Diabetes and Depression

Treatment
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I can completely understand an increase in depression with diabetes, whether it be type 1 or type 2.

As a mother of a type 1, 16 year old, I can tell you that diabetes affects the entire family. I have spent the last 6 years concerned about my son’s future. I am fortunate in that my son is very athletic and takes great pains to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible.

Last summer David had a test that is done after 5 years of a type 1 diagnosis to measure the amount of protein that spills into one’s urine. The test result was very bad and added to that, my son’s blood pressure results for the past twelve months have all been elevated. We had just lost my 68 year old Dad to a stroke months before, so with our family history of stroke (my Dad), heart attack (my Grandfather at a very young age) and now this issue with protein, our endocrinologist discussed introducing an ACE inhibitor within the next few weeks if a couple of overnight urine collections produced similar results. It turns out that the next two urine collections produced results that could not have been better, so we have not had to add an ACE inhibitor to the daily regime, but when we left the initial appointment my son was plain and simply MAD. He felt cheated. He felt that his efforts at control had been wasted.

As a ten year old he took his diabetes diagnosis in stride. I think he was grateful to find a resolution to why his life was suddenly turning upside down without explanation and as long as he was not going to die… right now… he was able to cope. The training for a 10 year old is pretty intense. After our week of diabetes education, my son would not go to sleep alone for close to a year. Someone had to lie down with him. He was afraid after hearing the horror stories of seizures and so on, to go to sleep, at night. He was worried that if he went to sleep, he might never wake up. It literally broke my heart and yet his worries were not trivial. The Mom of a friend of his lost her Dad to a diabetic coma from an overnight low.

Since then I have heard about a mother of a type 1 diabetic taking insulin herself when she could no longer cope, she died following a prolonged, self induced coma. I have a friend who lost a type 1 diabetic nephew in his early 20’s. He was abusing alcohol. She told me her nephew had been very depressed and alcohol and diabetes just don’t mix. At JDRF, a couple sat at a volunteer table beside me. They were volunteering to honor the memory of a young doctor/family friend/diabetic who had died in a diabetic coma. They believe that diabetes related depresssion was the fault of his death.

The stories of sadness, complications, battles lost, are endless. The cost of diabetes is overwhelming. We will of course help our son financially if his workplace when he gets to that stage of his life, does not have group insurance, but I worry about that now… each and every time that I send in a health claim for $1,0000 or more of supplies. I can’t imagine starting my working life with that kind of fixed expenditure before you can eat, before you are housed, before you can afford to budget earnings for anything else in your life.

We are at the stage in our lives where a 16 year old heads to bed an hour or two, later than, Mom. If David is not comfortable with his bedtime reading and whether or not he’ll be OK overnight, he wakes me to set an alarm. Usually 3 or 4 nights a week he will wake me between 10 and 11 and ask that I set an alarm to check on him around 1:00. Some nights he is fine. Some nights he is very high. Some nights his BG is low and I wake him to drink a juice while I turn the basal on his pump off for an hour. It is the inconsistency that kills you. You never know what to expect from one day to the next and I find myself, dead tired, at times. If it gets to me… it is no wonder that it gets to those who deal with diabetes first hand, versus second hand. I live with diabetes as a concerned parent but I don’t LIVE IT… day in… day out… test after test.

I try to get up every morning with a smile on my face and belief that my son will have the strength to fight this disease… to beat it down and not let it beat him down… to control it… conquer it… and live his life to its fullest.

Cheryl

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Kerry, Good reply! I handle my feelings about diabetes with prayer too. The Serenity Prayer and a song based on Psalm 23, “Shepherd Me, O God” (a communion hymn) got me through surgery and post op, and both continue to help with my diabetes especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed or alone. As you may know, the song starts: “Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears…”

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First of all, I have only been a diabetic (T2) since March of 2005. My hat is off to all you long-time diabetics.

I went on MDI’s Nov of 2007. I tried to avoid it for along time, but all my strict eating and 6-7 days a week of exercise could not prevent the inevitable. I’ve been on Lantus and Novolog ever since. I had a1c’s in the low to mid 6’s most of this time.

This last winter though put me in a spot that I’ve never experienced before. I had a lot of dark days pre-DX back in the latter part of 2004 and early part of 2005, but nothing close to what happened this winter. I got out of bed every day and went to work, did the minimum there (didn’t care if I lost my 29 year job either), did the minimum at home. When I came home from work, I laid down until we ate dinner. Sleep was ( and still is) the only place where I wasn’t diabetic. The only place I didn’t have to workout etc. I’m surprised my wife didn’t literally beat the crap right out of me. I never fell into the drinking or drug abyss.

