i was dx w/ schizophrenia when i was finishing high school. then i was dx w/ D.
i take very strong anti psychotics. it took me years to find the right fit, b/c typically this type of med raises BG and causes insulin resistance. it was a very frustrating situation. now i take a wonderful anti-psychotic called CLOZERIL. it is specifically used just for schizophrenia, despite some docs find it helps other problems.
just wondering if others w/ mental disorders and having to take meds has effected their BGs
and how they cope w/ mental disorders and D.
I’m diagnosed with ADHD and high functioning autism, however it has been many years since I have been on and medications for those conditions.
I have heard from others in your situation and they have the same concerns. certain medications like seroquel and geodon can spike bgs and even have some scientific evidence that those types of meds can cause diabetes.
I hope I was some help although it is probably useless ramblings
best wishes to you
thank you so much for responding. schizophrenia is very challenging. symptoms come and go. i need to change my med dosages from time to time, just trying to keep up so that life outside a hospital is more manageable.
and, for your info, you did not ramble; just helped me feel not alone.
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I’m glad I was able to share my experience. it is a huge stigma to have diabetes and even a large stigma to be diagnosed with a mental illness. stereotypes and misconceptions are rampant. they need to experience it in order to understand.
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I realize being bipolar 1, which I am, isn’t related to diabetes, but the med I take to treat it does effect my diabetes profoundly. I take Abilify, which works wonderfully, but my bg’s have been lousy & I went from an A1c of 6.4 to 9.1 in a year. It’s been very frustrating. I work closely with my endo to get the bg’s under control to no avail. Any other drug I get put on to replace the Abilify would do the same thing, so I haven’t changed a thing. Just shows… Once I get a handle on one thing my diabetes goes to hell. I haven’t lost the fight in me though. I haven’t burned out yet, although I’ve come close. I won’t give up.
what exactly have you been doing to get your bg’s back down? 9.1 is scary-high. been there years ago and the effects are quite awful. Your profile says you use insulin, so I am wondering why you can’t get your bg’s down. I have always found it just about impossible to get my bg’s under 200 when I am given a steroid injection, or worse yet, given a course of prednisone. I finally had to stop letting doctors Rx the pills, no matter what the reason for taking them is. I’d rather live with the problems they think the pills will fix (they don’t usually work anyway), rather than deal with the sky-high bg’s. I know that’s not always an option (to say “no” to certain meds, as they may be necessary in some circumstances). If Abilify does to you what steroids do to me, I can see what a difficult issue that would be for you!
Psychiatric meds tend to elevate BGs. I have not been on them for many years and have not been on them since D dx.
i was on Abilify and had a terrible time with it. i have found for bi-polar Lamictal (300mg) works best for me. it has had NO effect at all on my A1c, nor have i gained or lost any weight on it. in fact, i have had NO side effects at all from it and it REALLY helps tremendously.
good luck to you. its another hard disease to deal w/ particularly b/c all the anti-psychotics elevate BGs. i take a strong anti-psychotic for my schizophrenia called Clozapine, and its the only one i have ever taken that doesn’t raise my BGs or effect my A1c level.
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I appreciate the comments. I’ll talk to my psychiatrist next time I see him about Lamictal. The Abilify has worked beautifully except for the sugars. I have been having my pump downloaded every 2 weeks & adjustments get made based on the pattens. I have the most trouble in the morning. I don’t take very much fast acting insulin. In total I take about 25u per day. I’m very sensitive to changes. It’s a real balancing act. Again, thank you all for the comments & suggestions.
BTW, another medication that worked very well for me is called Seraquil. it didn’t raise my BGs at all.
i have a lot of friends who find it very helpful. you might want to bring that up with your doctor as well.
feel free to contact me anytime. i know how frustrating the whole mess can be. a little bit of knowledge and experimentation goes a long way.
PS: have you considered getting CGM to track your trends in BGs? it has been a wonderful tool for me so that i can get relatively stable basal rates while on my meds.
At this moment my insurance plan is completely useless. I can’t get any doctor or clinic to accept my insurance.
Part of the reason is because the insurance reimburses very little.
are you on medicare? they pay almost nothing for my psychiatric MDs, whereas they cover a decent amount for my PCP, Endo, and anything related to a hospital aside from staying IN a hospital.
no I’m not on Medicare, however I know Medicare reimburses better than my group insurance plan that is administered by a third party administrator. it’s supposed to use cignas networks, however I found that it only reimburses at 85% of cignas fee schedule.
thats basically what Medicare does. but they only pay 80% of their fee schedule which is ridiculously low. the co-pays are insane when my supplemental is not taken.
I really don’t go to the doctor anymore. I’ve fought and pleaded with various doctors and clinics for weeks and gotten nowhere.
many excuses by the providers office and even been hung up on.
I’m going to not renew my current contract with the company and with only my fiancee’s income we’ll qualify for Medicaid.
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Thank you. I’ll also mention the Seraquil. I am on Medicare so no CGM for now. bummer…
I appreciate the help. I will message you. Thanks. I didn’t know where to go with all this that’s been going on over the past year. It doesn’t seem like it’ll end even though I know it will. I just want to get off the roller coaster bg readings. I think I see my psych next month. I’ll let you know how that goes.
everyone wants to get off the roller coaster readings. my endo recently lowered my basal rates; i have no idea why, b/c i was doing really well. he wanted me to raise my boluses instead. now i have my pump up to 102% basal and i am totally confused about my new insulin to carb ratio. its a juggling act for me and i am really pissed off at him. i see him tomorrow and i will give him “a piece of my mind.” i just did a correction as my BGs went up post breakfast to 185. i hate this disease so much.
be in touch.
Medicaid is great. prescriptions are free (at least they were when i was on it. or they were $1 co-pay which you were allowed to decline. i don’t know if they cover pumps or CGMs though.
(btw, this thread is for people who also have mental disorders; are you relating your experiences to the trouble you are having with your finances/insurance problems?) i’m confused, Pseudoscience.
please elaborate.
Daisy Mae
it’s mainly insurance issues. her insurance is a big joke.
I’m thinking about going to see a psychiatrist when I get on Medicaid.
I was on Medicaid before and you are correct, it’s great. yes, we won’t have my income, but I’m looking forward to being a stay at home dad and raising my almost 5 month old baby daughter.
there are plenty of hospitals/psych centers which take medicaid and are very very good. particularly b/c they have a lot of young doctors who are more up-to-date on treatments. so many people find that the older MDs are more knowledgable/reliable, but i think that there is so much new info out there that older MDs are not versed in. but, it basically boils down to picking your poison….no pun intended. how soon will you be applying for medicaid? (asap?)