real illnesses that cause anxiety depression

[AnxiousHarry]

Hello, forgive me if this is not the right place 2 post this or if i dont make sense of what 'im trying 2 say:blush:. If those people suffering with real illnesses that are causing severe anxiety, depression do we still need 2 be taking anti d's ? or can we overcome it without meds, AH :shrug: very rare post cause i find it hard 2 express what i want 2 say and how 2 get it across. ty AH x

[Dahlia]

Do you mean physical illnesses that are chronic, and the person starts to feel anxious or depressed as a result of living with it for so long? Or do you mean illnesses that have anxiety or depression as a symptom, such as over- or underactive thyroid?

[AnxiousHarry]

As i said i find it hard 2 express or get things across of wat i want 2 say, but i think a bit of both what u said sorry i'm a loon :scared15: AH

[suzy-sue]

If its an Illness that causes pain ,the best way forward is pain management .If its something that is affecting you life so bad you can function then depending on you medication you may find Meds for Depression helpful but .Positive thinking or CBT would help more so .Its always best to address the cause ,and not the symptoms first I would say .It s hard to give you a better reply unless you say what is wrong .Things that cause anxiety like Thyroid conditions are treated with hormones so will get rid of the anxiety . SUE X

[Dahlia]

No you're not AH :) Well I'm no doctor, but these are my thoughts....

Well, I think if you had, say an overactive thyroid gland (where one of the symptoms of the illness is anxiety) then the anxiety symptom should go once you start taking medication for the physical illness. i.e. only the overactive thyroid caused the anxiety.

On the other hand, where you have a physical illness, and become anxious or depressed because of having to deal with the illness day everyday, I guess there are a few options. You could have therapy to help you come to terms with your illness and the impact it has on your life, learn coping strategies, try meditation. So no, I don't think you have to take an anti-depressant.

(Just an aside - having an anxiety disorder or reactive depression doesn't mean you have to take an anti-depressant anyway. Therapies such as CBT and mindfulness can help you overcome it. It is a different case for people with clinical depression, Bipolar etc. who need to take the meds)

I hope that makes some sense! And you do express yourself well, so don't be cautious about posting more often :)

[AnxiousHarry]

thanx for the reply suzy, well i was diagnosed as diabetic 2 years ago now, but since then i have lost alot of weight and they tell me i'm no longer diabetic, and i dont think i have suffered high sugars since dx its alway been on the low side which is hypoglycemia, and i am reading up on the term ov being hypoglycemic and says anxiety and depression as symptoms of being hypo aswell as other symptoms i am experiencing, and feel its the hypo low sugar feelings that is causing my anx and dep, hope that makes sense, thats another symptom of low sugars confusion and irritable, snappy with family friends i dont meen 2b like that its the lows that are doing it and nobody understands wen i try explaining that 2 them, its so frustrating i could bang my head right off the wall :doh: AH

[AnxiousHarry]

Ty Dahlia i appreciate that very much, but do wish i could get things i want 2 say over better 2 ppl like you and so many others do on here tnx again,:scared15: AH x

[AnxiousHarry]

yeah yhats wat i do now Dahlia i am eating 5-6 times a day, but find it hard 2 do that with little appetite i have 2 force my self to eat sometimes, i eat every three hours ish, that is if i dont go low be4 then hypo symps are very similar to anxiety symps and vice versa, thats wer i get confused if i go low say 2 hours after eating, i think it cant be hypo ive not long eaten, then i check bs and i am low, very frustating AH x

[suzy-sue]

Slow release foods like fruit ,wholegrain biscuits Bread ,crackers and nuts ,oats .pasta etc will stabilise sugar levels for longer .The wholegrain cereal bars are good and dont take much effort to eat . There are lots of other foods but I cant put them all on here .But if you Google you will find them ..all the Best Harry ..Sue x

[harasgenster]

thanx for the reply suzy, well i was diagnosed as diabetic 2 years ago now, but since then i have lost alot of weight and they tell me i'm no longer diabetic, and i dont think i have suffered high sugars since dx its alway been on the low side which is hypoglycemia, and i am reading up on the term ov being hypoglycemic and says anxiety and depression as symptoms of being hypo aswell as other symptoms i am experiencing, and feel its the hypo low sugar feelings that is causing my anx and dep, hope that makes sense, thats another symptom of low sugars confusion and irritable, snappy with family friends i dont meen 2b like that its the lows that are doing it and nobody understands wen i try explaining that 2 them, its so frustrating i could bang my head right off the wall :doh: AH

If they say you are not diabetic anymore do you mean you had diabetes type 2? That can go away after weight loss for some people. People with diabetes type 1 go hypoglycaemic due to the use of insulin as a medication, not because of their diabetes per se (I believe...but anyone tell me if I'm wrong!) Are you still taking medication for diabetes that can make it low? I only ask this because when people with diabetes 1 have a lot of hypos they usually need to adjust their medication so could that be part of it?

