Diabetes and anxiety. I have these symptoms

[kaup]

Hello!

I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes around 15 years ago. Im now 28. During the last year i have had trouble sleeping. Thinking too much. I have also been feeling tired and uninterested in things i usally like. Generally my blood sugar levels have been fine and controlled. My blood pressure is around 120/70 and the highest i usally have is 140/90.

I take medications for my blood pressure. Micardis 40 mg 2 tablets each morning.

I do excercise every other day. Running and eating a balanced diet. However this has not really made me physically better.

Lately i have got a feeling that im unbalanced when walking. Or that i get sudden strikes of dizzyness and uncomfortable feeling. I also feel a warm feeling. Sometimes i get the feeling that the ground is moving under me.

I have had all kinds of blood tests taken and EKG. Also checked my vision and hearing. The hearing on the right ear is 50% worse than the left ear where i have 100%. Sometimes i hear a hissing or short tinnitus type sound that fades away quickly. Also i get slight fuzzy sight sometimes. Also i get trouble swalloding food sometimes.

I take Lantus and Novorapid as my insulin.

I have a strong feeling that the anxiety is coming from my mental state and not from my Diabetes. Therefore all these symptoms which i get.

Could this be side effects of the blood pressure medication maybe? Or is it from blood pressure or blood sugar lows and highs?

Anyone else recognicing these symtoms or is familiar with my description?

 

[SamJB]

Hi,
I too am 28 and suffered quite badly from anxiety a few years ago after diagnosis. I was terrified of hypos and became a very anxious person, had panic attacks too. I do remember that I had dizzy spells like you are describing but they disappeared when the anxiety went. I cant comment on the blood pressure though. Maybe you need to deal with the cause of your anxiety?

 

[Riri]

I had exactly the same as Sam JB. I had a disabling hypo about 2 and a half years ago and immiediately after that I was anxious and fearful about Hypos and the dizziness started and also swallowing issues like you describe. It felt like a hypo so i was panicing and it was a vicious circle. Once I had relaxed a bit over a period of months the dizziness also went away. Anxiety is a terrible thing which plays havoc with my system.

 

[Pneu]

Hey Kaup..

I think that diabetes and mental illness are reasonably common bed fellows.. I suffer from occasional bouts of serious anxiety at night where I can't sleep, have panic attacks and generally feel like I am about to die!

My advise would be to go to your GP and in the first instance get prescribed medication to help with the anxiety.. unless you have truly suffered from real anxiety a lot of people think your being silly.. the worst thing you can do is sit there and not cope with it.. In the long term your GP should be able to send you on some courses to help you control you feelings and identify your triggers..

Being logical and being able to access my own level of 'anxiety' helps me to get things under control before they get too bad.. I personally use diazepam (valium) to control my anxiety and take it every now and then if I feel my anxiety / stress levels increasing to what I consider to be 'trigger' levels to nip things in the bud before they get bad.

 

[Sheffield27]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your cvurrent situation. It may help initially to know that you afre not alone in feeling like this. I to am 28 and was diagnosed about 18 years ago so not to disimilar. I have had a variety of mental health issues from anxiety attacks to depression to just not feeling me to Intrusive thoughts. About 6 months ago I was told i had diaebtic neuropathy following years of neglect. Allthought his gave me the kick up the preverbial that i needed it sent me into a horrific spiral of depression. From panicing that I was going to be dead within months to thinking that every little ailment I had was life threatening. EG - headache automatically meant brain tumour. I imagined a metalic taste in my mouth with I was convinced was me having a heart attack. Its much sound strange to poeple who havent been through it but when it happens it really does feel like the end of the world.

Couple of practical tips from me...

1) Visit your Doctor they can help and it doesnt have to be anti depressents or something like that, I was referred to a Cognative Behavioural therapist which has really helped me. Dont be ashamed or think its not a "real illness" if you broke your arm you would go to the docs, its just a different part of you thast needs some help.
2) (If you do this) This is a big one as I did it all the time. DO NOT Google your symptoms. It will not help diagnosis but will just convince you that there is something seriously wrong.
3) Another one and probably the most hard one. Find someone you can talk to. I cant speak to my wife about stuff, I dont know why I just cant... She has come to understand this but it means that I need someone else to talk to. My sister in law went through similiar things so now we have a quick chat if anything is up.
4) Keep excercising! It releases endorphins which will keep you happier and the obvious other health benefits.
5) Try and work out what the triggers are for you anxiety... I worked out that It was my little exploits onto Google Doctor so stopped doing it.

I really hope this helps a little, Im not there yet but taking each day at a time helps. UI try to remember how I felt at my lowest point and when you realise you are feeling better than that its a bit of a pick me up.

