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Depression and diabetes.

keishamarie

Well-Known Member
Messages
113
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Im just wondering if anyone else suffers with depression along with their diabetes?

Ive had it for 8 years and i struggle on a daily with keeping up with everything the jabs the readings the food the best diet all the jargon that comes along with having this illness and tbh i feel alone my family are amazing and my boyfriend is the best man i could ask for but i just need to feel like im not alone with others with diabetes.


sorry for this to be a down post.

Keisha xo
 

Hi @keishamarie

You are definitely not alone with this.

I suffer from depression and have type 1. I often feel a but guilty because I know all my friends and family have been very supportive about everything but I still feel alone and feel they will never really understand. Depression is very difficult to deal with on its own not to mention coupled with diabetes.

I have found that since u discussed it with my DSN and GP that I have started to feel a good bit better about things. They gave me mirtazipine but I don't sup pose that is necessarily the best solution for everyone. I have also found this forum helpful, being able to hear that other people have experienced what I have.

Please don't feel this is something you are alone in experiencing. You are not ☺.

Please feel free to drop me a message if you ever feel like a chat.

Hayley x
 
Gladly i don't suffer from depression, the only experience i have had is that my wife suffered from it for a few months many years ago. My 25 yr old daughter suffers from depression which seemed to appear during her university days but with a loving fiancee is coping well.

It sounds like you are in a good position having an amazing family and boy friend.

You don't need to be on any special diet my advice would be to eat what you want in a balanced way. There are loads of fad diets out there and almost every month there is something mentioned that is bad for you only to be rebuked the following month. To me its all about moderation.

A DAFNE course is good as it teaches you a lot about diabetes and how to carb count and adjust your insulin accordingly.
I eat whatever i want sweet or not but always give the insulin needed for it.

I'm sorry i can't offer you any advice on depression but I'm sure someone here will be able to shortly. I'm glad though that your family and boyfriend are by your side with this.

Regards

Martin
 
Most days I don't know if I can cope. This is one more thing in a huge pile of what's wrong. I am so tired. I feel alone. Have lost parents. Lost One husband to cancer. Son is disabled and problems of his own. 2nd husband doesn't want to hear about it. He's thin smoker. "Stop worrying a out it he says. We're all dying. "
I try. Don't want to whine. But no siblings. Don't want to impose on friends. I found out with first husband's leukemia that no one wants to hear about it.
So I keep quiet. Haha...obviously not at moment. Scream.
But hey...carry on
Had half a steak for supper yippee
 
We all have problems, we all cope in different ways.
Once upon a time, I was on Anti-depressants but I got off of them, because they really were not good. Yes, they helped a bit at first, but getting off of them, put me in hospital.
Anyway, I have "been there" and survived. The secret for me, was to open up, do things I liked to do. Not worry about things and let life go on and on.
If you need help, there are always helplines and doctors who take this stuff seriously. Also, as much as family and friends can be supportive, unless people have been there, it just doesn't feel right talking.
Depression is not cured by medicine, it's cured by changing the things in your life that are making you depressed.
 
@keishamarie a very dear friend recommended her counsellor to me, and I've found my appointments with her very, very helpful. To have someone qualified to 'unpick' my long ramblings to her and make suggestions, and reassure me, has been - and is - both profound and amazing.

Wouldn't be without her!

I would never have considered 'therapy' until a new member of the family from another country where having a 'shrink' is a big part of the culture, as I understand it, told me that the best thing I could do for my family would be to find myself a therapist! Blunt, but true. I spent weeks being extremely upset about it, and then started asking around. My friend recommended her own counsellor to me. Hit the jackpot.

Families, friends and other halves - certainly in my case - can and do offer incredible support. And that's wonderful. But sometimes it helps to step outside one's inner circle.

As far as your diabetes is concerned, start every day as a new day and make one positive step. An additional test each day. Start writing it down, or find an app you get on with. Challenge your fab boyfriend to do the carb-maths for one meal, or do it together - that might be a giggle, and it would ease some pressure on you.

A bad day is just one day. With time, you will find the good days start to join up. Many of us have been there. Many of us still are. You are amongst friends here.

Love Snapsy
 
A really big hug.
I think that being diabetic is linked with depression, because I find that is an overwhelming condition that one must control by itself.
Is also possible that some physical effete of diabetes will trigger depression, but for me only knowing that you have a condition you can only control and not get rid of is hard.

Find a real friend and supporting relatives and make them help to help yourselves.
 
