Trying to relieve stress anxiety depression & help diabetes vitamin/mineral zapping

Type 1 and LADA
1

I was on Effexor for years and it helped me soooo much.

I decided to wean off of it back in April and ever since my anxiety/stress has been huge and I miss it, but it caused 20-25 weight gain and other metabolism issues, but now that I am off of it I realize how much it helped my depression/anxiety.

I have lost about 20 lbs since being off of it, but man I am miserable.

I have reached out on a lot of diabetic boards and some swear by supplements/vitamins as helping this issue.

I have tried 5HTP and it gave me gastric issues and no help with my anxiety.

I have tried another herb and I had some freakish nightmares

http://globalnutritionalcenter.com/prod226.aspx

I went to my internist and she gave me Pristiq and it made me sooo sick, so now she gave me Lepraxo, which I have read also causes tremendous weight gain so I have a month worth of samples but afraid to start it up.

I have talked to other diabetics and they seem to feel that added dosages of vitamins, increased Vit C, Magnesium, B complex, fish oil along with some Valerian might help me.

I have been dealing with this since December kind of on my own, so now I am turning to you. Out of these two vitamin websites which would you buy, or if you have any other suggestions that have worked well for you, please let me know.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=SO-1299&st=ps&source=YI&campaign=VitaminShoppe&gcid=C19283x009&keyword=SO-1299

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=CL-1945

2

HI Karen, I know that you can take a simple B complex without to much concern because it is water soluble but be careful of high doses with anything having D.E.A. or K. This are not water soluble and can build in the blood stream.

I know some people are helped with melatonin supplements but I don’t know why. I know that lower melatonin levels can interrupt good sleep patterns which of course causes stress and aids depression so that is the only thing I can think of.

Here is a piece of information on Valerian from Valerian wiki

"Because of valerian’s historical use as a sedative, anti-convulsant, migraine treatment and pain reliever, most basic science research has been directed at the interaction of valerian constituents with the GABA neurotransmitter receptor system. These studies remain inconclusive and all require independent replication. The mechanism of action of valerian in general, as a mild sedative in particular, remains unknown. Valerian extracts appear to have some affinity for the GABAA (benzodiazepine) receptor.[2][3]

Valerian also contains isovaltrate, which has been shown to be an agonist for adenosine A1 receptor sites."

Here is the site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerian_(herb) it has some good information along with some warnings

I hope this helps you
Be well and be loved

3

Lexapro made me fat, killed my sex drive, caused fatigue, impotence, and prevented me from reaching orgasm during sex (when I could work up the mood to have sex). I used it in the summer of 2005, through the end of that same year when I decided to stop due to the side effects. I expected other SSRI medications would have done similar things, so I swore off of them. It did work for the time I was on it. It stopped my suicidal ideations and other self-destructive patterns.

I do not believe vitamins can successfully treat clinical depression. I have tried so many myself, perhaps not exactly in the combinations you are but nevertheless I lack confidence in their efficacy.

The only thing that helped me was a lot of very strenuous exercise (weightlifting worked a hell of a lot better than running), and twice-monthly therapy sessions. I know therapy is just a form of conversation, but it was enough in my instance. I am sure you have heard both of these suggestions before and I don’t know if they would be practical or effective for you.

I hope this isn’t getting too personal, but how is your social network, do you have a good group of friends you can talk to about how diabetes and other life issues wear on you?

4

I talk a bit about my diabetes with people at work, but they just think of it as testing and bolusing, they truly don’t get the mind boggling and physical effects. I work with my best friend and she tries, but no one truly gets diabetes. If sweets are brought in they say fire up your pump and I just want to scream. I have a large family and I hang out mostly with my sister and my two nieces on the weekend, my nieces are such fun 3 and 1.5, my lil sis on the other hand is a trip and my sister said about lows that I should be able to handle the lows, but I try to tell her they actually make me weepy and very emotional, it is not my reaction to the low, the low causes it and she just shook her head.

My other issue right now is in December my 80 year old parents became very ill with the dreaded flu/cold that was going around to the point where they could not function for weeks and then my husband took a job in CA for 6 months at the same time, where he is only home every other weekend and I could not cope with it all. My parents are better, though my dad is having huge memory issues, but he now can move around a bit, and my mother is a workhorse, but I am not coping well with the age process for them and they live an hour a way, and my siblings don’t pitch in unless I direct them. So my parents are better, I am trying to cope with hubby gone, but I am still not in a good place.

