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Diabetes and Depression

Has your depression affected your blood glucose control?

  • Mainly hyperglycaemia

    Votes: 25 46.3%

  • Mainly hypoglycaemia

    Votes: 3 5.6%

  • A mix of both

    Votes: 26 48.1%
  • Total voters
    54
C

CrazyLady

Newbie
Messages
4
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Being diabetic
Hello everyone,

I have suffered from Type 1 Diabetes for 11 years, and I was also diagnosed with depression earlier this year. I have been researching the link not just for myself, but also a project I am completing at medical school. I have been amazed by the sheer number of people that depression affects in the Diabetic Community, and it's such a relief to know I'm not alone. :roll:

I was just hoping that anyone who reads this could just tell me how they are coping with these 2 incredibly hard conditions, and what has worked for them?

X Thanks :wink: X
 
SarahQ said:
Try doing a search of the WWW and seeing all the links to depression and Lantus.
It is also obvious/well known that badly controlled diabetes (High blood sugars)causes depression.
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Yes for me it's very much that way round, I suspect mainly the reactive lows setting off neuroendocrine dumps: by getting my BG under control the depression is under better control on 1/6 the original dose of venlafaxine

also my ADD is almost non-existent
 
Aye. They sent me to a "Gehirnklempner" (Brain plumber) for depression, which I still have. But no mention was made of a possible link between diabetes and depresion.

Now I know what will happen. I will translate this page and take it to my doctor, and he will saay "Yes, we allready KNEW that".

TYPICAL. Even among proffessionals here the most oft heard phrase is "I don't know" (Ich weiß nicht).

Maybe one day will shout "EUREKA!!!" and they will all implode into a massive green blob that under it's own gravity, flies off into the nether regions of the space time continuum.

And NO, I have NOT been smoking, eating mushrooms, or anything else that may account. I am just fed up of hearing "Ich weiß nicht".

Oh, and ANOTHER question that Crazy Lady may find interesting to ask, "does diabetes turn you into a 1:1 honours doctor in cynasism"?
 
Hi all.I have type 2 diabetes,which is controlled by exentide&metformin.Anyway i have been diabetic for9 years&have had depression fo a long time.I have found it does affect my condition.ie;cannot get out of bed in mornings,did not eat right things sometimes.put on weight.all of which is pretty terrible.I was reffered to a physchiatrist for my depression in 1999an put on alotof medication.But i am pleased to say i have was discharged last christmas by the mental health team.but still suffer badly.Alot of people don't understand about the condition which can be very frustrating.thanks for reading this.Smeekmo.
 
Hi :D Well if having depression is linked to diabetes there is a problem ive been suffering with depression for 24 years and been a diabetic for 20 years so i dont get what you are all saying but if any one can explaine i would be truly greatful. At my diabetic clinic they diagnosed me over the phone said to wear support tights on a very large swollen leg that after spending 6hrs at A&E an exray then a scan turned out to be my Archilles tendon and now there aint nothing they can do for me i think they put all us depressive persons at the bottom of the list they think we make it all up SO PLEASE IF YOU CAN HELP ME IM ALL EARS

Regards Hw :(
 
Is your leg well enough for you to walk? I belong to a walking groupand that's supposed to be excellent therapy for depression. I don't have it
 
hanadr said:
Is your leg well enough for you to walk? I belong to a walking groupand that's supposed to be excellent therapy for depression. I don't have it
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:) Thanks for your reply but due to the doctors and my diabetic Doc now i have crutches because my heel is still swollen and they have left it to long so i dont think a walking group gonna help but thank you any way :(
 
Hanadr. I walk 3 times a day for exercise but I find it gives me too much time to think, which makes me even more depressed.
 
Last week found research that confirms the higher the hba1c, the higher the chance of depression - hba1c of around 11% = 44% chance of depression. Each small increase in hba1c led to a much higher chance of depression. I was depressed before I was diagnosed (coincidentally, got savagely depressed exactly when the symptoms of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes started.. weird huh) and was finally diagnosed with hba1c of 12.8%, so there you go - almost guaranteed depression. Started insulin, depression disappeared within weeks, to be replaced with obvious shock. Only been diagnosed for 7 months, fed up with hypos and borderlines so am trying to run sugars a bit higher than most other type 1s for a bit... and guess what? Depressed again. I'm sure there must be more to the whole thing, but that, as a basic indicator, makes a huge amount of sense to me, having actually lived it.
 
