Diabetes, Insulin and Prozac...Please advise?

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Ellowyne

Ellowyne

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I really need some advice before I go the the Drs tommorow...I had quite a difficult time with my Therapist and Phychiatrist today, they both feel that I would benefit from taking some Antidepressents, Porzac maybe...To help me through, well, things have been a struggle for me and my OCD and obsessive thoughts are causing me alot of distress.

The thing is, part of my anxiety is the effect Antidepressents may have on my Blood Sugars...which are not good at the best of times...I read this about Prozac and other antidepressents:

Antidepressants Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a relatively new class of antidepressant, of which the most well known is Prozac (fluoxetine). One of its side-effects is that it seriously interferes with glucose regulation. According to the manufacturer?s prescribing information: 'In patients with diabetes, Prozac may alter glycemic control. Hypoglycemia has occurred during therapy with Prozac, and hyperglycemia has developed following discontinuation of the drug.' Other generic names of SSRIs are citalopram, fluvoxamine, paroxetine and sertraline.


My question is...has anyone had expereinces with Insulin and antidpressents?...and do these meds affect your Blood Sugars?...I have a letter to take from my thereapist to give to my Dr. But, my Dr isn't too great and tends to ask 'Me' what medications I would be happy to take?...It's like I self prescribe!...But I have to see her, the Phychiatrist wanted me to check into my local mental health hospital...for a 'rest' she said...But I can't leave my son, not at this time...So, I promised to try the Meds instead and have to phone her back tomorow...I am so worried about taking any new medication...any help please?

Thank you, Ellowyne x
 
Hi Ellowyne.

Sorry I can't help as far as taking the meds with diabetes. Could you ask your psychiatrist or therapist to get some advice from a DSN or consultant on your behalf ?

It sounds like they are all expecting you to do the legwork.

I hope you manage to get some trustworthy advice and that the meds can help you to find a way of lowering your anxiety.🙂

Rob
 
I took fluoxetine (Prozac) for a while. It can affect BMs but in my case this was not too significant though I did find that different generics has subtly different effect on my BMs.

When I started the Prozac the GP checked the drugs book - as he had heard of it causing hypos. It just said use with caution - so I was advised to do extra tests to see how it affected me, I was also told to get back in touch if there were any problems.

It was a question of testing and then modifying my insulin doses accordingly though I don't know how happy you feel about that.I think it takes about 2 weeks for the prozac level in your system to reach a steady state - so in those few weeks that the most tinkering would be required.
 
I take both ADs and insulin and the andi ds have no effect on my bs. I suppose it depends what ad ur on. There are loads on the market any idea why he suggested prozac? You need to do some homework on ads and present your case to your pdoc. The website crasymeds is a good one to start with. As for going into hospital its nothing to be scared of I know it may seem hard to leave family behind but you may need to consider putting yourself first for a change. I have been in psy hossie a few times now both as an informal and sectioned patient. Good luck with things and let us know how you get on. If you wanna pm me about anything feel free
take care
gail
 
I think that Prozac is the cheapest SSRI out there and is the one that is suggested as a first approach - sure I read this somewhere. Its also supposed to be the easiest to stop as the half life is very long, some of the newer SSRIs have a short half life so you body notices the difference faster when you cut down.
 
Hi Ellowyne,

When I had my first baby I had severe post natal depression and was prescribed citalopram & had some counselling. I don't recall the citalopram having any drastic effect on BG levels, but to be totally honest my control was not brilliant at that time anyway so I'm not 100% certain I'd have noticed unless there was a major effect. In my case mood & BG are definitely 'chicken & egg' - if one's wrong, the other suffers... I don't know how your control is at hte mo, but it might be worth asking for closer support from a good dsn maybe as you get used to whichever ad they decide to go with?...

Not sure how helpful that is, but thinking of you - hope you feel better soon.

Twitchy xxx
 
Hi
I am currently on 40mg of prozac a day. I haven't found it has any direct effect on my blood sugar. If anything it has helped as I binge eat less when taking it. It can give you a dry mouth to begin with which I.did find confused me spotting hyper symptoms.

Rachel
 
Hi, thank you for all your kind replies 🙂

I have been to the Dr, we discussed both Prozac and Citalopram. She decided on Citalopram, just 20 mgs aday first, she said that these tablets were perhaps better for Anxiety...I am nervous to try them still...I really don't like anything that alters my sense of awareness or makes me feel disorientated...But, I feel I should give them a try, maybe they will help?

Thank you again for replies...Warm hugs, Ellowyne xXx
 
Ellowyne said:
Hi, thank you for all your kind replies 🙂

I have been to the Dr, we discussed both Prozac and Citalopram. She decided on Citalopram, just 20 mgs aday first, she said that these tablets were perhaps better for Anxiety...I am nervous to try them still...I really don't like anything that alters my sense of awareness or makes me feel disorientated...But, I feel I should give them a try, maybe they will help?

Thank you again for replies...Warm hugs, Ellowyne xXx
Click to expand...

hi ell i have been on Citalopram for just under 3 weeks now and i have found them to work great for me , hope they do for you xx
 
Hi Ellowyne,

When I was on Citalopram I found that the main effect was a sort of calming, numbing effect - doesn't sound brilliant, but it was a darned sight better than how I was feeling before! 🙂 Maybe numbing isn't a good description, but they evened things out - I was constantly miserable before, but on the medicine was just 'ok'... i seem to remember not feeling terribly positively happy as such (didn't expect to though lol!) but it did seem to keep me fairly balanced at a neutral level.

I was initially very worried about going on them, as I'd heard all sorts of stories about ad's, coming off them etc, but in fact it was fine. In the end I think they helped just give me some 'head space' to plod along until things calmed down & I felt better, if that makes sense?! I wouldn't be afraid of going on to them again if I had to.

Hope that helps,

All the best,

Twitchy xxx
 
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