Post diagnosis depression?

[thomasb]

Was diagnosed in december 2006 in USA. Originally swedish. Did all the usual procedures and test you go through at first. Got my lantus and novorapid. Everything was ok, sure i had a few bad days, but i really felt like i could control this and be alright with eating good and all that. Left from USA, my fiance and all that still in usa.

Came home to sweden. Everything was fine and dandy, being a diabetic here is easier what with free healthcare and everything. I get all my needles and strips and all that for free. Ok, awesome, now i had the problem with expensive strips and such out of the way.

Now, late march, i am depressed.
I hate cooking for myself. I feel like eating has turned into this chore that i need to do in order to avoid feeling like ****. I feel like everything in my life revolves around eating. Have to eat at 12, have to eat at 6. Eat the same things. Eat when i don't want to cos i am low, or don't eat when i am hungry because i am high. Eating for the sake of eating.
I am so tired of sticking these needles in me and hoping i wont hit a nerve so it hurts.
I am so tired of feeling that no one really understands or really cares. All people see is me doing the usual things, being my usual self.

And i don't feel like I have the right to complain. Im stuck with this so why should i start complaining? People deal with this disease all the time, or have other worse diseases. I should really just sap it up and start cooking awesome and healthy,good tasting food.

Anyone else who went through this post depression thing?
there are other factors too that brought this depression on, and i am a depression prone person, but it just get so much harder with this disease. It is just too much right now. luckily i have no problem keeping the levels down. i gues thats something.

Ok, good, fantastic, i got to lash out and complain. thank you!

2 months post diagnosis AIBC was 5.7

[sweetblood]

i get in funks too...why me. noone if immediare family is diabetic...
i hate eating wen not hungry...but then i have to worry abt going low also...im NOT on meds...tho if i keep it up, way im going, i will be soon...its hard living with D...i know where youre coming from...
i just need motivation to start eating right...

[thomasb]

I guess we all have the motivation hidden inside somewhere.
argh.

[Penny]

Great A1C. After all this time, I still go through moods like that. I usually work my way out of it in a day or two. It takes a lot of reminding myself of all I have to be grateful for. Usually I just kind of go with it, if it doesn't last too long. Feel sorry for myself for a bit, then get on with my life. It must be much harder on a young person knowing you have to deal with it for the rest of your life, but you also have much to look forward to. It will get better, but sometimes it won't....you will just learn to deal with it. This is the place to rant though, because most of us understand.:)

[DeusXM]

If you're finding your lifestyle too restrictive, then change your treatment plan. Sounds to me like you're on two injections a day, which means you have to eat the same amounts at the same times each day. If you switch to multiple daily injections, you'll be able to eat what you want, whenever you want. You'll also have fewer hypos too.

[xMenace]

Or pump. The eating routine when pumping is about as flexible as you can get. Either way, controlling your food instead of letting it control you is very important. That "feed the disease" syndrome is sooo insideous. Before you know it you've gained 20lbs and start struggling with getting it off.

[thomasb]

I use multiple injections, novorapid before every meal, and yeah i do carb counting when i eat new things. However, yes and no on eating what i want. If i want to feel good, i cant go and eat a burger(which i really,really want). Sure i can balance it up with insulin, but it still throws the routines off. And i know it is not good for me anyway. id rather want to be able to eat a sandwich between meals without taking insulin, or just eat icecream for dessert. Which is techically possible i know, will still get me high.

Are you suggesting more injections than breakfast,lunch dinner? Cos i feel that is not good for me.

I find that hitting inanimate objects helps the anger i feel. great.

THanks for the positive replys y'all. appreiciate it.

[DeusXM]

Are you suggesting more injections than breakfast,lunch dinner? Cos i feel that is not good for me.

Yes, of course. The whole point of MDI is that you don't inject at certain times of the day - you just inject when you eat. Don't feel that this isn't 'good' for you - all you're doing is mimicking the action of a normal pancreas.

With a long-acting basal injection, and then small amounts of short-acting bolus insulin every time you eat, there are simply no restrictions whatsoever on what you can eat or when you eat it. You can even go without food if you wish. You should be able to 'eat a burger' without it throwing off everything if you're carb counting.

