencing consequences of it years after recovery?

[IfGodHadLegs]

Diabetes runs in my family. My dad has been diabetic my entire life, only recently having to use insulin as of a few years ago. After years of being fine, my mom was diagnosed pre-diabetic a few months ago. Along with this, today I received word that my healthy older brother is likely pre-diabetic due to the results on his labs. Selfishly, my first thought when I received the most recent news is 'I'm definitely next'.

My diet has been horrible for years, mainly consisting of cheap food, sweets and whatever's available at the moment. As a tween/teen I was on-and-off again disordered, which consequently formed horrible eating habits that still persist despite recovering years ago, not to mention the mental effects. Not sure if 'junkarexic' is a term many are familiar with, but that describes it fairly well. I haven't been to the doctor recently, but I'm confident that once I go I'll be diagnosed as well. I knew the day I'd have to fix my diet permanently would come, but it feels weird knowing it's actually here. I feel like many young disordered folks, myself included, falsely assumed they wouldn't reach adulthood. Because of this I'd treat my body like there was a spare one in the trunk, to put it lightly.

Are any other formerly disordered people experiencing consequences of those habits years later in adulthood? Along with this, have you had to alter your diet due to these consequences? Would appreciate heaving anyone else's experience, along with any advice.

Peace :]

 

[EmptyBottle]

I wouldn't be surprised if some bad habits will or are catching up to me.

Tho one can still try eating healthy, getting a reasonable amount of exercise/water/sleep in, and avoiding harmful stuff (eg cigarettes and vapes), pre-diabetes can be reversed, and even diabetes can potentially go into remission:

https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021_Diabetes-Australia-Position-Statement_Type-2-diabetes-remission_2.pdf

 

[never mind me]

The interesting part is that despite having mental problems when I was in my late teens and early tweens I took reasonable care of my body. Or at least I tried to. I had an eating disorder in my teens, but recovered relatively quickly. And like everyone around me I did binge drinking in my teens, but that was the norm where I grew up, I think there are few people growing up in the same region who entirely avoid it. Luckily neither the binge drinking nor the eating disorder left me with any long term damage. The things that are now catching up with me are insufficient health related behaviours I didn't know were so important. For example I have a pterygium in one eye from not protecting my eyes from sunlight, but I didn't really know that eyes can be damaged from sunlight, unless you are walking over snow or watching a solar eclipse without protection. So until recently I have never bothered to wear sun glasses when outside in summer. Same with dental hygiene: I always brushed my teeth, but until recently I didn't bother to floss them, because I didn't realize how important it is. Only after having several cavities in between my teeth I started flossing daily. And the worst is being too careless with regular alcohol consumption recently and getting so used to drinking that I drank too soon after having acute laryngitis which caused ongoing problems with my voice.

 

[_Gollum_]

Are any other formerly disordered people experiencing consequences of those habits years later in adulthood?

I don't have experience with diabetes in particular but I do have several long-term effects of my ED, namely gastrointestinal problems--acid reflux, bloating, etc.--, nerve damage, difficulty gaining muscle, excessive hunger, excessive sleep needs, and excessive rest needs. Basically it's like my ED aged my body by 30 years.

Along with this, have you had to alter your diet due to these consequences?

My diet is definitely not the same as it was pre-ED. For one, I have to actually pay attention to it now! I have to make sure that I eat three large meals a day (otherwise I get intense night hunger that stops me from falling asleep) and that I never go too long without eating (otherwise I get painful GI symptoms). I'm not sure what advice I would have other than "consistency is key," ie. stay away from your ED behaviours.