Why would you not have at least some signs of Depression being a diabetic? I mean come on its a life altering illness that we have to live with the rest of our life- and quite frankly it pi@@es me off! I am a type one, a virus attacked my pancreas its not like I was sitting home gorging myself on 2 pints of Ben and Jerry’s every day eating cake for breakfast, cookies for lunch and nothing but candy for dinner!!! I had no choice what so ever in me getting this disease, if I was overweigh and consuming extreme amounts of sugars then ya it was going to come…but I wasn’t any worse then anyone else my age and life decided to make it a lot harder.
I’ve been depressed for most of my life, but was diagnosed with diabetes (type 1 or type 2 still pending) 5 months ago. I was taking Lexapro at the time (had been in counselling the previous year), and was also put cortisone the week before to deal with my chronic allergies. I believe that this medication did a lot to trigger it. Oddly enough, I’m feeling so much better since I was diagnosed. It is difficult and I do get frustrated with all the care, but on the other hand I’m eating regularly and have so much more energy that I’m much more productive, and that feels really good.
I have had Type 1 for 40 years this past April. In March 2006 I was admitted to the hospital with severe major depressive disorder, caused in part by diabetes. I had lived for 8 - 10 months, prior to the depression diagnosis, in hell. I was the cause of everything bad, nobody liked me, I would read a paragraph of a story and then have to re-read it because I didn’t remember what I read, I slept 2 - 3 hours per night, I believed that I was the worst person in the world and shouldn’t be living.
I lived for that time on the very edge of suicide, literally moments away from my death, with the tools in my hands … because life hurt so much.
I spent months in therapy, getting past the suicide thoughts. I now live on anti-depressants (as well as insulin) and have to use a lot of positive self talk but I am now doing well. Unfortunately anti-depressants have the effect of keeping you in a zombie-like state where nothing ever makes you really happy but on the other hand, I never get really sad either. But, it’s far better than being dead.
If anybody has any questions please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Peace and light,
George
Dear Manny.
Another of these chicken and egg problems that who knows what is the cause and what is the effect. As a former control engineer I know it is sometimes impossible to identify relationships in a closed loop system. The 2 things certainly are related.
This explains a LOT!!
Dear Mattman.
Well said.
Its like the hot dog commercial: " More people eat them because they are fresher and they are fresher because more people eat them.
What is unfair is that we have both at the same time. And as you point out the negative synergy is many orders of magnitude worst than any one of the diseases at a given time.
Maybe God will compensate and give us a better seat in heaven. Or even better a cure in the near future for both depression and diabetes.
Dear Sweetpotater.
This is the essence of control, one of the two pre-conditions is to be able to measure a variable and numerical values are much better than subjective ones. 10,000 years ago when we had Shamans and no meters the subjective measurement would have been considered good enough by both patient and Doctor. Now everybody including ourselves think we are crazy when subjectively we do not feel right.
Dear Judith.
In the 1800’s when Tuberculosis was more popular than diabetes it was considered chique to cough up some blood. And all the musicians, writers and painters produced some great stuff. They seemed to live in a state of perpetual melancholy. Go for it, great for an artist.
I have great compasion for anyone suffering from depression, not to mention diabetes. I’ve certainly had my share of depression as a chronic pain patient for what is soon to be 22 years. It can cause terrible depression as it is such a life changing thing. The diabetes came later. I quit smoking in 2003 which caused some weight gain and my BG went to the 500’s. So, I quit smoking for my health and got diabetes! Bad joke on me but lot’s of people have worse problems. Anyway, with the pain and the diabetes both causing possible depression, I have had some experience in the past with the antidepressants. Please know there are lot’s of types of those meds out there and Mattman, if you feel like a zombie, there are other meds that might possibly be a better solution. I’d suggest speaking to your doc about that. I know at one time I was on Zoloft and had that same static feeling of not happy or sad and the next time I needed a med for depression, I went on Celexa which works a bit differently and I got a much better result. A more natural feeling of well-being and not a high or low thing or zombie thing. Just a suggestion to check out other meds with your doctor and maybe you could be feeling better. May God bless all of you who suffer from the awful problem of depression. Right now, I’m not on a med for that but I never know what’s around the corner. The pain thing kind of “rewires” your neurons and depression can be an ongoing problem at anytime. As for the diabetes, I’m finding there are so many things my BG can cause. I’m amazed each day. Mine has been high for weeks and there does not have to be any reason for the highs or lows with me. It just happens. That alone is enough to cause depression. I just keep trying to get my BG down but it’s real stubborn right now. Wish I could find a reason why.
