My son 14 year old son was diagnosed about 8 months ago. He also struggles with anxiety. I have talked to several therapists about our options and in addition to behavioral therapy, they have brought up the possiblity of anti-anxiety medication. While I hesitate to go this route, I have to consider all options as the anxiety has really affected his ability to participate in many things. Does anyone have any advice on what types of medication are okay to take with insulin? I am going to talk to his endo about this.. of course.. but I'd like to get some input from others who may have a similar experience.
i really don’t think ssri’s have any effect when combined with insulin, if that is one route you are looking into. i took celexa for about a year and a half for a bought of major depression, and found no interference with my diabetes. all this medicine really did was numb me down a bit. you really need to get his feedback on whatever it is that they end up giving him though, because many of these kinds of drugs are mind altering to some degree. i’m sure that some anti-anxiety drugs are similar to drugs used to treat depression.
I get anxiety with my depression. I’m on a tricyclic and an SSRI. I was given Clonazapam (brand name Klonopin) and found it really did help to ease my anxiety when it was in bloom. Clonazapam can cause some physical dependency issues if taken in high doses for a long period of time.
I suffer from an anxiety disorder as well. First of all, have you had his thyroid checked?? Second of all the thing that helped me more than anything other than prayer and my faith was “The Linden Method” I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it after years of struggling with anxiety. I am prescribed the lowest dose of prozac 10mg and the lowest dose of xanax .25 which I split into a fourth it works very well. I basically take it on an “as needed” basis which ends up being about once a week or once everyother week I try to only take it when I absolutely need it because risk of dependency and addiction to these types of drugs are very high. I personally think doctors tend to overmedicate and prescribe too high of doses which usually cause unpleasant side effects, so I would def encourage a very low dose if you do decide to go the medication route and see if he can get any relief before increasing the dosage. Please consider getting him The Linden Method it is AMAZING! Keep us updated, I hope he gets some relief soon having an anxiety disorder is a living nightmare.
What is the Linden Method? And what is the connection with the Thyroid? He is having blood tests that were ordered by his endo and one is the TSH. He’s started high school but is having a tough time keeping up in school. The diabetes kind of caused him to withdraw from social situations even though he has a lot of friends… He is still adjusting but it’s taking time… He takes Atavan when he’s really anxious (like the first day of school, the dentist, etc…)
You hit the nail on the head! He really likes to be at home where he is comfortable and feels safe. He goes to school but other than that and maybe church or going out to eat (which is difficult with the injections), he really just likes to hang out at home… I am trying to gradually get him back into activities (like tennis and other sports he used to do) and have him go to his high school football games etc… It’s just taking time… He has a prescription for Atavan which is just an “as needed” anxiety medication. It seems to help. We are also getting some counseling to help him deal with things… but he really doesn’t like to open up. Another kid in his school who is type 1 and a few years older has reached out to him but my son is pretty shy about his diabetes… I guess it just takes time… it’s hard to watch your kid go through it though… he has so much potential…
Would your son considering Tu D? Lots of teens here for support who understand. Fourteen is a tough age for everything without throwing diabetes into the mix. Diabetes is a huge adjustment for us all. Really does take time, you’re right.
Please insist that free T3 & free T4 be done. TSH tells nothing & that’s all that most docs order. I had undiagnosed hypothyroidism for years because of TSH results. Thyroid disorders are associated with anxiety problems. Adrenals also.
Hi Gerri, What sort of results would you be looking for with the free T3 and free T4? I had my TSH checked about a year ago and was told it was in the normal range. Still, several people have suggested to me that my symptoms (anxiety, crushing fatigue, etc.) could be related to hypothyroidism. I guess I’ll be doing a little more research on that now. Thanks, Tina.
Hypothyrodism is very common in women & even more common in women with diabetes. I was told for years that I was a on the low range of normal (from TSH) & not treated. I didn’t have all the symptoms of being hypo, so I was ignored.
Yeah anxiety can also cause you to withdrawal from social situations as well so that on top of diabetes is a double whammy that I totally understand and struggle with. Yes his TSH does need to be tested (that is the thyroid test) I have hashimotos thyroid disease (which a lot of time goes along with diabetes) and whenever my thyroid is “off” I have really bad anxiety, and whenever my thyroid is “normal” I feel great, The Linden Method is something to help with his anxiety and he can do it in your home… google it.
Hi I was reading this post and wondering if any new members have put their child on anxiety meds yet? I startd my daughter on Prozac this week and was wondering how your children have handled it? Jean
My son started taking Celexa about a month ago. It seems to be helping with his anxiety. It’s hard to say exactly how he’s changed but I have noticed he is more willing to go places and do things that he would avoid before he started taking it. It could be he is also starting to adapt more. I know of several of kids around his age who are taking Prozac and their parents have noticed a huge difference. One thing we did notice was that he started having some lows after taking the medication. I looked it up online and saw that it can lower your blood glucose levels. We adjusted his lantus and kept an eye on it and it seems to have leveled off. Let me know how it goes with your daughter. How old is she? My son is 14.
I realize this is old, but just wondering if anyone can describe what it’s like to take .5 Clonazepam. I have a prescription for it for anxiety. I’m just apprehensive….wondering how strong that is. It’s the lowest dose, I believe.
