Brittany Murphy

Type 2
#21

Big fan!

While I don’t want to engage in speculation while we don’t know the full circumstances and medical history, but apparently her mother said she had Type 2 - who knows if some journalist made that up.

If the family aren’t talking then the journalists are just speculating. But it makes me cringe - all the nonsense they’re writing about Type 2 and the ‘long-term’ effects on the heart. Give me a break… she was 32 and thin, which may equally put a strain on her heart but from ‘long-term’ Type 2 diabetes? She also apparently had asthma, laryngitis and what sounds like other conditions. Am taking all of it with a grain of salt until the full autopsy results are revealed, which won’t be until toxicology comes back - several weeks away.

Still very sad to lose a sweet, fun, bubbly actress at such a young age.

#22

This is really sad, we may never know the true situation. From what I read, her mother said she had a history of diabetes and thyroid problems and suffered from hypoglylcemia. The paparrazi have reported all the “drugs” they found on her bedstand, and it included a claimed diabetes medication Carbamazepine. Actually, as far as I can tell Carbamazepine is for bipolar disorder and seizures, not diabetes. For a type 2 diabetic you would have assumed some sort of oral medication, but nothing mentioned and nothing mentioned about insulin. I liked her as an actress, I hate to see her name dragged though the media. Even more upsetting for the diabetes community, we have to watch as presumably one of our own has her diabetes misconstrued and reported in ways that perpetuate stereotypes of diabetics.

I seriously doubt this girl overdosed on diabetes medications.

I seriously doubt this girl had raging out of control blood sugars causing a heart attack.

She may well have had a sudden onset of diabetes, but that probably would have been detected immediately by the coroner.

#23

Well I found some more information, it is not in the news yet. The drug Carbamazepine which was claimed to be a diabetes drug, is as I suggested earlier, not a drug for Diabetes Mellitus (DM), but is a drug used to treat Diabetes Insipidus. Diabetes Insipidus (DI) (not apparently related to DM) causes you to relieve huge amount of water. The Carbamazepine is a antidiuretic and supposedly helps you retain water.

If poor Ms. Murphy did suffer from DI, being sick, and throwing up as she was described doing ,could have caused dehyration, a clear risk for cardiac arrest.

Does anyone else know about Diabetes Insipidus?

Is that even in the scope of this community?

#24

I have a dog with diabetes insipidus & it’s not related to diabetes according to my vet. He drinks an amazing amount of water constantly & urinates accordingly. We’re convinced he must hold a record for both. Curious, I once timed him while peeing–1 minute 22 seconds (!) & this was after peeing many times earlier the same day.

I’m Type 1 & when I saw his almost compulsive water drinking, I rushed him to the vet thinking he had diabetes (no weight loss or hunger). I don’t know about about DI in humans, but with dogs it’s diagnosed initially from a urine test to know if it’s DI or kidney problems or a urinary tract infection.

#25

This type of Diabetes is new to me. Thanks for the info.

#26

Diabetes insipidus isn’t a type of diabetes. Really is a misnomer. DI doesn’t have anything to with the pancreas, insulin resistance or auto-immune problems.

#27

It turned out that the naming is perfect: the word diabetes just means urine. The addendum mellitus stands for “sweet like honey”. The insipidus stands for “without taste”. The greek doctors only had their taste for diagnosis. So it is just common nowadays to use diabetes as a synonym for diabetes mellitus.

#28

Then it’s perfectly named! Thanks.

#29

LOL! Sounds better than sweet urine. Imagine the looks that would get.

#30

In Chinese the term for diabetes is literally “sugar urine disease”

#31

Well I guess I disagree. I think as far as this community should be concerned diabetes is diabetes, no matter what type. We have all kinds. Certainly DI is not the same as autoimmunue T1 or classic T2 or gestational diabetes. But if you search this site, you will find ongoing discussion of the topic. And I would argue that there is a huge spectrum of DM, and different forms of DM have very different symptoms and treatment. If somebody with DI came here, I would hope they would be welcomed.

On the other side, I am fearful that while we might understand the difference between these diabetes conditions, the media and public will not. I suspect the stigma that Brittany Murphy died because she did not take care of her DM will never be lifted. I fully expect someone I know at work or something (who should know better) to turn to me and say she died because she did not take care of her DM, she withheld insulin to stay thin, or that because this healthy 32 year old woman dies suddenly from DM induced cardiac arrest that will be my fate.

I really suspect that in the end we will see some footnote that Brittany had DI, but it will continue to be presented as DM.

#32

I’m wondering the same thing…

#33

What’s DKA? sorry for ignorance :slight_smile:

#34

Katy, glad you asked!
Diabetic Ketoacidocis
https://forum.tudiabetes.org/topics/583967:Topic:546949
it’s deadly - as a type 1, you need to know the warning signs

#35

If my mom called the paramedics for me, she would say something like that because she – along with almost everyone else I know – doesn’t understand the importance of knowing the difference between the two types (despite my many sermons on the subject).
My boss was telling me about someone she knew and said she had “really bad” diabetes. Is that like being really pregnant?

#36

Ditto! My mom wouldn’t have any idea what to say to paramedics. I’ve tried to educate her, but she’s not really interested.

#37

Medic Alert comes to mind. I have not taken mine off since I got it nearly 30 years ago - now granted the fact that it is custom made has a bit to do with it and that I told my parents if they got me a solid gold one I would never take it off. Guess what? 30 some years ago, for my birthday, I got a solid gold Medic ALert bracelet.
I understand that a celebrity may not be in the position to wear a medic alert all the time but if she was in her civilian life at the time of the incident the ME would have been all the information she needed to provide.
My $0.02
Peace+
Tim

#38

I wear a medic alert bracelet everyday. I got a really pretty one from Creative Medical ID (for any of you ladies reading this).

I also wear a little tab thingy on my watch . . . just to be extra safe.