What insulin(s) are you on? I can't advise on insulin use but I can suggest you have a read around here

http://www.insulin-pumpers.org.uk/

it's not just for pumpers and gives a lot of information which may help you better tailor your doses.

There are somewhere in the region of 50 - 100 chemicals which either work as neurotransmitters or moderate their working, and they are connected to the endocrine system (which is stunningly complex) through the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. It's so complicated it's a wonder it works at all, and it's hardly surprising that when something breaks somewhere the effects ripple throughout the entire system.

The corollary is that once you get part of the system nailed, other things you didn't realise were connected may improve.
 
For me it's a chicken and egg situation.
I've been on citalopram for around 5 years but as a recently diagnosed type 2, can i be sure that the lurking malfunctioning Islets of Langerhans isn't to blame?
My new diet & lifestyle is giving me more energy, a clear head and a positive outlook - I'm hoping that at some point i can wean off the anti deps.
But only time will tell.
 
Russ-T said:
For me it's a chicken and egg situation.
I've been on citalopram for around 5 years but as a recently diagnosed type 2, can i be sure that the lurking malfunctioning Islets of Langerhans isn't to blame?
My new diet & lifestyle is giving me more energy, a clear head and a positive outlook - I'm hoping that at some point i can wean off the anti deps.
But only time will tell.
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Don't be in too much of a hurry to discontinue them, I've been on and off several times and frankly I don't think I could survive another unmedicated episode

BUT

when you have your BG under control you might find you can reduce the dose for the same effect. You seem to be finding the same as me, that stabilising your BG improves mood and functioning.

You might be able to get off altogether, depends on a lot of factors. If you do, be sure to reduce the dose slowly especially towards the end, SSRIs aren't addictive but can have withdrawal effects over several weeks.
 
I took Seroxat when I was still undiagnosed and spent a week feeling like I had permanent morning sickness so had to drop it. It made me feel so bad that I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than try it again! Yet, I took it once for 2yrs with no problems. Mind you, the real problem was an undiagnosed hormone imbalance (PCOS, which puts me at risk of type 2 diabetes as well!!) so sorting that out sorted out the 'depression' and I gradually got off the pills. Methinks I have never actually been depressed, I've just had illnesses that made me feel that way. I'm on novorapid and lantus, not taking much because I'm honeymooning. Couldn't possibly go anywhere near a pump at this stage though, only just getting my head around any kind of needle at all and that's just for 10 seconds 3 times a day... I have got other evil things afoot in my life too which would affect anyone negatively, but I suspect I'd be able to cope with them better if I put my sugars down a notch or two again. Also though, my DSN told me to positively expect to hit a wall at some point after diagnosis, and I think anyone having this diagnosis is entitled to feel down about it. It's not exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up :roll: and it's been 7 months, and I had it building up slowly on me for 2.5yrs before that (it's all so obvious in hindsight and you're right, using insulin suddenly cleared up loads of problems that I thought were unrelated). So I'm also trying to get over what this disease has done to me for all that time, too... it wasn't pretty. I don't think I have an endocrine 'system' any more, because 'system' implies order :) grumble grumble grumble
 
Hello everyone.

I am new to this, but not new to diabetes, i seem to have it for years!. Its just there all the time,
i try really hard with it, but finding a way to reduce my blood sugars is really hard going. They are rampant.

Recently i have had an on going cold which has lasted for weeks and weeks, making me miserable not to mention depressed.
I feel weak with it. If anyone out there has a remedy or advise i would be most grateful on how to deal with it.
I think diabetes and depression goes together, its enough to make anyone depressed having to deal with it.
I hate my diabetes. :cry:
 
