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SSRIs(antidepressants) and blood sugars

donnac1968

donnac1968

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Location
Cheshire
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I started on a very low dose of an SSRI (antidepressant) yesterday and noticed a bit of a drop in my blood sugars. This could be coincidence or time of the month, but as fear of lows is my problem I am now nervous and didn't take my SSRI this morning.

Is anyone else on them and did you get a drop in blood sugar? It does say it is one of the rare side effects (1 to 10 in 10,000 people) and also that you may need to adjust insulin doses. I'm having enough trouble coping at the moment (hence the tablets in the first place) without having to worry about this too.

Thanks
Donna
T1 for 26 years, pump for 8 years.
 
Hi, coincidently I was also put on these yesterday at the doctors. She did warn me that the ones i'm on (citalopram 10mg) may cause my sugars to drop and to look out for hypo's just whilst my body gets used to them.
 
Oh thanks, my GP didn't tell me that. I think I'll hold off on starting them until next week then as my husband is going to be away over night in a few days time and I would freak if I have a hypo when he's away.
 
They will take a while to get in your system, if you need them you need them so I would start straight away.

I would advise that you just be extra vigilant with your monitoring and perhaps just run a little high whilst the hubby is away.

One thing to be aware of is that stress/anxiety/unhappiness is also likely to effect your sugars due to creating a lot of nervous energy. Also, stress and anxiety can cause similar feelings to a hypo - shaky, increased heart rate etc.

On the plus side, many people start to feel better simply because they have addressed the problem. There is the possibility of an instant lift. Mental health issues are very hard to understand for those that have not suffered (much like diabetes) but being brave enough to see somebody and to post hear suggests you have the courage to take positive steps forward!

Best of luck!


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Agreed I would take them straight away as they take a while to get into your system. Touch wood I've been ok. No hypos :D
 
Thanks everyone,
Yes I agree I do need them, but I've needed them for years really, so another 5 days isn't going to make much difference.

My fear of hypos is extreme though, so I'd rather wait until I know my husband will be around because if I had a hypo in the night when he wasn't here I would completely flip out.

Promise I will start straight away on Monday though and keep testing.

Thanks again
Donna
 
I have been on anti-depressants for nearly 4 years and have never noticed a change in my blood sugars with them! I do find however that my mood changes when my blood sugar is slightly high are more obvious, which is good, because sometimes I don't notice at all.

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I have been on antidepressants for years. For the first few weeks of taking them my bs was lower but not drastically so. No increase on general trend for hypos at the time

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This is my 5th week on em too, didnt notice any change in first few weeks, but was plagued by hypos last wk/wk before (so...weeks 3/4) and I put it down to the warmer weather, but it could well have been the ssri's! Love this forum, I just thought it was a strange blip, but makes more sense now!

(P.s. wk 5 and I'm feeling the most normal and balanced I've felt in AAAGES! hope they work for you x)


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