Are there any type 1 diabetics out there who suffer from severe depression and fell like giving up?

Hi OHLoLa, (LOVE your username!!)
I do not have diabetes. I probably shouldn't be attempting to even TRY to understand what you are going through.
Yet, I've been horribly depressed once in my life, with some medical issues that cause horrible pain. So I suppose I can understand a teeny tiny bit of your dilemma, to some extent.
Please, don't give up? One never knows when a cure is around the corner. I realize that is idealistic thinking, but it is still viable.
Hope is the best of things, and I most certainly don't want you to lose hope.
You are NOT alone OHLoLa. I'm sure others will answer your Q by this evening (after work hours) and offer much better info than I am able to, so be patient for them.

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Does your doc know how you feel mentally? If not, tell her/him, and DO IT TODAY. Depression (like what you describe) is nothing to muck about with.
There are an myriad of medications out there, and yup, you WILL feel like a wee guinea pig for a while until they figure out the right medication for you.

The neuropathy you suffer from can be managed as well. Are you on any medications for it currently? If not, tell that doc how badly you are hurting physically too. There are many meds for neuropathy that work, but just like depression, you must be the guinea pig for a while until one (or a few) are found to be eficacious. Being in pain itself can cause depression, as I'm sure you know.

As far as your blood sugar goes, I don't know anything about that, so I shall leave that up to the people that DO know of what they speak!!

I wish you all the best, and the courage to change things in your life!!
sweet lemon

Hi Ohlola, I too love your name & welcome to the site! I can very well understand what you are going thru. I suffer from severe chrontic pain every day for 44 years. My husband is a type 2 diabetic that when he found out he was obese, had high blood pressure, & a heaart condition. If that wasn't enough, he was also suffering from depresiion. At the time 1994 I believe we did not know it was bipolar depressionl I did everything I could to help him Our doctor set up an appointmet to talk to a dietion, & that really helped once I got the hang of how to measure the food etc... Knowing what he could & couldn't have was the harest because he like his candy worse than a kid! He lost 90 poounds amazingly faston a 1200 calorie diet, & felt much better. He wouldn't quit smoking whcih wasn't helping anything. He even tried suicide unsuccessfully several times, & the last time about 9 years ago he almost made it.

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They had me calling anyone who might want to say goodbye to him because he was dying right in fron of my eyes. Well a week in intensive care 7 he did make it , but more importantly he got a physchiatrist that was on call that weekend that he finally clicked with & has stayed with him ever since. If it weren't for this doctor who is a child physchiatrist by the way, but since Gary liked him so much he decided he would keep him as a patient. I tease him about having blocks & toys to play with while waiting for his appointment!It wounds alot like some of the prolems you are going thru, & in my non -medicl opinion it sounds to me like you need to see a doctor that specializes in depression. You may need medicated or just talking with someone to get over the bumps in life can do wonders for your mental health. Our daughter is a type one diabetic & she also has had the probems with regulating her blood sugar so they put a insulin pump in her. She has to chek her blood count a few times a day to find out if she needs more insulin or not. She says it's been a godsend, & at first she fought getting it. Didn't like the idea of an implant.Now she says she can eat just about anything she wants & it doesn't matter because all she has to do is check her blood sugar level, & give herslef the correct amount from her pump.She is much happier this way, & she was depressed about all of it too. My husband also has neuropathy & takes gabepentin for it. His is caused by several condition besides the diabetes. He had had 10 back surgeries, with hardware, 2 neck surgeries with hardware,28 abdominal surgeries, 4 stents in his heart, & a pace maker because when they put the 3rd sten inhis heart he died on the table & they brought him back to life & installed a pace maker to keep his heart beating, He has had right & now left rotator cuff sugert. The papers came in yesterday & said they removed bone from his collar bone to do the last one. in October.His veins in his legs are constricted, but becuse they are so small, he will probaby lose his legs at some point. His Dad idd from diabetes.He has reson to just be depressed! He also has stomach probelsm becarsue of a messed up surgery to remove his gallbaldder a ew years ago. The New doctor after being told, did not get his records & cut into his mest that was ther. One inch higher & alla would hav been well, but he didn't & 8 surgeries & nurse Mary & visiting nurses coming 2 times a wekk to clean & debride his wounds (that was my job) twice a day & after 3 years he finall cloed up. Now he has a hernia in that spot the size of a football, & he can't eat without getting sick. He either suffers great pain, or gets vomiting or diarrhea. Not a lot of fun is his life believe me. I am tellin you all of this, because I believe you are at a point with your depression you need to seek some professtional help. It is the only way to battle this. Meds can do wonders. My hubby is on 200mg of zoloft a day & 75 mg of Wellbutrin. He is still in pain, but handles it much better. He will also battle depression because of being biplr with OCD, but at least with his meds he's handling it better than he would have. By now he wouldn't be here, because he would have ODed a long time ago again!I hope hearing all this maybe can help you see that you are not alone in any of this. Diabetes can be a disease that can be handled with the right doctor, & patient cooperation, but depression is a whole different thing. You need a specalist for this. Usually only a phsychiatrist gives out the prescription, but you need to talk to a therapist too. That is most important to figure out what kind of depression you have, & whether meds are the answer or just talk therapy or both. I wish you well. Contact me at any time... Mary632009

I am like Sweet Lemon, maybe I should not be trying to answer your question either because I am not a t diabetic. But I have been a depressive person for most of my adult life, when I went through my divorce from my first wife I seriously thought many times about giving up. Just this year I had a surgical procedure done that should have had a 2 week recovery time. After 3 weeks I was still so weak that I could not walk even a quarter mile, I was a 2 to 3 mile a day walker. I had not ever missed work for more than 2 or 3 days and then only when horribly sick. I went from doctor to doctor and had test after test ran, this went on for about 3 months and I sank into depression again, serious depression that scared my wife and my doctor so he placed me on Zoloft, which further complicated things because it created a monster in me so I had to cry to get off that, he put me on effexor which did did help the depression but has other side effects.

