How to deal with depression about Diabetes?

[davidtran]

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on October 12th, 2006, almost a month after my birthday. It has been around 3 years since I got it, and I have been doing well with keeping my blood sugars according to my doctors and A1C.
But when I did some research on the internet I found out that my life expectancy is suppose to be 15 years less. This made me really sad, almost tearing up. It said things about being blind, amputated, heart problems, kidney disease etc.
I was so shocked I had low blood sugar.
I just need to know, what should I do to prevent any of those things I listed above, I'll do anything, I also read about surgery tests on finally curing Diabetes but they said it was experimental? I am 15 and do you think I'll be able to be cured by the time I am 30?
I am really worried about my future, and also I don't want my family to worry, It would break my heart to see my family depressed if I become ill or die, I don't want that to happen.
Writing this made me kind of relieved a bit more, I really need to tell someone about this since none of my friends would understand what I am going through and I don't want to bother my parents with this since they go through a lot already.
I really appreciate if you give me answer.
Thank you

[Wowtheskysfalling]

Hello! :D
I'm 15 and I was diagnosed with type 1 DM just 3 months back.Ofcourse initially,it came as a shock ...all those insulin shots ...managing your glucose levels...I felt like I was trapped ,I wasn't free anymore.Not free to eat whatever I wanted to and whenever I wanted to(Atleast that's what I though what it'd be like in the beginning) .However ,through these 3 months I've realized that my thoughts were completely wrong.I've been able to eat whatever I want to by taking the appropriate amount of insulin.Diabetes hasn't stopped me from doing anything.Low blood sugar has usually been a problem for me though and I'm working on that.When I was first diagnosed,I was really curious about everything and so I did up a lot of looking up on the Internet and you'll be surprised to know that I came across all of the stuff you've mentioned above-15 yrs lesser life expectancy,diabetic retinopathy...all this scared the **** out of me.Infact,just a few hours back I thought I was gonna turn blind only because I felt a decline in the efficiency of my eye sight.Instead of thinking that I'd probably have a change in my power,I straight away came to the conclusion that it was something related to diabetes.Yes ,exactly my point-negative thoughts consume us.If we really think about it,were we this frustrated over little things before we were diagnosed?My answer would be no .
See,basically amputations and all these complications happen with type 2 diabetics.Type 1 diabetics are at a very low risk of any of these.So today,this friend of mine came up to me ,acting handicapped and made the most ridiculous voice ever and this is what he had to say ' Hello ,*his name* ,has diabetes and is gonna die in 2 yrs' .He said it like 2-3 times and I was really mad at him .He just replaced my name with his maybe cos he was trying to mock me? I've no idea but don't let jerks get to any of you.I made a stupid mistake by telling a few people at school about my diabetes and I think that was a horrible decision to make.I think you should keep it just to yourself.

I see that I'm posting in 2012 xD I was going off the topic at most times,so sorry for that! Take care guys and don't let Diabetes take over you,you're stronger than that ! :D

[Gabrielaaa]

Hi, my names is Gabriela and I'm 16.
You're not the only one who randomly feels depressed, I did it about an hour ago then found this website. Now I feel fine. If I was you, just ignore the ''life expentancy'' claims and such. When you research it on the internet, its not really a reliable source unless you can get medical advice/information straight away like this site. Did you check the date of the article? You could be reading one from 2000 or 2001. This was before medical technology had advanced. I have also heard about the curing of diabetese, and something like Dolphines has the ability to cure it, but there trying to find a way which would not harm the animals (yay ;D). All this ''OMFG YOUR GONNA GO BLIND AND HAVE YOUR LEGS GONES HEHEHE''. Just ignore it, this is before medical technology had also advanced. How many people do you hear of that have had a toe, or a finger amputated due to diabetese? not many. If you search it, you gonna get a response of someone who has, when theres around 30,000 other people in that country who havent had an amputation. I have been diabetic since 3 year of age, and have also had DKA. Now, I'm at my best stage, when really It would be considerd the hardest (due to puberty, growing, and stress from leaving school). If no-one else is worrying for you, then you should not worry.
I hope I could help in some kind of way. :)

[ambitious]

I am 22 years old ,,, and I had diabetes since I was 12 ...

as all of u , I had been told that DM is chronic disease , no curable ..

so I should try my best to control my blood sugar and modifieng my life style ..

it was not easy to do that ,,, but with the time it became as habit ...

I was afraid about my future ,, and how I will continue my study and life with this

new friend ...

but thanks God , I was optimist and ambitious ,, so I can pass all of these difficulties

and I enterd the medical collage and only one and  a half year to be graduate and become

doctor ...

there is alot of people around us who has DM ,,, so it is easy to us know ..

We can do every things that we wanna do ...and nothing will stop in our way ...

DM can be our friend , if we know how to deal with it ...

we can avoid complication by control our blood sugar and updating our informations

about it ...

so smile now ,,, we are all with u and u r welcome any time ..

take care

[tizzy_108]

Im a 17 year old diabetic who has been diabetic for 7 years now, I was told I would have diabetes for the rest of my life and that it would be simple, it wasnt.  I came back to school and all my friends left me when they found out I was "diseased."  In 9th grade I was getting teased for having diabetes and taking shots so I stopped testing my sugar entirely and just took the shots for how I felt.  I went through dka and it made my depression worse.  Im a senior now and I  still suffer through depression even when my life is going perfect.  I later found the group, TWLOHA, To Write Love On Her Arms and It has helped me a lot, I would hope that reading this that someone looks this site up and finds help like I did.

[Zoelula]

I'm so glad you posted here, as I understand what you must be going through. There is a thread just above yours you should read which talks a bit to your questions. Those figures about life expectency were developed when people didn't have the knowledge or technology to keep their blood sugars in target range. Now we do! And there has been so much progress in the last couple decades there is no telling what will lie ahead, up to and including a cure!

In answer to your question about what you should do to prevent any of the grim complications you have read about...you are doing it! Complications occur over time when your blood sugar is allowed to range high for prolonged periods of time. We all experience occasional highs despite our best efforts but that isn't what does it. If you read that other thread and go to some diabetes forums with more people living with diabetes you will hear of many adults who have been dealing with diabetes since they were small children without any complications at all. (And again, that was before they have the technology and knowledge we have today).

Having said all this, I know that depression is, unfortunately not uncommon with diabetes (or other chronic illnesses). If despite increased knowledge you still feel down, first of all you should talk with your parents because they would want to know. Second of all if it persists and especially if you feel sad all the time or hopeless you should ask your doctor or counselor at school to refer you to a therapist. Finally it would really help if you spoke with some other young people living with diabetes. I'm sending you a website by private message.
Zoe