I was wondering, has anyone experienced any kind of depression shortly after being diagnosed? Diabetes can affect people in so many different ways, and I’m sure it can affect people emotionally. It has affected me physically and somewhat emotionally, especially when I’m having a high or low.
What I want to know, how can you Not experience depresssion after being diagnosed. One day, you are going about your life, and the next day “BLAMMO.” All the sudden, your own mortality is in question. You are faced with a life of having to deal every day, dozens of decisions, all of which you have to do right to just live. And yes, when something like a high or low happens, it can really hit you.
But realize over time, you will feel better. You will realize that everybody is mortal. The choices we all make affect our paths. And over time, a high or low will become more of just a bump in the road instead of a life changing issue. And in the end, sometimes you just need to remind yourself that you are going to be ok.
Hi Julia -
The first year is tough. Everything is new and the experience is raw both physically and emotionally. I remember several complete meltdowns when the frustration just got to be too much. The emotional rollercoaster gets better as you get tighter control over your blood sugar and managing becomes more of a habit. But if you find yourself emotionally overwhelmed, please find a counselor or therapist to help you. Untreated depression is dangerous and certainly makes it harder to take your of yourself.
Maurie
Hi Julia,
My first few months after diagnosis were tough… Started when when I was released from the hospital and a zillion do’s and don’ts check list was given to me by my doctor. Things I have to take, I have to do, I can and cannot eat…quite overwhelming!
At that time too, I had very limited knowledge about diabetes. Ive always believed that knowledge empowers us so much. Research educated me…realized that … hey, this wasn’t that bad after all. I can do this! So, with family support, determination , discipline and work…after awhile, things did get better.
Things will get better Julia =)
Most definitely. I had a lot of trouble climbing out of it too. This forum really helped.
My first year was hell. I did go through some stages of grief. I went through the whole denial while I was depressed because I felt i lost control of my life. It took a few months to get back to the swing of things. At the time of my diagnosis I was laid off my job and my son was just born. It took me a few months to get back to the real world. I traveled as a shadow of my former self. I took all my savings, 401k and stock and cashed it in so I could make my self better and take some time off of work. Eventually i started to feel better and my numbers kicked back in the normal range. I wonder if the change of high bgs to normal bgs cause some level of depression.
Oh its so tough. I am just coming up to my first D-day and it seems a lifetime of everything going wrong for me. All you can do is keep going one day at a time. Just cry if you need to, let it all out. Find someone kind to talk to if you need this relief, ask questions here, no-one is ever unkind to newbies who simply do not understand all this stuff. Take care,
Yes I have. I’ve been dx for just over a year now and it seems some days are good and some bad. Just remember to take time for yourself. I like to journal. It seems to help. Take care.
To begin with no. I was elated to find that there was a reason that I had been so ill for so long. Due to the weight loss that I experienced which was extreme, I thought I had cancer. I had other problems that for nearly 10 years had no answer, but I was diagnosed by accident while in hospital for 8 weeks for a related problem. My first word was a swear word as my first thought was needles! I am a needle phobe and was quickly assured that I could start with tablets, though I did go on to insulin quite quickly!
I am prone to depression anyway and I suspect that some of it is diabetes related! Especially when my control is poor and I did not have helpful people around me. I have been diagnosed since 2004 and have had many ups and downs with it. It took me two years to fight for a change from human insulins to pork, which suits me far better, though I am by no means finding it easy even now.
It does get better though if you go to the doctor and find some kind of antidepressent or therapy or both that will help. There is one antidepressant that I am on at the moment called Sertaline that does have a positive effect on blood sugar levels. My doctor sat waiting for me to stop crying and I scored very high on the depression questionairre. We then discussed what medication I could take. One of the side effects with Sertaline is lowering blood sugar levels. I said that I would have some of that! I am now coming out of this latest bout of depression. It takes a couple of weeks to get working, but it is worth persevering.
Be kind to yourself, but also firm. Test regularly and also do tests in between and see if you can discover a trend. Keep going, however hard it may feel, even if it means to get get out of bed and go for a walk or do something that you enjoy. Keep in touch with TuDiabetes as there are people on here who with empathise, encourage and support you. I have learned a lot of new tricks on here that my nurses have never told me about or even thought about that have helped.
There is a Tu group specifically for diabetes and depression. Click on groups above and then go to other groups and trawl through there until you come to it.
You do need to be strong - and bloody minded - if you feel that there might be something to help that you are not being given at the moment.
I have a feeling that once you have a bit more stability with your sugar levels that the depression will get better.
Thank you!
I was like Latvian Chick, in that I felt so relieved to feel better that the weight of it didnt really hit me. I have subsequently felt most depressed when my BG gets really low, although that perhaps not as much as I used to. I always try to distract myself from it with various hobbies/ interests. These have not always been entirely wholesome as I spent a number of years partying my brains out, learning how to play guitar, staring at strobe lights, etc. but it provided some motivation (not the sort recommended by the AMA and ADA…) to maintain a reasonable level of control?
Lows still feel like I’m crawling into a hole though. Sometimes I can get distracted from monitoring my BG by those feelings, with some unfortunate potential there.
Yep I was the same, I originally got it when I was pregnant with my twins in 2008, with a roller coaster pregnancy it was really hard but i knew that once i had the girls it would go. WELL 7 months after giving birth it reared it ugly head again and I was again diagnosed.
Well I just fell into a heap and bawled my eyes out knowing I now had this for life and had to inject myself all the time, im also needle phobic. Denial, depression, you name it I had it I just wanted it to go away.
Anyway, my supportive family and a good doctor who really wanted to me get well again started his work, Im now on antidepressants which I must say have helped me immensley and I now want to take care of myself and get on top of this thing, Im even starting on the pump at the end of the month which initially totally ruled out.
So yep it happens to alot of us, its just a natural emotion when something like this comes along, but with the right help and support you will get on top of it too, keep yr chin up and best wishes to you.
Amen bsc!
Yeah, how could you NOT be depressed such a life changing experience - and its permanent too! I am very wary of those people I meet who say they have never been depressed ever in their lives (diabetic or not) - I know a few people like that - I tell them they are lying. 
I think they are either in denial or they don’t really have the right definition of what depression is and they probably think it is only when you need to be hosptialized/medicated for it. Depression can be brought about my big problems or changes in your life and it isn’t always something you need to medicated for (I think they just don’t want to admit they are capable of being depressed because they see it as a weakness or something).
I agree with other posters - the first year is definately the hardest. I am just a little over a year (boy it went by quick) but that year SO sucked. I still look back on it and wonder how I got through it - the period after diagnosis is the worst - than I had up and downs after that and than you start adjusting more and more.
Thank you so much you guys! I couldn’t really tell if what I was feeling was depression, so I started seeing a counselor a couple of months ago and it seems to help. I don’t think diabetes is what caused the depression, but it sure has added to it. I didn’t really feel relieved when I was diagnosed, but I see your point Natalie, acidrock, and Latvian Chick. I cant imagine being sick for a long time like that. I started losing weight probably 2 months before I was diagnosed, but it was like 2 or 3 pounds a week.I also didnt have that much to lose, because when I was diagnosed I was like 5’4" weighing 84 pounds. Then, the weight loss got more rapid, and we knew something was wrong. One day I was absent from school, because I couldn’t even carry my backpack (backpacks these days are pretty heavy, even without being a weak person). Well, my whole diagnosis story is way longer, and dont really feel like typing all that much right now. Thanks everyone for their input, and anyone else who wants to add… Feel Free to do so!!! Good luck on the pump Natalie! I think I will be getting one this Summer. I am thinking about getting the Animas. You?