I wondered if I had just burned myself out in the past three years trying so hard to be perfect - all the time. I hit a wall last December and decided that I didn’t need to go to the gym every day. I started going every other day, then it fell apart from there. I bet from Jan to now, I’ve been to the gym maybe 10 times. I rehired my trainer in March thinking if I paid for sessions, I would be compelled to go. Yeah, that lasted 3 sessions (still have 12 sessions in that bank).

My NP did put me on Cymbalta during this time. I guess it helps. Doesn’t make me ‘happy’, but I guess it doesn’t do that (I call them Happy Pills). The Cymbalta can’t make you care, as I have found out.

My a1c at my Feb Endo visit was 7.2. I was surprised it was that low. Back in April of 2004, I was close to 300 pounds. By the time I was DX’s in March of 2005, I was 180. I maintained that weight until I went on MDI’s. Because I felt I could just shoot more, I ate more. I’m now approaching 230. I’ve gone from size 40 jeans, down to 33’s (and those bitches are hard to find) and am now in 36’s. Of course I’ve thrown out all my previous sizes so I have to keep rebuying clothes in sizes I’ve been in before.

Thankfully, I have a good job and great insurance. I don’t have $$ worries to completely mess with my mind. I have mild-moderate neuropathy in my feet. Still have good feeling in both feet. Just the slightest Retinopathy in my right eye. The ED bothered me in the beginning, but now it’s like - so what. I know I am fortunate. I keep telling mysellf that.

The arrival of Spring and a long weekend to Florida (great idea from my wife) seems to have helped.
I started walking a couple miles a day in the past couple of weeks. I don’t go every day, but weather permitting, I try to get out there. I’m also trying to cut back on my eating and making a lame attempt at eating a pre-MDI diet. I also got my bike out today, which felt great.

I still feel like I’m on the edge though. I feel great that I seem to be making strides towards coming out of the funk. I never really felt like I didn’t want to be around. I know I want to keep all my limbs and my eyes. I think part of the trouble, at least for me, is that I don’t have blood gushing out of me or have a limb dragging on the ground at an odd angle. The fact that nothing is really ‘visible’ sometimes masks what is going on inside with this insedious disease.

Here’s hoping for sunny days, mild winds…and a nice bike trail - or whatever your trail is.

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Dear Corey.

I can really sympathize. It is like Marechal Foch said in the first war. Boche is bad. Mud is bad. but Boche and mud, ahhh. The same I live much closer to the artic circle in our corner of siberia called Calgary. Diabetes is bad and winter is bad and the combo is a deadly synergy. Next winter pop some vitamin D most of us living in siberia definitely need it.

Forget the psycho drugs( the only ones I found of some use is zopiclone and diazapam, all the rest extremely harmful) , they dont really work and you gain weight which is a disaster in diabetes. Bicycling there is something that used make me happy.

One of the problems with diabetes is that there is no short term payoff for keeping the BG in the normal range. Actually I "feel " better when it is around 200 I don’t leave it there of course. still have a vivid picture in my mind of my brother’s feet rotting off with diabetically induced gangrene. His old folks home considered 200 fine…

Weight loss has got me very depressed. Gained another 5 lb in 2 weks because of reduced activity due to cataract operation in both eyes. Went to the gym and did pump some iron. You can loose the same amount of muscle in 2 weeks as it takes 2 months to build up.

That is a thought. I can take dog and go bicycling into the mountains. Spectacular scenery about 40 miles from home.

Try fly fishing it is a bit like sleep you are too busy to think about diabetes.

Chin up for now it is summer and we have survived another winter time to enjoy.

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Dear Cheryl.

I can really sympathize since our son was severely injured in a car crash. so I can see clearly that him having diabetes would be much much harder than having the disease yourself. It is of capital importance that you support him as much as you can. I wonder if you can get a trained dog to wake him up when he goes low. Mine sleeps with me and mostly I end up patting him when he has a nightmare. But once he woke me up when I was going low. In my case I am very insulin resistant so the even is not very spectacular compared to some one insulin sensitive.

Best of luck.

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Corey & Anthony & everyone, Wishing you sunny days, mild winds…and a nice bike trail–or what ever your trail is…everyday. Best regards, Lucy .