Drop me a PM if you want to chat any further. i can send you my Email if its easier,

Cheers

 

[Riri]

Excellent last post and sound advice - I'm sure this will help Kaup and others, including myself, to be re-assured that we're not alone in any of this and there is help. All the things you suggest not to do/do, I go along with completely. I google, bottle things up, stop excercising when I feel anxious and I know it's not the right thing to do - when you see it written in black and white though it makes sense and the words in your post will help me. Thanks.

 

[Sheffield27]

Glad it helped actually helped writing it.

 

[janabelle]

Hi Kaup,
Yes, some of your symptoms struck a chord with me. The anxiety, dizziness, and the difficulty swallowing. I was on Lantus and developed problems within months of being on it. I've posted a lot about my experience with Lantus on this forum when I realised how ill it had made me after 4 1/2 yrs on it in 2008. I remember vividly feeling like I coudn't swallow / breath properly almost like my throat was constricted and it was one of the first symptoms/ side-effects I experienced. I had a lot of stress in my life at the time; my father was terminally ill and my son also had cancer, so my symtoms which turned out to be Lantus side-effects were put down to that. The anxiety feeling was there most of the time, and overwhelming at times- my body felt like it was in a panic state and I felt like I was going to have a seizure quite often. I also developed a tremor. I'd also have episodes when I'd suddenly feel I was about to pass out / fall asleep when I was out with my children and it was terrifying, as if I'd been drugged. I have since discovered that the "feeling drugged" sice-effect has been reported by many lantus users.
As I said it took 4 years for me to discover what was causing all my ailments of which there were many and I really thought I was dying, that's how bad it was. Please do some research on Lantus and sympoms you are experiencing. Also look at this link, and don't be alarmed by the cancer risk aspect, but look at the other symptoms that the posters describe and you may see a simliarity with what you are experiencing http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/lantus-ins ... /#comments. I'd also recommend that you take a look at the IDDT website, if you haven't already. Here's a link http://www.iddt.org/publications/30-yea ... c-insulin/
I may well be wrong and your symptoms may have nothing to do with Lantus, but I know of so many people who've had problems on it and just as many people say it's fabulous, there's as many who are having a poor quality of life as a result of taking it.
I had been type-1 for 15 yrs was put on it by my hospital clinic, and I can honestly say it ruined my life. I changed to animal (porcine) insulin in 2008 and my life has improved beyond belief and my is diabetes under control, with no unexplainable ups and downs as I experienced on lantus.
I hope you find a solution and feel better soon, whatever it turns out to be
Jus

 

[SamJB]

Glad I'm not the only person that has gone through this! Great advice there shefield27. I'm clear of it all now except that every time I have a hypo I think that this will be the hypo that finishes me off! I know it's daft and don't think it outside of hypos, but I really have to fight that thought!

 

[MrsKitch]

Hi
I was diagnosed type 1 in October last year and after the initial relief of becoming medicated, I now find myself feeling awful. I have headaches all the time, feeling spaced out and dizzy. I've had episodes of feeling sleepy or 'drugged' as someone has previously mentioned and also the throat feeling constricted which has led to anxiety and panic. I am on lantus, so I was fascinated to see that the use of lantus could be attributed to my symptoms. It's a relief to know that other people are in the same situation, as it's easy to think that you are going mad on top of everything else we have to deal with. I'm really glad I found this forum.

 

[Pearsall85]

I suffered from a few panic attacks shortly after being diagnosed of a night, I was always worried I was hypo'ing during sleep. Now I'm more comfortable with things and slowly getting my levels under control I don't get them anymore.

Stu.

 

[nigelho]

Hi Janabelle,
This is a question for all porcine users of neutral and isophane. I've been on porcine for almost 1 year but I am struggling to get lowish BSs. I am using between 20 and 30 units of neutral for 1 piece of brown bread toast and a small spread of jam or marmite. After 2 hours little has happened except my levels have jumped to around 14s. It seems to take about 4-5 hours for the neutral and isophane to start working.

I'm taking 22 units twice daily but still struggling to get good figures in the mornings. I know that if I take the isophane with my meal after work --between 4-5pm, I'll be around 14-15 when I wake up. I've been trying to take the isophane between 8am and 8pm but told off by a stand in DSN who said that you must take the isophane when you have your breakfast and evening meal and not to inject neutral for lunch.

My usual DSN has told me that I'm her first diabetic using porcine and to forget all the tables normally given ie test after 2 hours etc, as the porcine don't work that way. My HBA1c has gone from 7.9% to 8.8%.

How are you taking the porcine. I tried to carb count but found that I was almost taking 1 unit for 1 gram of carb. When I used novorapid I used 4-5 units for 1 gram of carb, depending what I was doing.

My problem is if I am not to inject for lunch how much neutral to have at breakfast..I have a problem that when I do any physical work my sugars drop quickly, so during work I tend to eat 1 sandwich and fruit on the hour otherwise I can go into hypo. I drive for a living...home shopping deliveries.

How quickly does porcine work for you????