Look, sorry if this sounds harsh but if you ever want to stand a chance of being even remotely happy, you've really gotta drop this attitude that taking insulin is somehow bad for you. It isn't. Non-diabetics don't release the same amount of insulin for every meal - so neither should you. You want to eat ice-cream? Then eat it - and take extra insulin if necessary to cover it. Insulin is not a drug or a medication - you're replacing a hormone that you should naturally be producing anyway and you shouldn't feel any different about injecting more insulin to cover a higher-carb meal than you should about drinking an extra glass of water when you're thirsty.

It sounds to me that the root of your low mood is that you feel you don't have the same amount of freedom as other people. You do - at the moment you're just stopping yourself from acting on it. Who gives a **** if a burger isn't 'healthy'? Provided you are meeting all your nutritional requirements, have a sensible calorie intake, exercise regularly and take enough insulin to cover your food, there is simply no biological reason why you shouldn't be able to eat and do whatever you like.

[xMenace]

Yup. Ditto

[nneighbour]

thomasb,
unfortunately those who have any chronic illness are more prone to depression. Trust me, I know this very well. I also have chronic refractory depression. I found this from a national institute for mental health (US) pdf file. No stats, but it's seems to underline what we all know from experience.

Several studies suggest that diabetes doubles the risk of depression compared to those without the disorder. The chances of becoming depressed increase as diabetes complications worsen. Research shows that depression leads to poorer physical and mental functioning, so a person is less likely to follow a required diet or medication plan. Treating depression with psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of these treatments can improve a patient’s well-being and ability to manage diabetes.

Causes underlying the association between depression and diabetes are unclear. Depression may develop because of stress but also may result from the metabolic effects of diabetes on the brain. Studies suggest that people with diabetes who have a history of depression are more likely to develop diabetes complications than those without depression. People who suffer from both diabetes and depression tend to have higher health care costs in primary care.

[Chewy]

Hey Thomas,

I hear you buddy. I was diagnosed the same time as you. Being of nordic descent (and from the mid-western US) I'm not prone to overt acts of emotion but I had enough "freak outs" in December and January to put me on a daytime talk show.

I like what ol' Ex Machina is saying, but I'm still pretty sheepish about trying new (old) favorites too. Little by little. Little by little.

[Dervish]

With a long-acting basal injection, and then small amounts of short-acting bolus insulin every time you eat, there are simply no restrictions whatsoever on what you can eat or when you eat it. You can even go without food if you wish. You should be able to 'eat a burger' without it throwing off everything if you're carb counting.

I was just diagnosed a couple weeks ago during a hospital stay after a severe bout of ketoacidosis/pancreatitis and I've seen this talked about a lot online, but the materials I was given at the hospital just mentioned it briefly, called it an "advanced technique", and went back to prescribing that I eat X carb exchanges at meal Y. The instructions sent home with me for fast insulin were a simple sliding scale: 8 units, modified based on my pre-meal glucose level. What/how much I'm eating isn't included as a factor at all.

My first post-hospital doctor appointment is tomorrow. What would be an appropriate thing to say/ask at the appointment to get me headed towards the less restrictive version of carb counting that you've described? (I don't want to just ask about "carb counting" because the materials I was given at the hospital seem to also refer to "have 5 carb exchanges at dinner" as "carb counting", which is what I'm currently doing, and it feels very forced - I'm always scrambling to find enough carbs to pad out each meal without going way over by just making a big bowl of pasta like I would have before my trip to the hospital.)

[right2fight]

Hey Thomas, In your original post you mentioned leaving your significant other behind in the USA. Diabetes aside, perhaps you need this peson in your life. Just a thought.

Good Luck,
Margaret

[mcneely]

I had my bouts of depression for a few months after I was diagnosed. For me, it was the whole idea that I had this diease, that required me to give injections (I hated needles then), and messed up my goals (college, family, business etc). Although my A1C was dropping I still didn't feel I was managing it well. I am somewhat a perfectionist with a science background and this was killing me. I was managing my diabetes like I would solve a problem, which we all know for type 1 diabetes, there are so many variables that could go wrong. This led me to feel helpless and despressed. I don't stay depressed long so that was a good thing.

I still at times feel like I can't get control of my highs. Back then I would do what the docs say and follow things to the T. Now thoug, if I am high and the corrections aren't working, I give about 50% more than I should. If I need 4 units, I give myself 6. I just get tired of dealing with all day long highs.

Also, don't trust your pump at all times when you are high for long periods, my pump just is not accurate. I would rather be high and come down low or a bad low and correct that instead of being high all day long. Get control, gain confidence, enjoy the simple things in life and your depression might melt away.

I hope you find a solution for yourself.