Woman battles 'world's most dangerous eating disorder'
Becky Rudkin has diabulimia and became so frail she had to be sectioned to save her life.
An Aberdeen woman has told of her ten-year battle with "the world's most dangerous eating disorder".
Becky Rudkin has diabulimia, a little known but extremely dangerous eating disorder when Type 1 diabetes sufferers avoid taking their insulin in an attempt to lose weight.
As a result of the disorder, she became so frail that she had to be sectioned to save her life.
Speaking to STV News, Becky said: "I don't want to get into what my exact weight was but if you can imagine a 25-year-old in aged five to six clothes that kind of tells you a lot."
In the 18 months following her diagnosis, Becky suffered three diabetic comas and eventually asked to be sectioned by the Eden Unit in Aberdeen, which specialises in eating disorders.
She said: "I asked to be sectioned mainly for the fact that I knew that as soon I started to see the weight gain I would want to walk out of the door and I knew if I done that I would be straight back in within a couple of weeks.
"That was a strange situation for a lot of people to understand but if I hadn't asked for it and if the consultant never said 'yep we are doing it' I wouldn't be here today to talk to people about it."
It is not known how widespread the condition is but Diabetes UK estimates as many as 40% of women with Type 1 diabetes limit their insulin in order to lose weight.
Now, with support and treatment, Becky hopes her story can help others.
She said: "I would suggest either speaking to your diabetic team, or somebody in the mental health team, because obviously it is a mental health issue, and just take it from there.
"Reach out to people that love you and care for you."