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Anti-depressants and BG levels.

mountaintom

mountaintom

Well-Known Member
Messages
574
Location
Lauragh, Kerry
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
For those who’ve been prescribed AD’s and have type 1 - have they affected your BG readings at all?
Asking for a very good friend of mine.
 
all SSRi's raised my bg by about 2 points. Only my experience. The label should say something about the effect the drug has on blood sugar levels. All the best.
 
As is often the way with these things, 'it depends'.

Fluoxetine - consistent raise, at least 2 mmol.
Citalopram - didn't notice anything.
Mirtazapine - was too ill to notice anything
Venlafaxine - standard release version, had chronic hypos about 3 hours after taking it. This problem has been eliminated by use of the modified release version, and also making sure that it is always taken with food.

Hope this helps.
 
It seems best to avoid talking about psychological stuff at all with medical people because I am very scared that it will end with them forcing pills down my throat. If it affects sugar levels then phew really REALLY not interested.
 
Hi @mountaintom I was on anti depressants for a few months and there was no effect on my BG levels, I believe I was on fluoxetine at the time, I guess it may depend on dosage though.
 
Oh, I feel I should also point out that it is possibly worth being wary of anything with a strong sedative effect - for example mirtazapine, or any sleeping pills - as they really do knock you out, and your ability to respond to a night time hypo can be extremely impaired. Worst case scenario, but not one that I would wish to explore again.
 
It’s not just blood sugars that can be affected. Different antidepressants seem to have different effects on the ways you view the world.
I had a very rough couple of years some time back when everything seemed to go wrong at once - even the household appliances joined in. One doc prescribed Fluoxetine and even I found it hard to live with the Pollyanna it turned me into. Citalopram, for me, had the best and gentlest effect.
If an antidepressant helps in a bad patch then I can see nothing wrong with a T1 taking a pill that smooths out the creases. I believe that if they’re prescribed appropriately they’re good, and they may prevent a bad time turning into a total car crash.
If your friend can accommodate a period of slightly raised bs by adjusting doses then there’s little to worry about.
 
NoKindOfSusie said:
It seems best to avoid talking about psychological stuff at all with medical people because I am very scared that it will end with them forcing pills down my throat. If it affects sugar levels then phew really REALLY not interested.
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no-one can force pills down your throat. They can give you options and the decision is yours.
 
I have been off antidepressants for about 8 years now. But.....the fibro has really been acting up lately and I decided to try Amitryptiline again as it does help with some restorative sleep and "brightens" the mood - not Pollyana though! - and I was to increase to 100mg, starting at 25mg. 25mg not bad, helps with sleep and fibro pain. 50mg and I want to sit and eat carbs all day!! THAT will have a very dire effect on blood sugars:) So, I have reduced to 25mg - forget even trying to get to 100mg!! Am weaning myself off it completely as now even at 25mg the carbs are slipping in and I don't seem to have any will power against them....it truly does alter something in the brain. So now I am on the hunt for something that will help with the fibro...I also found my iron levels were low and that has improved my mood and fatigue greatly - the iron supplement that is! L
 
I've been on Sertraline for 2 years now and don't recall a change in blood sugar levels when I started on them. However, I tried to come off them a year ago (unsuccessfully I'm afraid) and when I'd stopped my sugar levels ran quite high. This coincided with a week's holiday abroad where I really wasn't in a good place mentally, so I'm not sure if it was stopping the pills that caused the increase in sugar levels or the fact I was very stressed. I think it was the latter.
 
What proportion of people who have type 1 are on depressants?

It seems way more common than it should be.
 
NoKindOfSusie said:
What proportion of people who have type 1 are on depressants?

It seems way more common than it should be.
Click to expand...

According to my GP, one in three appointments made at his surgery is for depression. So I just think it's common in general rather than it being related to diabetes. Having said that, I know the experts do say diabetics are more prone to depression probably because of all we have to take on and deal with trying to look after ourselves.
 
Hi.

I have been on and off Anti Depressants now for about 13 years for GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder). I can not say that they have had any affect on my sugar levels or on my diabetes management in general.

I am presently on Duloxetine (Anxiety and Neuropathy) and Amitriptyline (Dosage for Neuropathy only) but have in the past also been on Citalopram, Fluoxitine and Sertraline.

As said I haven't been aware of any adverse effects on my sugar levels..
 
Can I just say I just wish people would not be so “judgemental” about antidepressants. If you can find one and it may not be the first one prescribed that helps then take it as you would a pill for any other serious illness. I lost a very dear friend, a mother if 4, two years ago. She suspected she had depression but because she as a nurse she was too embarrassed to seek help. I though I was helping her but took my eye off the ball for a few months because my own mother was dying. I cant bear any closed opinions on this subject. Whatever popular opinion is there is a real place for medication for mental illness and I think it is equally important to diabetis.
 
PenguinMum said:
Can I just say I just wish people would not be so “judgemental” about antidepressants. If you can find one and it may not be the first one prescribed that helps then take it as you would a pill for any other serious illness. I lost a very dear friend, a mother if 4, two years ago. She suspected she had depression but because she as a nurse she was too embarrassed to seek help. I though I was helping her but took my eye off the ball for a few months because my own mother was dying. I cant bear any closed opinions on this subject. Whatever popular opinion is there is a real place for medication for mental illness and I think it is equally important to diabetis.
Click to expand...

I completely agree.
 
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