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Unfortunately that is the way with depression meds, every person has a different chemical make up so it becomes trial and error. What I am trying to say is health issues can cause even the best of us to become depressed, but we have to recognize it and seek some help. You have made the 1 seriously important step. you recognize the problem. I am still laid up and not able to work after 6 long months, I have worked all of my life since I was a teenager so it is tough. Hang in there and seek some medical help for yourself, be your own advocate.
Hope you have a healthy life

Hi,
I'm Type 2 (and insulin dependant for a little over 3 yrs.), so the beginning isn't the same but the side effects of diabetes are. I totally understand where you are-- disease fatigue is hard to deal with. I don't have gastoperesis, but have very very severe neuropathy (halfway up my shins) and because of this have charcot that involves my ankle and have nearly had it amputated 2X b/c of bone infections. So I kinda know how tired and bitter, depressed and hopeless it can be. The only thing I can offer is: what about asking to go on anti-depressants to help with the depression, talk therapy if you can money/time wise. You've probably heard this a million times, but try to keep your sugars low to prevent worse complications. What about asking your endocrinologist about going on an insulin pump? It might help keep your b.s. at a more stable level.

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Try not to give up (I know it's not that easy; have been down the I want to get off road more than once), even if it means just getting out of the house for 5 minutes before doing something drastic and hang in as best as you can. If you have a trusted friend, ask if you can have daily check-ins, just so you have someone to talk to every day.
Sorry to ramble take care,
Ade

Hi - yeah, I probably have no business posting here either, but I just wanted to let you know that you are being listened to. I have Type 2 Diabetes, and am having a heck of a time giving up my sweets! I've had mental problems all my life, and a lot of chronic pain, spinal surgeries, neuropathy, did I mention pain? Anyway, I was in your shoes just about a year ago. I posted here on ddc about wanting to end it all. And here I am doing a lot better now! You just never know what's around the corner, or who you can help. Sometimes that helps me - thinking of who God put ME here to help. I know it's hard, it's just one battle after another and it doesn't seem like there's a break or any fun in your life - and then, you'll have some fun with an old friend, or touch base with somebody you love - and that'll give you enough UMPH! to get through another rough time.

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Anyway, I don't know if I've helped you at all, but I wanted to let you know that I hear ya, and I do care. There are lots of people here that really do care - Mary and Sweet Lemon are two that do. Come on back and let us know how you are doing. I hope tomorrow is a better day for you! - ElizaJane

Hi there OHLoLa.
I so identify:
Yup. Type 1, 25yrs, neuropathy, gastroparesis, bad teeth etc. Pain really sucks ( and messes with BS). I have had no DKA in years. I am totally serious about tight control. Even so, I have kidney disease. I have a bad neuropathy situation and have been on crutches for 6 months.
I have felt the same way you do. IT IS SO HARD sometimes.

these work for me... I hope you can use this info for you.

move my body:
I don't know why but if you move your body, you "change your mind"

Contemporary Gospel music: gives me hope ( or at least reminds me that I can have hope)

Talk about it: on a blog, with other chronically ill people - try to look for nonjudgmental attitudes

Pretend: I put the pain "outside", and pretend I can walk without crutches, that I am not diabetic, etc. It only works for a little while, but the immense relief I get from these "vacations" is worth it.

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Cry it out. I am a loud cryer, so I mostly cry in the shower

get help: I am on a handful of neuropathy and depression meds. Gabapentin has really helped, Cybalta too. Do not use Lyrica, Seroquel or Abilify as there are documented to cause or worsen BS ( I know from experience).
Ask about domperidone for the gastro

The Net. The Net. The Net. the truth is out there

Get a new meter: I use Freedom lite, because the strips have "leetle vampire teeth" ( as I call them) so you only need an incredibly teeny amt of blood. it reads extremely fast. It's stupid I know, but to me, a new meter feels like a Christmas present.

Fight to get un-brittle: this you cannot do alone! Get all the freakin help you can. DO you have a pump? Are you a canditate for a CGM? I know it's ridiculously costly; get in touch with the manufacturers to see what they can do for you (it makes'em feel magnanimous). Test in pairs ( www.dlife.com), track your life: food , exercise, hormones, arguments, holidays , love affairs, tv show,alcohol, cigarettes, etc etc. It's worth it if you can get some insight into what the hell is going on in your body.

Reach out: You are incredibly knowledgeable about this freakin disease. You and I know that the way we got so knowledgeable is definitely one we never asked for, nor deserve. Even so- we have this info... share it ( you cannot believe how many dazed and confused newbie diabetics there are out there!) Dont know why, but it gives me some pride.

hope this helps