That’s better for you as a businessman anyway… it protects your personal assets. 
Tomorrow, Tuesday, there will be a chat about diabetes and depression with Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport, a social worker and psychologist specializing in diabetes for twenty-eight years:
http://tudiabetes.com/events/diabetes-and-depression-chat
Thanks for the info. will check it out!!!
Manny - I did a vlog a few months back on this very subject. It’s not for everyone because it can be harsh.
http://bloggingdiabetes.com/2009/02/depression-and-diabetes/
I think diabetes and its difficulties cause depression. I know I feel it often.
Interesting study Manny and it does mention that cortisol increases insulin resistance. And of course once you get diabetes you will be even more depressed. One of these nasty feedback loops.
Dear Tony, Thanks for the vlog.
I did not think your video was overly depressing. You could have mentioned gangrened feet, the constant feeling of exhaustion is the one I find very dificult to handle. There is aslo the fact that depression makes insulin resistance a lot worst so some are caught in this vicious feedback loop. I wonder if somehow we can become unrealistically optimistic if would help our control of the disease.
I actually remember speaking to a psychiatrist who said that there was a particular antidepressant (don’t recall which) that would cause diabetes, but that that was only for use when all else failed. This guy specialized in the really, really bad depression cases, and seemed to know what he was talking about.
I Think it’s just the opposite poeple with diabetes will have depression. I know first hand about I go through periods of depression and I hate it my wif e don’t understand or what can she do to help me through it. My question to you is what can we do about it what if medication doesn’t help? I know some times whae I get depressed anything little thing you say or do I get angry and I don’t like my self when that happens.
I have been clinically depressed in the past (I’m a Type 1) and therapy and Zoloff and a husband who hung in there as well as changed some of his expectations of me as a person, all helped. I was able to very slowly wean myself off the Zoloff.
I think it’s interesting that the spiritual aspect of handling depression hasn’t been mentioned much. I keep a copy of the Serenity Prayer on my health notebook–it helps me through the bad days. Lately I have been doing much better, with tighter blood sugar control and more exercise. Exercise really helps my energy level and my mental health. I’ve found that a walk every other day is the absolute minimum to keep my outlook positive.
I am not suggesting in any way that prayer, exercise, or better blood sugar levels would negate the need for medication. I think when you’re in the bottom of that pit of depression, medication can be the tool that lifts you up and enables you to make other positive changes instead of just feeling helpless and overwhelmed. And we all know that the Big D can make even the most optimistic person feel helpless and overwhelmed on days that other things aren’t going well either.
My response to a study that shows that diabetics are more likely to be depressed: Well, DUH! It’s a lifelong chronic condition that requires moment-by-moment awareness by the patient in order to properly manage it.
I try, though, to remind myself that it is a miracle that I am alive (my uncle died from it before insulin use was widespread). And to enjoy the pleasure of the moments in life. And to be grateful for what I do have, instead of feeling jealous of those who have more. And the humor on this web site is also another great way to help with coping!
Just a word to all of our diabetics here at tudiabetes: You ALL are heroes every day in a way that the non-diabetics will NEVER understand. Wimps would not survive even a day with the big D!!!
Dear Kerry.
Very inspiring words and we diabetics can really savour them. Not like the crap you read in Reader’s Digest. Thanks