panic attacks and depression

[KELTY]

my 17 year old daughter has been diabetic since October 2005. Since November last year she has been having severe panic/anxiety attacks. We are now home-schooling her as she feels so vunerable in the large school environment. Because of this she is very depressed at not being able to experience life as she used to. She also has a continuous headache that does not respond to normal painkillers. Is all of this 'normal' and do we have to accept these symptoms as being part of her illness?

[rachel2001982]

I was diagnosed at the age of 19. I have also have the same problem it didnt start till after my first child was born. ever since then i wont do anything or go anywhere with out my stuff. its not so bad now that i have been on the pump about 2 months it was the worse during my last preagnacy.  and i hope it will be alot better now that i will be getting on the real time monitor.
I have had to be on meds a few times for it.

hope all goes well

[rmb1]

My daughter suffered from severe panic attacks for over a year and a half (she was 10-11 years old). I had to rearrange my work schedule so that I could wait with her before school. I could not even leave her in the car and go the bank machine (staying in sight). Shopping anywhere was a nightmare, should she for some reason lose sight of me, and she would even have them in the house on occasion (I was in the back garden). They were truly horrendous for her and extremely stressful for me too!

We were fortunate enough to see a homeopathic GP and after one or two tries of different remedies, he prescribed Aconite 200, a homeopathic remedy. She took it for three days running at the same time every day, and literally within 24 hours of the last dose was willing to walk a block and a half to someone's house -- something that would have been unthinkable just days earlier. She carried an emergency dose with her for about 9 months after that, but only needed it on one occasion. The change was miraculous. I recommend taking your daughter to a homeopath -- although sometimes you have to try several different remedies, when they do hit on the right one, it works far better than any drug. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Homeopathy takes a holistic approach, so the doctor talked with my daughter for quite a while to find out what kind of person she was, what things she might be worried or stressed about, what her emotional make-up was in addition to her physical build etc. The remedies are all natural and based on the idea, as far as I understand, that 'a little of what ails you can cure you'. I have been treated for depression and other menopausal symptoms with homeopathy and I have always been amazed by the effectiveness.

[kraysmom]

I am a mother of a 16 year old girl with diabetes and this is a real problem.  We have delt with this over the past several years.  It is a good idea to see a therapist for her to talk to.  Also, has her doctor prescribed anything for her to take to help with the depression?  It is very important for her to see a doctor for this.  My daughter is taking a low dosage of prosac at night to help with her anxiety and depression which helps but talking about everything that is going on is very important too.  She needs a large cheer squad to get her through this time.  I have found that my daughter's blood sugars will rise before school without her even realizing what is going on.  She didn't understand it for a long time because she didn't feel anxious or depressed but her body was doing this on its own.  We have started to giver her extra insulin before she leaves the house for school in the morning and that has helped significately.  She still has to check it after every class to make sure it is coming down.  After the few few classes, her sugar seems to come down to a normal.  School is so stressful in itself, especially for a diabetic.  Does she have an "IEP"?  This is called an individual educational plan.  When my daughter misses school for several days, she has a "homebound" teacher get her work and come to our house and give it to her.  This is a great help and my daughter wouldn't have gotten through the 9th grade without it.  I would like to hear how it goes. Good luck!

[Forum-vol-cmb]

I have never experienced severe panic/anxiety attacks, but if I don't have my glucometer, insulin and some form of glucose with me at all times I feel panicky and anxoius.  So, I don't think having anxiety about diabetes is odd, but severe anxiety should probably be approached.  Does she talk to a therapist?  Maybe you could see if she would go to a diabetes support group so that she could see that she is not the only one dealing with diabetes and not the only one with fears and anxiety. Have you tried going to www.jdrf.org the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation website.  This site would be helpful to you and your daughter.  You would be able to find support groups in your area.  
The headaches I am not sure about, but maybe you should seek help from a neuroligist.  I do not get headaches myself, but maybe that is due to the stress of her anxiety and diabetes.