Hi crimsonclient,
I've just read you story. I was diagnosed or should I say diagnosed my self (but that's another story) with gestational diabetes during my second pregnancy 19 years ago. I started with pain in the back, which I then realised was my kidneys and thought I'd got a kidney infection. But this is digressing into the other story!
I was then OK for 8 years, then I developed type 2 which we treated with diet. I was doing great on it, I'd lost 2 stone and levels were normal for about 3 years. I was leading a very busy life, 2 young children, a business and a house to run, school governor, running a children's dance troupe, junior football teams and setting up a girls section in a rugby club. The stress of it all, plus the diabetes (but at the time I didn't know depression can be a side effect of Diabetes) brought on quite severe depression. I struggled on for 12 months trying to keep all the balls in the air, but inevitably they all came crashing down. By now my diet had flown through the window. Went to see my Dr and she put me on anti-depressants over the next 12 months we tried several different sorts but nothing was really helping. My BG levels had gone up and I was put on Metformin and then additionally pioglitazone and simvastatin. Fortunately around this time my Dr heard of a medical trial for depression suffers and suggested I go on it as I would get to see a consultant psychologist as part of the trial. If the Dr had tried to book me an appointment with the psychologist herself, it was a 2 year waiting list. I took part in the trial and was seen by the psychologist on my first appointment, she prescribed me a different sort of anti-depressant, something my Dr wasn't allowed to do. These seemed to work much better, but the main side effect of most anti-depressants is an increase in appetite! My weight started to go back up as did my BG levels, but because of the depression I still couldn't get my head around following a good diet. Don't get me wrong we've always had a good varied diet with pleanty of fresh fruit and veg, I've always bought sugar free or reduced sugar and used brown and wholegrain versions of products where possible. I seemed to be in a vicious circle the more my BG levels went up, the more depressed I got, the more depressed I got, the more I ate! I was on this medicine regime for about 2.5 years with rising BG levels and weight and some very dark days. About 18 months into this phase I got my Dr to refer me to The Project Group, a community arts group for people in touch with mental health services. This place has been my saviour as far as my mental heath goes. The Dr's then decided to try me on Byetta the non insulin injections as they were supposed to suppress my appetite resulting in reduced weight and BG levels and yes I did lose weight in the first 3 weeks, but that was because it made me so sick and I was only on half a dose! I was so ill I couldn't do anything for those three weeks. After 8 months on the Byetta and no improvement in either weight or BG levels I was put on insulin. I have been off anti-depressants for 12 months now, but I don't think I would be here to tell this story if it wasn't for them but the main thing that got me through it was The Project Group. See if you can find some type of group in your area, we are quite a unique group in our ethos MY BG levels are still not good I can't seem to find out why they fluctuate so much, last night at 5.40am I had a hypo with a BG reading of 2.7 I ate a bowl of Special K and a banana 7 hours later my reading was 14.3! I hadn't eaten anything in between. I can be so good and have a good health low GI meal and reading will be good yet the next time I eat the same thing my levels can go sky high. The only way I can get my levels anywhere near normal is by not eating and we all know what happen then!! I'm getting so fed up with it all I just feel like saying sod it to all medication
