Hypo's and Mood Swings

[sammy37]

Hi, my name is Sam, I have been diabetic for 18 years. I sometimes feel like I've been diabetic for about a year as hopeless as I am with it at times. Recently I have been trying really hard to keep my sugar levels low as I would like a baby ( I am consulting my doctor regarding this). Since I have been trying to keep levels low (about a month) yes I know I should of been doing this anyway 😱 (but I suffered with depression so it was not easy) well anyway since I have been trying I have found that when i go low my anger/stress and anxiety levels go through the roof! It is awful. I know that mood swings are a symptom of a hypo and I have always found that my mood has dropped with sugar levels but this is like something I have never experienced before. Instead of suffering from depression (I came off venlaflaxine about 2 weeks ago - horrendus withdrawal effects) I have started feeling stressed and anxious and angry alot, so I wondered if this was making me feel extra stressed etc at times of going low or does anyone else experience this anyway? and do you have any tips?

Thank you in advance 🙂 Sam.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Sam, I responded on your introductory thread, but here's my thoughts 🙂

Unfortunately, if your levels have been running on the high side for a while then getting them closer to normal will (as no doubt you know!) result in 'false' hypos, where you get the symptoms but aren't actually hypo. It's only be persevering and getting your levels generally lower that you will get your hypo awareness only when you are actually hypo. Hypos can cause stress and anxiety because of the adrenalin and cortisol that is produced when your brain starts to panic that you are low. As far as I know the only real solution is to ride out the storm until you are used to those lower levels.

What sort of levels are you at normally - do you know what your last HbA1c was? What levels are you at when you feel hypo, or when you start feeling the symptoms? What insulin regime are yo on? Sorry for all the questions! 🙂

 

[sammy37]

Hi, thank you for the reply, well my last HbA1c (I call it HSBC as I can never remember it) has been over a year ago and it was 7.5 so I was quite pleased with that although I know it should be lower but at the time I was suffering with quite bad depression and my eating patterns etc were all over the place. Usually when I feel like I'm going low I am at 4.6 ish (this used to be 6 so I know its getting better) but I can also not notice I am low until I am down to about 2. I did find that late last year I used to think I was going low only to test and to find my sugar levels were sky high, this also accompanied feelings of stress.

The insulin I take is Novorapid - 6-8 units at breakfast, 12 for lunch, 12-14 at tea and at the moment 24 units every morning of Glargine, but I am starting to wonder if that is too high?? I am due to see my GP about all of this and get my HbA1c done but as I say with my depression I was not looking after myself at all so turning up to appointments was just not happening, but I am more organised now and hopeful about having a baby, I just wish I could get my stress levels and feelings to go away

Hi Sam, I responded on your introductory thread, but here's my thoughts 🙂

Unfortunately, if your levels have been running on the high side for a while then getting them closer to normal will (as no doubt you know!) result in 'false' hypos, where you get the symptoms but aren't actually hypo. It's only be persevering and getting your levels generally lower that you will get your hypo awareness only when you are actually hypo. Hypos can cause stress and anxiety because of the adrenalin and cortisol that is produced when your brain starts to panic that you are low. As far as I know the only real solution is to ride out the storm until you are used to those lower levels.

What sort of levels are you at normally - do you know what your last HbA1c was? What levels are you at when you feel hypo, or when you start feeling the symptoms? What insulin regime are yo on? Sorry for all the questions! 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Errrrrrrr - aren't you seeing a hopsital diabetes clinic Sammy? Hospitals these days have specialist pre-conception advisers for us! GPs just don't have the expertise.

 

[Northerner]

...The insulin I take is Novorapid - 6-8 units at breakfast, 12 for lunch, 12-14 at tea and at the moment 24 units every morning of Glargine, but I am starting to wonder if that is too high?? I am due to see my GP about all of this and get my HbA1c done but as I say with my depression I was not looking after myself at all so turning up to appointments was just not happening, but I am more organised now and hopeful about having a baby, I just wish I could get my stress levels and feelings to go away

Good to hear that things are improving Sam, and don't beat yourself up about what's been and gone - you're looking after yourself now, and looking forward to new and exciting things, so hopefully that, with help from us should you ever need it!, will keep you motivated and improving. As you say, 7.5 isn't terrible, although they do want it lower before you conceive, I believe.

