Diabetes Community

Hi!

I too was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at about that age (10 years old; I'm 22 now). When I was about 14 I started feeling depressed, and struggled with depression all throughout high school. I also have hypothyroidism and thought it might be linked to that, since depression doesn't run in my family. But of course, hypothyroidism is linked to diabetes, so maybe they're all related...

I know what you are talking about. I was diagnosed last year with hyperthroidism and in January of this year I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and just a few weeks ago type 1. Before my hyperthroidism was officiallly diagnosed I began having extreame panic/anxiety attacks. After being diagnosed type 2 my depression steadly grew worse and worse, along with my anxiety. After talking to my doctor, he explained to me that I probably had a small anxiety problem that I was able to keep under control, until my thyroid and diabetes came up, at which point I had to start dealing with it.

I have been put on medication for my anxiety and I have to be extra careful to keep my sugar under control, because if it gets out of control I'm more likely to have an anxiety/panic attack.

I think you might be onto something thinking they are somehow linked.

Yes, data does exist. It seems that the stress response system is activated in diabeties producing excessive cortisol and providing a similar response profile that is seen in depression. One has to really want to monitor their diabeties properly and follow doctors orders. This is a problem in even well controlled diabeties. ( See CRH Testing is Diabeties ).

What is "CRH Testing Is "Diabeties"?

DMH

About 6 years ago I began having anxiety attacks along with several other side affects attributable to Lipitor. My doctor dismissed the Lipitor connection with the anxiety attacks so I quit taking it. The anxiety attacks disappeared.

After changing physicians, I was put on Simvastatin due to high cholesterol. No anxiety attacks here. In July of 2008, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and began taking Metformin. Still no problems with anxiety, that is until this past June while vacationing in Europe.

The attacks all came consistently while trying to fall asleep, or after awakening following a few hours of sleep. They were terrifying. After nearly a solid week of attacks and very little sleep, I emailed my doctor. It turned out that my doctor was on vacation and his back up was my wife's physician. He noted that my wife had a prescription for Lorazepam to combat a mild condition of anxiety. He recommended several dosage levels to try until I returned home and could see me own doctor. The Lorazepam didn't work immediately at the lower dosage levels, but was effective when the dosage was increased.

I have since seen my doctor and he has merely recommended continuing with the Lorazepam as need. My anxiety attacks continue sporadically. Lorazepam seems to quell the attack within an hour or two.

I have always blamed the statin drugs. But when I saw your post, I am now wondering if there is a diabetes connection. I have had a thyroid test recently and all seems well. I never really considered low blood sugar as well. I more worried about high blood sugar.

Thank you for raising my awareness on the possibility of a diabetes connection.

Anxiety/depression and now type 2 diabetes have been the health challenges of my life. But not at the same time, and I've never thought of them as connected.

My panic attacks (then called hysteria) began (i'm told) in infancy. They were very intense and could happen several times a day. In adolescence depression too became a problem. After decades of work they are under control using mind and body techniques-breathing, meditation, exercise. etc.

In the last year I've developed type 2 diabetes. I attribute this to lack of exercise due to knee joints which are not really functional. When this first became a problem anxiety/panic attacks/depression again required my attention. With that in hand, diabetes was diagnosed within months.

In my case, I see both anxiety/depression and diabetes 2 as symptoms of the lack of a particular kind of exercise. Only walking outdoors several miles a day works for me.

My husband has type 2 diabetes diagnosed about 3 years ago. He started having anxiety & got easily angered (totally out of character) once he was put on metformin. I did some research and he now takes a high-dose tablet of B12 every day which has stopped his symptoms.

I am 51 and about 6 months ago was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. However, all my life I have had to deal with depression and anxiety. at age 30 I was diagnosed with Anxiety "disease" which is now called GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I've taken medication for it for roughly 20 years...and have changed over the years as new meds hit the market. During all of this time, i never had issues with diabetes; but the meds I take tocontrol my anxiety [i have to take 3 different meds daily> did cause me to 'slow down' and not always have the drive to exercise until i dropped [which i use to do before my diagnosis of GAD...because I was always anxious and had to find a way to relieve the stress>. i gained about 40 pounds during the past 5 years or so and thus my Diabetes occured. Now that i have Diabetes, i CAN tell when i have low or high boood glucose because of how i feel and it is usually either a nausious feeling or an anxious feeling. I cannot say that all of my symptoms are related or not; but i can find a correlation to my anxiety, energy levels and blood sugar levels; but nothing officially sanctioned by my physicians. Hope this helps!

Interesting to know I'm not alone withDiabetes2/Depression/Anxiety/Panic attacks.
I take Metformin, anti-depressant daily - and anti anxiety meds only if anxious or having panic attack. I wonder if there is some correlation with the medications and all the symptoms. I also suffer from IBS/Colitis and going through Menopause. I keep telling myself that it's a combination of everything that is making me feel so crappy all the time. Now I wonder if there is a link.

I was told I have Type 2 diabetes at Age 85. I have it controlled and I have lost 25 lbs. I did have anxiety attacks before. I thought it came from a camping incident at Wisconsin Dells years ago.
My doctor thought I might have had a heat stroke, as I was not used to hot humid weather. (me Californian) Maybe this was a pre-warning that I was prone to diabetes as it is in my family.
Hmm, makes you wonder!. Arlene Abel, Turlock CA

Yes there is a direct link between diabetes and depression. (Documented). I've never seen anything linking panic attacks being linked to diabetes in writing, but like most respondents, I too suffer the depression, panic attacks, anxiety and diabetes. I find that MVP (Miltral valve prolapse), diabetes, GURD, IBS, and arthritis, all contribute to depression, anxiety, and other un-expected phobias or social anxiety.

David CRH is Corticotropin releasing hormone it is for the testing of cortisol levels. I had this done when they diagnosed me with Cushing's syndrome years ago.. I didn't have diabetes at the time. I also have never been diagnosed with any depression or anxiety disorders. I have a lot of stressers in my life and still I do not have these disorders - so where is this link to diabetes?

This test takes about 2 hrs because they draw blood every 15 mins. It does cause the sugars to go up for a couple of days. However I do not believe they use it to test diabetes.

I'm not the expert in this. But I know for me I deal with a lot of anxiety and OCD compulsion, with my condition, but I notice when I'm out of troll my stress level is high and my sugars are very high then it drops to be Moody and depress, my psychiatrists did not change anything yet. She wants me to control it with meds. I'm off the subject sorry about that.

To: the original poster
Yes! I have recently (Dec. 2010) been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 39/40....since the diagnosis, and dealing with the huge change in lifestyle, i have certainly slipped into depression and anxiety, which i knew the symptoms of, having struggled with clinical depression years ago. My Dr. recommended starting to take SAM-E, a natural supplement, which seems to have helped in the short-term. Am hoping to not have to resort to taking Zoloft, as i did years ago.
I started watching the patterns, and noticed that most definitely it is like a vicious cycle---stress causes blood sugars to go high, and high blood sugars cause me to feel extremely stressed, along with being tired.
They say exercise when your numbers are high (a long vigorous walk can cause my numbers to go down from about 100-50 points!), but it's the last thing you feel like doing. However, it does seem to help! Getting out for a walk helps bring your numbers down, and if you can walk in the sun, it helps with the depression.
I have been monitering this process for the past few months, and continue to experiment with what works.

Glad to be part of this new forum, as i have found support really helps!