Recovery - We Are Diabetes

We Are Diabetes offers a free referral service to any type 1 diabetic who is suffering from an eating disorder, or is struggling with the emotional impact of living with this difficult disease. We Are Diabetes has networked with treatment centers, doctors, therapists and counselors throughout the nation in order to help you find the most educated and empathetic healthcare professionals available. Please contact us at inf...@wearediabetes.org for more information.

Recovering from diabulimia is never easy. While it is already a challenge to recover from any type of eating disorder, type 1 diabetics suffering from diabulimia offer even more of a challenge for treatment facilities because the patient must be treated from both a traditional method focusing on therapy and self-acceptance and from a medical standpoint. A type 1 diabetic will always have to be very aware of food and its nutritional content and needs constant blood sugar level monitoring. In order for someone with type 1 diabetes to accept the help and recovery that a treatment center offers there must be a well trained and educated staff that not only have an understanding of someone suffering from an eating disorder but have an understanding of the hundreds of factors that a person with type 1 diabetes must consider when eating a meal or taking an insulin injection.

Not every treatment facility has the ability to treat a type 1 diabetic who is suffering from an eating disorder. Some centers may claim that they have had experience with diabetics, but claiming to have experince is not necessarily the same thing as providing all of the integral components needed for a successful recovery. Below are brief descriptions of the treatment facilities in the United States that offer a fully developed treatment track for type 1 diabetics suffering from an eating disorder. We Are Diabetes fully supports and recommends the following treatment centers. There are also other facilities that have had some experience in working with diabulimia and we have included links to those at the bottom of this page.

Park Nicollet Melrose Institute

St. Louis Park, Minnesota -- Park Nicollet Melrose Institute is a specialty center designed to give its patients the best in personalized eating disorder care. For over 25 years Park Nicollet has been a leader in offering personalized, family-based therapy and has helped many individuals deal with their eating problems. The Melrose Institute offers inpatient living as well as multiple outpatient programs and partners with the St. Louis Park school system to help students continue their education during treatment. The Melrose Institute collaborates with the International Diabetes Center at Park Nicollet for their specialized ED-DMT1 program to treat those who are struggling with the dual diagnosis of an eating disorder and type 1 diabetes.

Website: parknicollet.com
Phone: (952) 993-6200

Center for Hope of the Sierras

Reno, Nevada -- Recovery through Center for Hope of the Sierras involves educating residents about their bodies and their conditions so that they can learn to regulate the amount of sugar and carbohydrates they're consuming. The staff will help residents find the balance between appropriate insulin intake and, if necessary, slow, gradual weight restoration while closely monitoring the individual's progress. Residents will find a balanced, healthy weight they can be happy with, without feeling compelled to abuse insulin. Treatment includes: comprehensive medical management including nutrition education and rehabilitation, blood sugar monitoring and testing, insulin administration as well as a monitored exercise program. There is also individual, group and family therapy that addresses the food, weight, body image and interpersonal issues underlying an eating disorder, as well as the emotional factors that are interfering with responsible self-care for the treatment of diabetes.

Website: centerforhopeofthesierras.com
Phone: (866) 690-7242

Inner Door Center ®

Royal Oak, Michigan -- Inner Door Center's Reconnect with Food® program uniquely provides a balanced combination of traditional and holistic modalities for eating disorder recovery and related addictions for adults and mature teens. They also offer the opportunity for self-transformation and personal growth. We work with eating disorders across the spectrum including anorexia, bulimia, diabulimia, orthorexia and binge eating disorder. Inner Door Center® provides a warm, inviting, and nurturing, non-hospital environment. This facility is available to patients from beginning to end of their treatment cycle, providing partial hospitalization (day) treatment, intensive outpatient and outpatient psychotherapy for eating disorders. This is in contrast to most eating disorder treatment programs, allowing for a progressive step down in therapy intervention. The staff at Inner Door Center® work closely, as a team, with each participant - along with their originating treatment team if referred from outside the facility - to communicate progress and suggestions for maximizing continued recovery.

Website: innerdoorcenter.com
Phone: (248) 336-2868

Below is a short list of other treatment centers with diabulimia experience.

Focus Center for Eating Disorders (Chattanooga, TN)
Casa Palmera (Del Mar, CA)
Linder Center of Hope (Mason, OH)
Eating Disorder Center of Denver (Denver, CO)
The Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents (New Kent, VA)
Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders (St. Louis, MO)
Nutritionist: Kelly Walker, RD, LD

We Are Diabetes is currently working with a number of treatment facilities across the country to help them develop programs that will offer the necessary care for type 1 diabetics. If you are a healthcare professional or represent a treatment center and are interested in collaborating with our efforts to provide effective and accessible care to those who suffer from diabulimia, please contact us at inf...@wearediabetes.org.