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are type 1 diabetics more susceptible to mental illness

hollyslot

hollyslot

Well-Known Member
Messages
167
Location
London, United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
for example, anxiety/depression? because having bad bgs make me feel this way immediately. does anyone else feel like this too when they have high/low BGs?
 
Depression is more common than people think in diabetics, if your bg is badly controlled it can get you down as it's a roller-coaster ride of emotions, can't say that I've ever had depression but it is something that regularly gets asked at clinic appointments.
 
I think the prospect of medicines for the rest of your life is also a downer..
As a type 1, especially with children it is termed as rebellious when you want to stop injecting and be normal like your friends. However, is it rebellion or depression? I rather feel depression has a part to play in it.

Although we can meet up online, there are groups in areas that do meet.. There are very few of us type 1's that actually have a fellow friend or family member that has the same.

So I think that being anle to recognise the "rebellion stage" as a stage of depression / anxiety and being able to talk about it, instead of just wanting to forget you're diabetic could help. Help is lacking though.

Also, is it just diabetics? No, the research that was advertised here by Southampton University was looking at critical illness, not just diabetes and patients responses... Trying to find out if positive people responded to positive responses and negative people taling the negative responses.

Again, a huge amount of people without diabetes have depression. I have known 4 people to kill themselves. None of them were diabetics. My mother has severe depression on and off with ect's, but not diabetic.

I firmly believe that as a person with a critical illness and the prospect of having to watch yourself all your life and intentionally try to keep healthy can cause depression, however I think we have to recognise as in the cases of all the Bridgend teenagers killing themselves a few years back that there are huge numbers of persons that have depression or bipolar.


Loving life
 
Yes type 1 diabetics are three times as likely to develop eating disorders and mental health problems. Theres been support for psychoanalytical assessments to be provided with type 1's annual reviews, I think this is a really good idea as I know many type1's that suffer from depression/anxiety/eating disorders. I used to be a patient at a eating disorders clinic with many type 1 patients (including me) If you need to talk you can pm me as I know how difficult it can be :)
 
Thanks Mooshk, I don't have depression or eating disorder as a type 1. I have had depression but that was helped enormously by extra d3.

It would be nice if a d3 vitamin test was done as standard for all diabetics annual check ups as grom my experience this has helped me hugely.
Going back to the original question and diabetics, type 2 also get depression but again is it because of the actual guidance that people get...
Mainly it seems.. Lose weight..you will end up with insulin etc.

I still think that depression is huge for any critical illnees, not just diabetics. A lot of young people commit suicide because of actions on internet, so thats another thing to be mindful of nowadays...


Loving life
 
Donnellysdogs I quite agree with the Vit D3 levels. I had a lot of bone pain especially in my hips and started D3 supplements months ago...hey presto - pain gone. Must be something in it.
 
All my pains have gone too, mine were in hips and legs.. I thought it was because of having more fat in my diet and the fat repairing my legs.. Perhaps it is d3. Know its said to help dementia-all in the news now!!


Loving life
 
Think anyone with a long term condition could be subject to getting depressed at some point in their lives, but so do many other people with what you could call normal health. It's never affected me in nearly 40 years of being a type 1. But My GP once asked me if I hated winter and the lack of daylight which comes with it, or felt more lethargic in winter. To which I said yes doesn't everyone?

When I asked him why he was asking, he said . GPs had been asked to survey diabetic patients because it was felt diabetics were more prone to SAD . Strange world we live in. Had never heard of this before.
 
i have type 1 diabetes and i have borderline personality disorder. both are really hard to manage together at times cause if i suffer with my low mood then my diabetes management suffers too, iv not found a way to balance them both
 
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