• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Emotional toll of diabetes 'needs more recognition'



Many areas offer online therapy or telephone consultations at a time to suit you. You could google IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapy) to find out what is available in your area, or try MIND https://www.mind.org.uk/ to access help. You can self refer; you do not need to be referred by a GP. Hope this helps. x
 

Heya thanks for that, I suffered depression after diagnosis 4 years ago and didn't get any support other than medication, when you are at the bottom of a dark deep well and calling for help is even harder than it would be for someone who is coping, the care you get is fundamental to recovery, I was lucky that I found the strength to work through it myself without pills but felt so unsupported by the NHS and went back time after time to the same response and no support, it may be different with each trust but it put me off asking for help, fortunately am ok now but I will never forget how the experience made me feel so in my own small way I try and push the envelope on the support of mental health with diabetes whenever I can now
 
Its a reasonably new scheme (been around a couple of years approx.) due to the parity of esteem requirements, which means that there should be a similar focus on mental health as physical health. (im sure someone will be able to put that better,,). People need to be proactive in accessing these services, so it isn't suitable for everyone, but it does mean that you have a greater level of control with regards to timing of discussions etc also you don't need to go anywhere if you choose the online counselling.
 
I think also that it would be easier if appointments could be on the same day, maybe like a drop in clinic with several different services, which would ease some of the pressure of taking time off work/out of school. I need half a day for retinal screening (because I cant drive back to work after), the appointments are changed at short notice, and they wont do the photos without the drops. It would make sense (to me) to have the rest of me checked the same afternoon as there is little else I can do. I often find the diabetes is easier to manage than the bureaucracy.
 
People who have diabetes and a mental health problem does not only effect there work but also their family life too. I have suffered from mental health problems for most of my adult life and the impact on working and family life have both suffered. When i was working at 18 i got eye problems and spent the next 3 years having laser treatment and many ops, the firm who i worked for are a big firm and told me that it would be better if they laid me off which they did. After that i worked in a factory and was called into the office because i had been off work more than 3 times in a year and was asked why. I told them i was in renal failure and said if they could fix that it would be fine. A lot of us were on month to month contracts and when it came to letting people go i was one of the first to go, even though i was the most qualified. I told them that i was taking them to a tribuinral for unfair sacking , they got back in touch and said there had been a mistake and i was kept on for another 2 years. Then all of us were let go i was told that i had 2 more shifts to work and that was it, so i said no i will take 2 days holiday as i am owed 23 days and that was it. As soon as i lost my job my mental state became worse and every job i went for i informed them that i was a diabetic and never got a job. So i had to go self-employed as a groundworker i did this for 5 years and could take time off for appointments bur as my diabetes and renal failure became worse i had to give it up. Yet again i was down again i was on the sick for 6 years and then had my pancreas and kidney transplant and thought great i will be able to work again. I was told that i could not go back to any job that involved heavy lifting and after the transplant when my BS returned to normal i found out what damage the diabetes had been doing. I was in constant pain due to the nerve ending being shot and as part of the transplant they cut some nerves off the bladder which made my bladder 3 times the normal size and i have to use a catheter. They have also found damage to my bowel and i am still tired all the time which they said might never go away. Since the transplant i have been really down and see different members of the mental health team nearly every week. I was seeing the transplant team last Monday and we talked about work and i was told that with my complex medical condition that i may never be able to go back to work full time, and as they pointed out many firms would not take the risk of giving me a job. They said i have no chance in the near future of being able to work. I get so low in mood that i wonder if i could go in to different firms and tell them what it is like living with diabetes and working as they do not understand the things we go through just to get to work, Everyone knows diabetes is on the rise but not many firms no about what they can do to help people with diabetes.
 
helensaramay said:
Finally got the blog up ... https://blogs.diabetes.org.uk/?p=9615
The subtitles are not mine but I guess blogging on someone else's behalf means you loose finally editorial rights.
Click to expand...
Love the hat band!
You are right the cross heads are clunky.
Nice blog, I read the report when it came out. Wish the government response on actual action could be seen - fingers crossed for some budget research money????
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…