Teen struggling

Do any of u guys use medication for depression and anxiety? I have been struggling since diagnoses in January.

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Hi @Phebe I am really glad you posted this. When I was diagnosed I didn’t realize how angry and then depressed I was. It took a very long time of being in agony for me to reach out for help. For me, things did get better with help.

Depression is common with diabetes. The diagnosis and the needles and the diet and the testing are all physical and emotional trauma. I hope you have access to a doctor or therapist and I urge you to go and talk about it.

If you need more or if you have feelings about hurting yourself please reach out to any of us here or to anyone nearby. There is no shame in asking for help. I hope you are ok.

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Phebe,
If you think that you need to be treated for it, there are many good medications. The one I used in the past was Effexor (Venlafaxine). It worked great, but please remember that it takes 1 to 2 weeks to work. It has to build up in your system.

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Hello, I am also a teenager. I’m currently in my second year of college and I’ve been taking an antidepressant for a while now. I find that it does help a lot

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Hi Phebe:
I’ve been diabetic for 46 years, but I still remember being 15 and talking to my endocrinologist about depression. He told me the same thing Joe mentioned in his reply to you; depression is very common with T1Ds. My depression was unmedicated during my teen years but I’ve been taking an antidepressant for at least ten years now; it works very well and I don’t feel depressed.

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Thanks guys I definitely will talk to my doctor about it at my next appointment. :slight_smile:

Get educated and in control, I got it when I was 14 , and am 53 now, no complications, I work hard but I’ve had a amazing life traveled the world ! Diabetes Is a discipline disease!! Get disciplined

I am Nurgis Ansari from Karachi Pakistan…
I was just 20 years old I diagnosed with diabetic Type.1…
I just saying Diabetic is a silent killer…

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hello @NurgisAnsari and welcome to the Type One Nation forum. There is no doubt that untreated diabetes can kill a person, I hope you have access to treatment and to blood sugar monitoring, I have found that with insulin and blood sugar monitoring, this is a manageable problem. Hope you are well.

Hey there this made me worried r u taking care of your diabetes?

Hi Yeah thanks ik how to take care of my diabetes but depression and panick attacks is what I’m struggling with

hi @Phebe the panic attacks are the worst. I once treated myself for a severe low (huuuge glass of juice) only to find that my bs was 290 and I was having a F********* panic attack. I broke things that day, not my proudest moment.

anyway read what you wrote and thought of that day… hope you are ok today.

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Hey! I have lived with diabetes since I was 6 years old. Only in the past year or so I started going to therapy, and then eventually started taking anti-depressants. It might take you a few tries to get the right anti-depressant that works for you but don’t get discouraged! I go to therapy weekly and it has made a world of difference in combination with the anti-depressants. The anti-depressants are good but won’t fix everything. I highly recommend seeking someone to talk to. Either a plain old therapist or a psychologist (you might need on of these if your normal physician is prescribing your antidepressants, they can only prescribe up to a certain dosage).

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Thank you.:blush:
Are there any bad side effects to taking antidepressants?

hi @Phebe the truth is that there are side effects and adverse reactions to every single medicine that is synthesized.

the question that any great doctor will consider before prescribing medicine is: are the risks for any specific treatment grossly outweighed by the benefit?

The outcome can be influenced by the severity of your symptoms, so it is my opinion that you should be 100% honest with whoever you talk to.

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Yes o do take meds for anxiety. And depression. I believe I’m on a very low dose. Also my mom gets a afraid that it will affect my numbers

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You are definitely not alone! I was diagnosed in March of this year after being hospitalized with DKA and complications from an undiagnosed strep infection. Since then, I’ve really been trying my best to live life to the fullest everyday, but it does get hard; especially when I was already dealing with minor anxiety/depression issues before all of this took place. I’ve recently started seeing an amazing therapy team–a psychiatrist and a licensed psychologist–who have prescribed a combination of Lexapro (an anti-anxiety/depression medication) and cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions. So far I’ve been on this plan for a couple months and it’s been beyond beneficial! I’m finding new ways to deal with and move on from my anxiety/depression and identifying triggers in my environment so that I can address those head on before things get out of hand. I wish you the best of luck in this journey and remember, it’s not a sign of weakness or an indication that there is something wrong with you to reach out for help when you need it. Wishing you the warmest of well wishes!

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A lot of good suggestions already. Definitely see a professional. It will help. Have had success with Sertraline.

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I would get someone to talk to. My 16 year old daughter has t1ds and she was having a hard time. She ended up in a mental hospital so please dont keep it in talk to someone.