Apart from the glargine, your insulin requirements aren't that different from mine. Is it the glargine you are wondering about being too high? Really, the only right dose is the one which works well for you, and if you are getting decent waking levels and no night hypos then it is probably about right. Just wondering, have you ever been on a course for your diabetes, like DAFNE for example? A lot of long-term diagnosed people find that they can learn a lot, and often that a lot of new ideas for diabetes management have somehow passed them by, so worth asking about if you haven't done such a course yet.

A lot of people here have had periods of depression, when it has been hard or almost impossible to look after their diabetes well, so you are not alone if you ever want to share your feelings about it.

I would agree with trophywench - Type 1 patients should definitely be attending a consultant-led clinic rather than their GP. With the best will in the world, a non-specialist cannot hope to keep up-to-date with everything that's going on with Type 1 these days, so it might be worth asking for a referral 🙂

 

[sammy37]

Thank you Northerner and Trophywench. I have been advised to go to a pre-conception clinic, there is not one in the city I live but there are two to choose from in nearby towns so I will look into them (I don't drive and don't have much money for travel at the moment - but I totally beleive that I have to start putting my health first.

I will look into doing a DAFNE course, I'll put it on google, again this depends on travel but definately something I will look into, I have enquired about an online course for people who are suffering from general long term health conditions - I can't remember what it was called but I had just missed the start date for it.

I know I have alot to do to get better and I am slowly trying to get myself into the right frame of mind to do all of these things as I do know how important it is - I basically need a kick up the bottom!!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There's an excellent online course run by the BDEC team in Bournemouth (google BDEC e-learning) which covers lots of DAFNE type approaches, though of course you would miss out on the group discussions which many find extremely useful.

 

[NatB]

Hi sammy,
I hope you can do the Dafne course as it can be very beneficial.
I find when I'm unwell and my levels run high when I'm better again I feel like I'm having a hypo when infact its about 4.6.
I also don't always realise I'm having a hypo like you until its about 2.6 or lower especially when I'm busy.
I try to check my levels regularly.
I do hope you feel better soon. I have suffered with depression and was on medication for 18 months.
Its so hard but i find exercise does really help for me.
Take care. 🙂

 

[PhoebeC]

I sometimes get angry hypos ill become a monster lol so rude but i can't help it i do my husbands head in with it When i was a teenager me and my mum had code word mushroom for such times so she knew i wasn't justbeing rude
I don't have moody hypos alot but have had them for along as I've been diabetic
im fine afterwards x

 

[Ellie Jones]

Moody hypo's😱

Should ask one of my son's ex-girlfriends!

In my defence this particular girls was a pain in the butt, she would phone my son all the time to berate him, I kid you not you could hear the beratting my son was getting from across the room, a whining high pitch voice and would even scream down the phone...

She phoned at the wrong time one day... Boy did I let rip😱

My toad of a son, who clicked mum's hypo didn't put the phone down with mum hypo I got to help... Nah he took delight in allowing me to finish having a go at her then put the phone down....

So don't worry too much about being moody if you'll low..

A couple of tips if you find you having a phantom hypo..

Eat something that's sugar free, such as a sugar free Jelly, if you've got nothing that sugar free, go for a Protein such as a Chunk of cheese, slice of meat this can often fool the body into thinking you've feed it carbs, bringing a quicker recovery to a phantom hypo, than just weather it out..


If you feeling anxious all the time, it might still withdraw symptoms from coming off your Anti D medication, as its only been two weeks, so perhaps have a word with your doctor, who can do two things, either arrange counselling so that you can learn some relaxation techniques, or perhaps prescribed an intrim medication to help relieve your anxious feelings (not Anit D's) so help for a week or so...

 

[Hanmillmum]

Hi,

seems coincidental with your stopping of Venlafaxine, this anti-depressant in particular can cause withdrawal/discontinuation syndrome on stopping, even with dose tapering, this is due to it's short half life - you can just miss a dose and have the same problems.

Psychological problems include increased anxiety/agitation, tearfulness, and aggression. Physical symptoms are sleep disturbance, stomach upset and flu-like symptoms. Perhaps it is the combination of this and being hypo?