I appreciate you sharing so much of what happened on the Lexapro, sounds similar to the Effexor, so I am not sure I will use it.

I guess my friends are my family and husband and a few at work, but I don’t socialize much as my anxiety has always been an issue. Long story but I kind of saved a baby locked in a house in the neighborhood, 911, on one of my nightly walks, hooked up with another lovely neighbor after the event, and then when she tried to meet up later and join me in my walks, I did everything to avoid her, as I did not want to have to slow down, to mess up my carb feed for my walk, and she called and emailed me several times. I have turned down many invitations to socialize, I say yes and then back down at the end, and my sister gets so confused cause she says when I am in a large group I am very social and I love to talk, but it is a struggle and for years I have been told to go to counseling, but it kind of seems like my issues are not large enough.

I try to exercise daily and I feel better, but it is short lived.

OMG I said way too much and now it seems so lame, but I am leaving it as Kathy on this board asked how I was doing as well, so hi Kathy.

Thanks for sharing and letting me vent.

5

You’re not alone, Karen. I have to really try very hard to push myself into socializing with other people, but I do just fine once I’m out there. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy socializing or having friends, but that I feel so much more comfortable simply on my own and by comfortable, I mean less anxious. Less anxious because I am not worrying about how other people might be perceiving me.

There are not many Type 1s out there and of course, most of us don’t carry a sign or other indicator that we are a Type 1. There is no pink ribbon. There is no way to identify other people we meet out there that might share the unique emotional burden Type 1 brings, and we certainly do not want to impose our struggle on others who might think us weak, whiny, defective, all of the above, or worse. I have long believed that Type 1s need to connect with other Type 1s on an emotional level. It is not unique to the Type 1 population. Humans simply enjoy and benefit from helping and sharing with others who can most closely identify with the biggest issues in their lives.

This can lead to a profound sense of isolation and I believe, depression. Type 1 diabetes is a proven, significant risk factor for depression and you and I have both lived it firsthand. And we have both seen that there is no simple solution, and I can tell you that while certain things alleviate it temporarily for me, like exercise, there is nothing that is a permanent cure and nothing that brings a consistent abatement of symptoms of depression.

Couple that with your husband leaving for months and your parents becoming less able to emotionally support you (and in turn needing more of that from you than ever before) and you have quite a difficult situation on your hands. Especially when your meter reads 290.

I’m sorry I don’t have answers for you. But trust me when I say I understand your struggle and I hope that brings you just a little comfort. I just wish connecting in the virtual world was as meaningful and effective as in the real one. For what it is worth, I and I am sure many others are here willing to support you without any judgment whatsoever.

6

Dear Karen,
I have found for me a multi viatmin works real good and dosnt cause weight gain, but I exersise also. Being a person who has a depression problem I have got to watch what I do and where I go and the people I hang around. It is hard for me to share about my diabieties, but it is even harder to share about my depressing, the two seem to go toether. I have been given a mood stablizer by my Dr. and its seems to help.

7

You so get it and yes it brought comfort to have you understand dead on.

When I was growing up with this disease I was on one shot and then two a day for 35 years and that just seemed easier and testing my bgs, never, as that did not exist.

I think with tighter control, and more information (bgs) comes more anxiety and depression as lows are more frequent.

Thanks so much for making me feel not so alone in my thought process.

8

Thank you James for your response, what is the mood stabilizer your MD prescribed?

9

Hey there. There are so many antidepressants out there that I would try one until I found some relief.
What I believe is based on my experience. Years ago, with a therapist’s help and without antidepressants, I learned to do some things, behavioral things we know we must do. Examples: meet w/ a friend, plan some fun activity, take at least 15 min. for ourselves, exercise, etc. However, it only made me feel less bad when I did them. With antidepressants, doing the behavioral things I knew I should actually made a significant difference. I felt good after doing them. So it reinforces the positive behavioral changes.
I personally think that mood regulation and blood sugar regulation are interconnected in some way. I take insulin, and it’s made me gain weight. Well, I’m more curvy now. I say, forget about weight gain and feel better. When you feel better, it’s easier to see and act on other options. I say, love the weight you are. God didn’t make junk. Stay away from beauty magazines, for they only make you feel ugly.
Living consciously is a challenge, and diabetes demands that you live consciously (or else). It is a daily thing, or hourly thing, and I’m open to whatever works. I let “whatever gives me energy” be my guide instead of rules and philosophy.
Depression can be a “look here” sign. I knew a depressed woman whose husband was gay, but closeted. They had sex once a year, or twice, in a good year. I think the depression was trying to tell her that the situation wasn’t working for her, but she was afraid to look at it. Denial is a powerful thing.
The book “Choice Theory” is really eye opening. I can act to improve whatever lousy situation I’m in. Often I’d rather numb out and not face it, but facts is facts. When I look back, I think most of my worst times have been in trying to deny the situation (e.g., my marriage is awful). But that’s just me.