I'm a bit confused about whether you are saying you are anxious about hypoglycaemia or that hypoglycaemia is making you anxious. So my question would be, how do you know you are hypoglycaemic?

In a healthy person, the blood sugar is well maintained by a balance of insulin released by the pancreas and sugars released by the liver (it's probably more complicated than this, I'm not a doctor!) so, as far as I know, healthy people never suffer hypoglycaemia but do suffer symptoms such as anxiety and faintness when they have an empty stomach (think this is a vegal nerve reaction but, again, not a doctor, just a vague memory of someone telling me that). EDIT: JUST LOOKED THIS UP AND PEOPLE WITH ANOREXIA CAN SUFFER HYPOGLYCAEMIA, BUT THIS IS WHEN PEOPLE EAT VERY, VERY LITTLE AND DO NOT HAVE THE GLUCOSE STORES TO REPLACE IT, SO IF YOU ARE VERY THIN AND ARE BARELY EATING THIS MIGHT NOT APPLY TO YOU.

If know you are definitely hypoglycaemic and it is not a normal reaction to hunger that we all get, perhaps you could ask your doctor for some tips on controlling it?

Sorry, that wasn't supposed to sound like I don't believe you or anything, it's just that some people with anxiety worry that they may have an illness because they have heard of it and their symptoms match so I just wanted to make absolutely clear whether you were worried about having low blood sugar or whether you had had that confirmed by a doctor (if that makes sense!)

You do not need to go on anti-ds (unless you absolutely want to). CBT is very helpful and is a more long-term solution. Pills are used to take the edge off severe symptoms and are a short-term option.

My friend has diabetes type 1 and was referred to a specialist CBT guy who helps people with anxiety connected to physical illness. You could ask your doctor about this option.

[AnxiousHarry]

Hi Suzy, Dahlia, and Haregenster, ty for u replies much appreciated i will try and answer most of your q's a bit later when i can fathom out how to put the words i want to ty AH X:hugs:

[Tero]

Panic attacks are the most common thing that may have other physical causes behind them. Generalized anxiety, more likely not.

[Tero]

However, I believe thyroid conditions can contribute to many anxiety cases. There is no connection to depression, just the anxiety levels. Thyroid blood tests are simple.

[AnxiousHarry]

Right here goes, Dahlia ty for your suggestions i have an appointment with a dietician in April, Suzy aswell ty for your contribution i am eating a wide range of foods such as apples, pineapple, few grapes,fish, chicken, plenty of veg and salads, but they dont seem 2b lasting more that 2-3 hours b4 i get them shakey confused panicky symptoms thats also where i can get confused with it anxiety or low bs, but i do test sometimes i'm low and others i'm within range but feel as tho i'm having a sudden drop in sugar, Haresgenster hello and ty also for ur q's i will try ansa them now, i was dx in dec 2008 as being t2 that caused alot of anxiety being dx and totally changed the way and wat i eat, as for the medication i was on metformin for 9 montha i have been med free for 15 months now diet only controlled, i am most definatley anxious about going hypo as they are really horrible but also wen i know i am hypo, hypo makes me anxious if that makes sense, like i said i do test but not always as been told not to, soon as i drop below 5 i start feeling anxious then wen drop under 4 the symptoms are much worse, now one of my docs told once that i would not go lower than the 3.8 to 9 that i was recording wen felt hypo, but only few days later i went to 3.4 so how can he say i would'nt go any lower but i did then thats confusing me him saying i would'nt go lower, some say that under 4 u are hypo, and some say your not offiially hypo till u get to 2.5 now if i didnt treat the 3.4 i think i would definately gone lower, i have gone from just over 16st to 12st 10 my weight has stablised now, i'm thinking of asking for a glucose tolerence test now, i have heard that will determine if i am hypogycemic, as for the Anti d's i tried escit for 4-5 months and have just weened off on docs advice because he wants me to try another1 mirtazepine but dont really know if i want 2b on them i must say the escit did help the anxiety well it wasnt as bad,but i started having trouble down stairs and sleep has gone bad again insomnia and really weird and bad dreams, i have tried cbt and did not benefit from that, sorry for the long post and how it was written but really appreciate all ur comments and q's, Tero i have the thyroid tests and all normal tnx again AH:scared15::bighug1:

[harasgenster]

Hi AH
Does your doctor understand that you're going hypo despite not being on insulin? He needs to know this if not. Could you write down your blood sugar levels over a period of time and show your doctor how it changes?

Have they given you any advice on hypos or information booklets to help you understand what measures you can take to prevent them? All of the eating advice you have been given here sounds good to me (although, remember the glucose does not entire your blood immediately, if you are hypo you will need to wait until it is digested a little before you feel better). Taking this from friend with diabetes type 1, but for her I think things like lucaozade or glucose tablets are good when she's hypo because the glucose enters the bloodstream much more quickly.

It's important though, to understand why your blood sugar is dropping. Has your doctor explained to you why this is happening? Are you releasing too much insulin or something? I think you need to understand exactly what is causing hypos to be able to avoid them.