hello i'm new here. I've had type 1 diabetes for almost 3 years and i'm nearly 20.I didnt want to go on forums like this because the crazy amounts of information and vastly differing opinions scared the **** out of me. I'm pretty much at my wits end with this, it's completely consumed my life; i no longer feel as if i'm myself, i've become this illness.I've collapsed numerous times through hypoglycemia and on one occasion smashed my front teeth in, which now are a disgrace. I'm not enjoying any aspects of my life whatsoever now, all i ever think about is this and ******* 'blood sugars'. The reality of it being that my life has become a challenge of balancing some numbers which mean nothing to me, i dont understand this problem my body seems to have, i've been given a pile of information and left to guess away. The guidelines given to 'living with diabetes' are profoundly unrealistic, regardless of the ethics of my life i enjoy partying and living a spontaneous, exciting life. I don't feel excitement anymore, just nervous anticipation as to what my body may decide to do. Each day is a complete chore and i don't see any reason as to why i'm continuing like this. Am i to devote my life to keeping myself around a bit longer, yet still feeling miserable, angry and depressed.It worry's me that the ONLY warming thought i have is that i could end it all.shame i dont have the balls.
 
There's an old saying Gigi,'Don't get mad,get even'.Don't let your diabetes control you,you've got to control it!!Of course you feel depressed and angry at it but it is a controllable disease and hopefully we can help you control it.Have a read round the forum and ask as many questions as you want.We are here for you.
 
To Gigi, I can't say anything positive because I feel the same way as you. But maybe that's exactly what both of us need to hear - there are others who feel the same way, we're not alone and we're not wrong to feel this way, and it's normal. Well actually ok I can say something positive. I know two other type 1s and they're not what you'd call enthralled at having it, but they've had it for so long that it just doesn't bother them any more. One day, you and I will be exactly the same. The only thing I can suggest which may help - or not - is that throughout my whole life I have been aware of the great power of meditation to sort out mind and body (ok it's not gonna cure us but it does in fact have an effect on the immune system and stress levels). Repeated meditation, even 5-10mins per day, produces great and measurable effects over time and science is learning more and more about it all the time. It genuinely makes you happier over time. I started to do it but got 'mysteriously' ill a few years ago... hmmm... and everything kind of stopped. Now that I've been diagnosed, I'm thinking about trying to factor it into my life again. I know it will do me good. There are even online meditation sites now, you can be guided through simple ones at your pc. Hope that might help? It's not hard, (well, at first maybe, to stop the chattering in your mind) but what could really be so difficult about sitting down doing nothing?! Can't hurt! I agree with SugarlessSue's signature, knowledge is the key to control, but for type 1s I think planning and knowledge are the key to control. I think of it like an unwanted child - I've got it now, for life, I'm not happy about the effect on my life, I have to plan everything and make sure I feed it and have all the things it needs, and I don't love it, but I'm stuck with it. It kind of helps me, to separate it from myself like that.
 
HI I am new to the Diabetes forum, but unfortunately not to Diabetes. I was diagnosed 25 yrs ago when I was only 7yrs old.
I can honestly say I have become more and more depressed over the past few yrs to the point I really don't want to be here. But how selfish is that when I have a husband and 2 beautiful kids.
I don't think I have ever really come to terms with my Diabetes, and the only times I really looked after my diabetes properly is when I was pregnant.
I have never really linked my depression to my Diabetes before.
 
moonstone said:
I took Seroxat when I was still undiagnosed and spent a week feeling like I had permanent morning sickness so had to drop it. It made me feel so bad that I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than try it again! Yet, I took it once for 2yrs with no problems. Mind you, the real problem was an undiagnosed hormone imbalance (PCOS, which puts me at risk of type 2 diabetes as well!!) so sorting that out sorted out the 'depression' and I gradually got off the pills. Methinks I have never actually been depressed, I've just had illnesses that made me feel that way.
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The SSRIs and particularly Seroxat (Paxil to the rest of the world) have been seriously overmarketed IMO, they are good drugs for certain patients but not for everyone else.

Hypothyroid is another condition often confused with depression. If you dig around in the endocrine system and the way it links in to neurotransmitters it's hardly surprising that there are links between physical conditions and mental symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine

http://www.endocrineweb.com/index.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hormones.html

http://biopsychiatry.com/

Just a few sites covering the compexity and interractions
 
Thank you for this Trinkwasser! When I have time at the weekend I'll have a dig around - I also have a microbiologist friend coming round on Sunday so we can look together. Thanks again, it all makes sense of course - especially cos it's now happened twice..! Not a coincidence, methinks - first time testosterone, second time insulin.... uh-huh
 
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