10

I don’t know about you, but I feel down w/ higher bg levels, great at 90- 120, and starting to get hyper-focused and tense and irritable when lower than that. The ironic thing is that self-care is easy when I feel good and so much harder when I’m “tired”. If I choose to look at it positively, it is a great feedback mechanism to help me. If I’m blue, I can check my bg level and shoot or exercise accordingly. (Would that I always acted accordingly.)
Having a loved one around who can give additional feedback–“Have you checked your blood sugar lately?”—is a wonderful thing. I wonder if a border could give you some additional rent money and some companionship, too.
I find, we expect too much of ourselves…especially “good” kids with aging parents (and possibly teens, too.) Add a “career” to the mix and forgettabout it. I’ve decided that diabetes really takes about 2 hours a day, average, so that means letting go of 2 hours of other stuff.
Much love to you,
Elaine

11

I am most interested in this mood stabilizer. The antidepressant and stimulant combination isn’t working great for me.

12

Thank you Elaine for taking the time to post. The Effexor helped me so much, but the weight gain of 20 lbs, and other issues, not sure are healthy either, but I did not obcess about things and have the constant anxiety that I do now. I still have avoided the Lexapro samples I have, because I am positive it will have the same effect and not positive it will effect my mood same as the Effexor. I am just hanging on until hubby returns home in June, to see if things get better.

I understand and try to do things that I know are good for me, such as eating right and exercise and the feeling good is short lived. I truly know the Effexor helped me bigtime. I too have many uncontrollable emotions tied into where my bgs level is at. I get very angry when I am high, and very weepy when I am low.

Still in debate mode with all of it.

13

Of course you are! For me, it’s always a matter of adjusting, adjusting…life situations, insulin levels, injection sites, timing, social support, work hours, exercise…nah, I really don’t exercise formally, but even walking around more affects my bg levels. I don’t think there is ever a “perfect” choice, just better ones for the present situation. I think I’d need the extra med support when my social support network (hubbie) was less available, and wean off meds when things are going well in all other areas. But that’s just me.

14

Hi Karen,

I never had depression or anxiety before being diagnosed. Lows effect me the same way as you. I get weepy, loopy & very down. Right before the weepies hit, I get a horrible panicky feeling. Was sick yesterday & couldn’t get my BG below 200. I barely ate a thing & the numbers kept climbing. Thought–there goes all my hard work towards a good A1c. Even though I knew there was little I could do about being ill, I admit it made me angry. Sick & angry–not a good combination.

Went to a concert Monday night which required changing my meal schedule & bringing food along. Went low & spent half the night in the ladies room testing & eating jelly beans. Felt really crappy & then felt sorry for myself not even being able to veer slightly from my now rigid life to enjoy a concert for a couple of hours.

Not meaning to whine, but trying to let you know that I know how you feel. What we deal with daily can be rather isolating & emotionally draining. A lot more to it that just taking insulin & others don’t understand this part. Oneless is on target when he said it’s a unique emotional burden. Part of it is physical & so rarely being level & then there’s all the fears, worries that accompany the constant self-care, self-monitoring & self criticism. We feel like failures often.

Many people feel that depression is anger towards inward. When I feel particularly down (that’s not tied to lows), I think about what I may be angry about. Sometimes I find the reason:)

I’m not good about regularly scheduled exercise. But when I feel really down, I force myself to move–a walk, scrubbing the bathroom, putting on loud music & dancing, anything that gets my body moving & my mind on something else. The more mindless the activity, the better. A good friend, who’s not a diabetic, told me she keeps a gratitude list in her head. Realize how sickeningly Pollyana this sounds, but I started doing this to help get me out of the blues. I also do volunteer work because I can’t stand how self-absorbed diabetes makes me.

Wish I could remember the reason, & I promise to look it up & get back with the info, but Dr. Bernstein cautions against B vitamin supplements higher than 50 mg. per day. Also higher doses of Vit C can effect readings by giving falsely lower values. Something about Vit C interacting with the strips.

Sending you many hugs!