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Cheryl I’ve lived with T1 for a lifetime and besides prayer what has gotten me through all these years. Is to know that it could be worse. That has been my anthem since I was a child. Although I’m the one who lives with this disease I can only imagine how my mother felt when I was dxed. Technology and education will help to lengthen your son’s life, try to think positive.

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Thanks Anthony for the words of encouragement. Appreciate it very much.

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Thank you Lucile. :slight_smile:

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I have not been a diabetic long, only a couple of months, but I definltly feel you. I have been struggling with severe depression since I was 10 and I had just gotten control of it when I was diagnosed. It defineltey brought the depression back, but I am doing suprislingly well for some one with my history. Mmy pets really help me. In fact my ccat is sitting on my arms right now, making it vrey hard to typei this! hayng in their everyone!

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I was telling a friend of mine that I refused to go see the movie “Precious” because it was similiar to my upbringing. I either knew people that had families with a brutal mother like the one in the film or was familiar with rumours around the neighborhood. Rumors are rumors but this is not what you want to hear as a pre teen or a teenager. My mother was brutal like the mother in the movie. Life as a kid for the most part was very depressing. It is interesting that I developed type 2 diabetes later. My mother has Type 2 diabetes too. She is my role model of what not to be like because her body is completely damaged in everyway by diabetes and neglect. She is the reason why I am reaching out and trying to find positive diabetic images.

Why isn’t this a more well know fact?

I think families and single mothers who think it is cool to expose their kids to a revolving door of men and various forms of hostility and violence should know they are setting up their children for medical problems in the future. Is this the act of a caring mother or parents. children are very perceptive to what is happening in the family dynamics even if the parents or the mother is in denial of their situation. Especially in minority families we are taught to keep things hiden and kept in the family good or bad. Sometimes this only serves to damage a kid when it is at this stage in life things can be change easier. I am having problems now with my mother because she thinks she was so wonderful. I have the mental scares to prove she wasn’t…

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I wonder how much of this depression is induced by the medicines that type 2 diabetics are put on. I had never felt depression until I was put on Januvia. I read the fine print and noticed that depression is a side effect of the medicine. When I was on insulin I never really felt depressed. I was put on a cocktail of meds and then I started to feel it. I stopped Januvia and the depression started to get better. So my question is how much is depression related to the medicine

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Christalyn I appluade you for inventing and re-inventing yourself. As a friend once told me we all have a story and at times we have to tell it. Although your D could have been stress induced but considering your family history it might have happened later in life.

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Betty. you are one smart lady. I think your reply was great.

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Jon, I’m not that smart but experienced. Living 50 years with D with very little education about the disease caused me to have those experiences I write about…but thanks.

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I’ve have depression since childhood… the long term kind, and the seasonal kind… and severe clinical depression. The severe clinical depression led to the loss of my job, and shortly thereafter, I developed diabetes. My dad was the same way…

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i have suffered with depression most all of my life, i was thrown out of the house 2 weeks before my sixteenth b’day but was glad to leave after sixteen years of physical and emotional abuse.

i am still having to deal with depression with my D and having to take care of my 84 year old mother who is also a T1 day after day. it really gets me down most days i jsut want to cry. mom almost died 7 years agoi she went into renial failure from her D she has never took very good care of her D she and my step-father who was also had D would eat 3 or 4 glazed donuts and then take extra insulin to correct, they did this once to oftena nd his BS went to low and he collasped and the paramedics had to come and give him glucanan but it weakend his heart and two months later he dropped dead of a heart attack.

i have been depressed all this week no money, no job, no way to pay my bills or buy my diabetic supplied and mom has been sick the last few days, i cried yesterday and it helped some but i still feeel like crap.

Sweet Blood

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I know this post is really old but I find that there is a great correlation between diabetes and depression. Logically it makes sense…if you are newly diagnosed you are empowered with this new task of making sure your life isn’t cut short by this anvil that just fell on you. So many thoughts so many new life changes…not to mention the stigma that is attached of being a diabetic. I have faced it first hand…HELL i am still facing it after 5 years but in the end I know that no matter how many times i fall of the wagon I must hop back on. URGH!

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Pls know that we as a community of diabetics are here to help you through the rough times. Don’t be afraid to post and email your feelings or thoughts when you are having a hard time. We all have gone through this…

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Yes i do experience depression especially when my sugars starting sliding downwards!!! These days that is how i detect that i am about to hit Low. I am a T1 D. the first symptom of hypo i experience is negative thoughts.