I am thinking that I should be on some kind of anti-anxiety drug. My sister thought it would be a good idea to ask around on here and find out, for those of you who are on anti-anxiety meds and care to share this info, what other type 1’s on here are taking for your anxiety, and if it works well for you (and if it interacts with insulin).
I guess the reason why my sister thinks I should ask about it on here is because she thinks there might be similarities between type 1’s as far as how our bodies react to things. She is very supportive of me so I usually try to take her advice and be open to her suggestions. Thank you in advance 
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I take generic celexa with no problems. Just remember YDMV.
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Thank you!
I take 1mg generic Klonopin before bed and I’m on 15 mg generic Lexapro. I’m pretty mellow.
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Thanks, I’m going to write all these down and look them up. There are just so many different meds out there that its hard to know what to ask my doctor for. She’d probably have some ideas herself but I think I should do some research first. Thank you!
“Your diabetes may vary”. We are all different.
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I’ve tried both Klonopin and Xanax. Klonopin and I are not friends as it doesn’t seem to clear out of my system very well. Xanax and it’s shorter duration seems to work better for me. I take .5 mg before bed, sleep well and it seems to help the next day. I am super sensitive to meds, however, and cannot take antidepressants due to the various side effects. You might be able to take a low dose anti-anxiety med like Celexa or Lexapro (I’ve tried them and had trouble with increased depression/muscle stiffening)
One caveat of the Klonopin and Xanax is if you have lows overnight. I will sleep through a tornado with either of these, and I have trouble waking up with overnight lows anyway. Make sure to keep that in mind if you have this issue. As always, YDMV.
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LOL! I never would have guessed what those initials meant. Yes I think so too.
This is good to know! Thanks 
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For those taking klonopin - how long have you been on it, and at what dose?
I’ve recently started having anxiety issues (including two mild panic attacks). Mostly my anxiety just keeps me up at night. I’ll get into “worry loops” where my brain won’t shut off at night and one thought leads to another. Like when I was having surgery, my “to do” list spiraled out of control from simple pre-surgery stuff all the way to making a grocery list of things my husband would be able to cook so we didn’t end up eating fast food and making sure that I made a vet’s appointment for the dog to have her bathed and hygenically shaved so I wouldn’t have to brush her when I’d just had my hand cut open and would have limited use of it. Neither were particularly unreasonable thoughts, but they weren’t things that I needed to have keeping me up until 2 or 3 am three nights before surgery, either.
The klonopin is sometimes the ONLY thing that helps me sleep, but my PCP who prescribed it will only give me 21 pills at a time, and treats me like a junkie whenever I ask to have it refilled, and demands a follow-up visit (and co-pay, natch!). Despite it being a .5mg dose, and my having made 21 pills last nearly 60 days, she constantly warns me about addiction and wants me to seek other options such as antidepressants. I don’t want antidepressants as I’ve tried several in the past and they’ve all had negative side effects that were worse than the problem ranging from 1) Making me feel like my nerves were crawling under my skin 2) making my sleep WORSE which was totally counter productive, 3) impairing glucose control, and 4) weight gain.
I’ve tried sleep medications such as Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta, and one or two others. Nada. Didn’t even make me slightly drowsy. A klonopin knocks me out, and yet I still wake up if I have a hypo.
Is my PCP being overly concerned? I started seeing a therapist, and she didn’t seemed concerned at all, and in fact suggested that there wouldn’t be a problem with taking one every night, but of course my PCP disagrees.
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My NP gave me 30 at .5, and told me it was okay to take them every night. I didn’t (I took one every couple of nights) but she doesn’t make me feel bad when I need a refill (although I didn’t stay on the Klonopin, because it’s to much for me). She is the same way about my Xanax. It helps that she has psych experience though. Does your therapy office have an NP or a Psychiatrist on staff who might help you manage your prescription?
My symptoms of anxiety almost mirror yours. Thought loops get me almost every other night.
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My significant other (who is not diabetic) takes a low dose of Xanax and is happy with the results.
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The person I see is actually a Psychiatrist, but for some reason, she doesn’t prescribe. I think I need a different Psychiatrist. I haven’t found her particularly useful after 4 sessions. Our chats range everywhere, but she hasn’t offered much advice about what to actually DO about my anxiety.
$0.02
If you think the problem is likely to be chemical, then you definitely need one with the knowledge (and willingness) to prescribe. If you think talk therapy is more likely the right tool to get at what’s wrong, a clinical psychologist is often a better answer. Depends, like everything else.
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All Psychiatrists are MDs (or DOs) and prescribe. Psychologists (even Ph.D.s and Psy.D.s) are not physicians, did not attend medical school, and cannot prescribe meds (for obvious reasons).
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Bah. You’re correct. My insurance’s online provider catalog, however, is… less than intuitive/helpful.
I was under the Psychiatrist section when I put her name in to see if she was on the list after she was recommended to me by my PCP, and it pulled her up - even though she’s under Psychologists w/ a PhD 
It seems that it overrides the category and goes to who you’re looking for, regardless of what kind of provider they actually are.
Thank you for the clarification as to who does what.
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Pas de problem!
Insurance provider catalogues are out-of-date the day they are published. Insurance providers ask me on a 2 - 3 year basis whether I’m accepting new patients “currently”. Every once in a while, I open my practice for 2 to 5 new patients (which fills my schedule), then I close again until who knows when (maybe next month, maybe in 6 months, maybe not for a year or more; it all depends…)
Psychologists, therapists, MSWs, LCSWs, etc., etc. very often receive much less training in psychotherapy than a MD Psychiatrist…
I use this one, kills 2 birds with one stone.
Duloxetine
Brand name: Cymbalta
Antidepressant and nerve pain medication
It can treat depression, anxiety, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, and chronic muscle or bone pain.
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I take 0.5mg of lorazepam as needed to relieve anxiety up to 3 times a day. I use them mostly at night to relax so I can get to sleep. I am prescribed 90 a month but that lasts me 2 to 3 months as I don’t always need them.
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