Mood Swings

[Paul J]

Hi,
Im recently diagnosed, and treated as T1, My wife and children have noticed that since the diagnosis I appear to have wide mood swings, My BG is well under control and runs between 4.5 and 8, hbac1 is down to 6.7 (was 11+ in november) and cholesterol also dropped from 8.5 to 5.8,
Doctors all happy, but wife not so,
Has anyone else had similar issues, if so how did you get back to being more level headed?

Thanks
Paul

 

[ams162]

hiya dont know about the moods just wanted to congratulate u on getting ur hba1c so good in such a short space of time well done, im sure someone will have an idea tho

anna marie

 

[donnellysdogs]

Were you put on any other drugs as time of diagnosis i.e. statins for cholesterol? There's been a lot about mood swings and statins recently.

 

[Snodger]

I've not tried statins so can't comment on that but:
Another possibility to consider is that you are getting used to being a diabetic? It can be a massive life change and quite a jolt to the way you feel about yourself and your body. When I was diagnosed I was determined to take it in my stride, got my blood sugars right down, carried-on-as-normal, and then realised that my brain/psyche/whatever hadn't quite caught up with events and was freaking out a bit. I would be managing fine, then suddenly find myself unable to cope with quite ordinary things; I was walking down the road one morning I remember and had this violent desire to punch everyone who was near me just because they were GETTING TOO CLOSE! (Don't worry, I didn't punch them). Or I'd suddenly get panicked and ready to cry.
If any of that is ringing a bell then I can tell you what the solution was for me: find someone to talk to about it, to tell your story to, so that you can just get used to it in your head. It will go away eventually, but getting to talk about it speeds that process up. I was lucky in that I had a brilliant diabetes nurse who was also Type 1 and she was willing to listen. I would say that it was her being Type 1 that made the difference, not the 'healthcare professional' aspect. You need someone who really gets it, not someone who doesn't have the disease. And there are loads of us on here...
Also don't underestimate the huge difference it makes to your body to go suddenly from running high to having normal blood sugar levels. Changes in blood sugar are well known to cause mood changes - as anyone who has had a hypo knows.

 

[noblehead]

Paul,

The mood swings could be down to you coming to terms with a life-long condition, I know when I was first diagnosed I was in a deep depression and this seemed to last forever. Mood swings can often be associated with fluctuating blood glucose (swinging high to lows) but doubt if this is the case with you as you appear to have good bg control, so if I were you I would book a appointment to see your gp and discuss this with them.

Nigel

 

[janabelle]

HI,
A diagnosis of an illness you will live with for the rest of your life can be overwhelming to say the least, and of course it will take quite a bit of adjusting to.
While you mood swings may well be down to your recent diagnosis, you should also be aware that synthetic insulins can also cause mood swings / behavioural changes. This has been know for many years since the introduction of synthetic "human" insulins in the 80s. As this article explains http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Diabetics-Not-Told.htm
I'm quite sure there was a posting about the same issue recently on this forum, worth having a look. Also do a google search for "mood swings synthetic insulin" and see what comes up. Here's another link that might interest you.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2 ... topic=8069
I can only presume, as you're recently diagnosed, that you are on analogue insulins. Analogue insulins are no different to any other synthetically produced pharmaceutical drugs and unfortunately some peole will suffer side-effects.
What insulins are you on?
Jus

 

[Paul J]

Thankyou All,

I dont have any depression, and still feel quite "upbeat" , The family sayI can be happy one minite then grumpy and moody , and no pattern to it,
Im not on any other medication , cholestorol dropping nicely, blood pressure is elevated sometimes , will be put on to a 24hr monitor soon, white coat syndrome doesnt help matters here though!!(135/90), I do seem to worry about little things and get very anxious, like a car park ticket running out, where as before I wouldnt have batted an eyelid,

Insulin, 14 units levemeir, once per day, (bed time) and 3 shots of novarapid, (5 at breakfast, 5 at lunch and 6 to 8 at dinner, ) generally BG is between 5 and 6.5 at 7am , about 6 at 9 am lunch is a similar pattern, dinner bg is between 4 and 6 before and generally below 9, two hours after,

At about 9pm I fall asleep on the sofa for about half hr then I wake up bright as a button, never happened before.

Thanks

Paul

 

[levana]

Hi Peter,
I am not an expert, of course, just a diabetic myself, but I think I can safely say that your mood swings could be related to your sugar levels.
Insulin, as a hormone, can influence your mood. For a new type 1 diabetic the changes can be quite significant and difficult to get used to. Even sugar levels that are not dangerously low can be experiences as a hypo, especially if your body got used to higher levels before your diabetes was diagnosed. Some people get very angry or very sad when their sugar level goes down. You can learn about it in Wikipedia, for example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia
The best way to solve this is to keep your sugar level as balanced as possible, naturally. This is actually the best solution for everything, as far as diabetes is concerned.

 

[leggott]

Hi, may be worth testing blood when you are feeling moody / irritable and perhaps getting your wife to wake you when you have your 30 winks and do a blood test then. If bg in range then you can at least eliminate this as a cause.

 

[martin hutton]

hi my wife tells me i`m moody fall asleep it seems to be a way of life now i was never like it before if some one knows the answer it would be good i`m 46 had type 1 since May 2009

 

[Snodger]

Martin, Paul, I'd back up what leggott says: track what your bg is doing when you are 'moody' and when you are sleepy.