As people with chronic a illness your GP will assess you for depression. I only know this as after an infection due to a biopsy i see some print outs which were given to the hospital from my gp ans subsequently given to me. I noticed this screening for depression and questioned it.

I'm very fortunate as i take things as they are and deal with the situation before me , i know that not everyone can do this though thats why i consider myself fortunate.

Regards

Martin
 
I like you struggle at times with the feeling of not coping and being depressed. It doesnt help me that my daughter suffers type 1 as well so i spend a lot time worrying about her and how she is doing. Me and her mum are separated and although i see her every weekend and once through the week and speak on the phone, i worry that everything is ok. I have an amazing girlfriend who has got to grips with both mine and my daughters diabetes so that is a massive help, but there are times when i feel alone. At these times i just thank god that i am still alive and think that i need to be strong for my daughter and this helps me get back on track.
 
I only been diagnosed type 2 just over a year and for 1st few weeks I always seemed to be very angry or depressed Dr wanted me to go on anti depressants which I refused. I still have days where the slightest thing drags me down and if I'm home alone I'm worse I get very teary but generally put on a smile and try and smile through the low feelings I get
 
Hi, I know it sounds horrible but I am so glad you have just made that post. I have been diagnosed with type 2 for about 18 months now and find it hard to deal with, I have noticed deperssion creeping up on me. I thought I was just be stupid, it didn't occur to me that the two things could be connected. I can now view everything differently and hopefully cope better
 
I was diagnosed with type 2 in July this yr (2016) and although I'm coping I am on antidepressants. I was on them before I was diagnosed
But I think diabetes has made it worse. It's the constant looking for the right foods to eat. It's mainly lunch for me its so stressful. And with diabetes u are constantly thinking about it. I've enough on my plate as it is!
 
I suffer with depression. And anxiety. And everything you've said I also struggle with, but the anxiety causes me to panic about being useless at treating my Diabetes becuase the depression causes me to be lazy with it. It's a vicious cycle.

I've had T1 since I was 4 years old, and I'm now 23. I've had it for 19 years and I'm still terrible at controlling it. I'm slowly getting better but the depression is a daily struggle and I wholehearted sympathise!!

The cause of my depression is unrelated to my Diabetes, but having the condition certainly doesn't help!

Thank you for posting! It helps us all to know we're not alone with depression and diabetes.
 
I too also suffer from depression and anxiety. I know the cause of mine and goes back many Many years, but since having diabetes it is most definitely worse, for me it's because I can no longer comfort eat so no longer have a coping mechanism. You most definitely aren't alone and I would personally say accept any help you are offered. Also be kind to yourself!
 
thanks @HanaEv
I hope you are getting to grips with your anxiety and depression -- it is never much fun but with the added D makes it a real strain.
with your experience of D it would be lovely to see you posting on other topics which I am sure you will have experience.
really pleased to have you on "the team ".
 

Definitely agree with what Martin has put about DAFNE course, as i was definitely in the same shoes about 2 years ago. In 2014 i took a DAFNE course and honestly i haven't looked back since. The chance to meet other diabetics who go through the same struggles you face everyday and being able to talk about it in a way that you can't with perhaps a medical professional.

Since doing the course my overall control, and i guess fear of the disease has definitely improved. Linking this in to feeling down and burntout has definitely been reduce, i'm by no means saying this will solve all your problems but it will give you that chance to express yourself, and learn some finer details about this disease and stick it all together so that you have a different view of how to cope and deal with it.

Kind Regards,
Harry
 
Thank you! I feel very welcome! I'm better than I used to be with both conditions since going on antidepressants. I'm trying to be a more active member where I can.
 
HanaEv said:
Thank you! I feel very welcome! I'm better than I used to be with both conditions since going on antidepressants. I'm trying to be a more active member where I can.
Click to expand...
Yay !! @HanaEv
saw you like your music -- huge music fan here
alter bridge , halestorm , I set my friends on fire , Damone , Digital Summer , Future idiots , Otep .... to name a few
 
I know how u feel I had depression for many years before T2 and was on Anitriptyline for over 10 yrs but doctor want me to change to new tabs came of amitriptyline and felt great so didnt go on new tabs and lost 2stone felt great but it was a to high feeling was out of control now been diagnosed as BPD won't go on new tabs as they put on weight but now highs are getting less lows more I don't know what to do see councillors but they are useless sorry to moan .
 


Hi Keisha,

Yes, I too have had depression for many years treated with meds, but when diabetes2 came upon me, the meds seem to be weaker. I don't really know why diabetes adds to depression.
 
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