I was diabetes free until I started taking anti-psychotics. Now, even with taking metformin too, my daily sugar readings are getting pretty high. And I’m feeling increasingly shittie. Any experience with this? Any suggestions?
I take Metformin too, my dr increased my dosage recently from 500mg to 1000mg. He says I am about to have diabetes and this med helps preventing it. I am already taking meds for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
I developed diabetes recently after taking antipsychotics for several years. I now take both Metformin and glipizide to regulate my blood sugar levels.
What dose of metformin are you on ? I’m on 1500mg/day and for the last few years my levels have been ok. Maybe you could up your metformin.
I’m on 2000mg of Metformin because of AP induced diabetes.
I don’t bother checking my blood sugar levels often because as long as I’m on these psych meds my blood glucose levels will remain elevated.
Hey @everhopeful, I have been on 500 mg Metformin for years but the doc today upped it to 1000 mg so we’ll see. Thanks.
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Thanks for the reply @LilyoftheValley.
Thanks for the reply @Aziz.
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Good point @Wave, I guess I just have to live with it and the risks.
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My blood sugar is controllable.
But I eat may too much sugar and carbs.
Part of it is buying stuff my GF likes and having it in the house.
But when I eat the way I’m supposed to, my blood sugar is fine.
I take Metformin, Glimepirade, and Januvia.
That blood sugar is controllable when on anti-psychotics is encouraging @eighteyedspy23. Thanks for the feedback.
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I’m diabetic since february 2019. I get Metformin. I can’t change my lifestyle. Tried it often and always failed. My Vision is blurry. And I drink and pee a lot. Doctor said that I just need to quit my powder tea, because it’s just plain sugar. Can’t do that, I even not know anymore how often I failed on that. And I should quit smoking doctor said.
These two things are one of the few joys I have in life. I unwilling to quit and would rather die from both of these addictions than to change something. I got totally hung up on failing to often. I’m just thinking: “Why life longer and healthier when there is no reason for it, schizophrenia won’t get away.”.
I’m on metformin, Actos and rybelsus I got diabetes from Being on seroquel for thirteen years. Still paying for it.
I totally understand your frustration @Vuldarz. I was thinking about the tradeoffs , like you have been, only yesterday. Thanks for the feedback.
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Thanks for the feedback @anon78876561. Sometimes like today I wonder if the cure is worse than the curse. Is the damage that anti-psychotics cause (like diabetes and all the ramifications of diabetes such as early death, heart attacks, blindness, dizziness, amputations, etc.) worth it to be more likely to be hallucinations and delusions free? I even read an article last night from a prominent us based psychiatrist that said that anti-psychotics are the cause of negative symptoms and a zombie like consciousness. Here’s the link https://breggin.com/making-americans-into-zombies/
I don’t know what to think.
Positive symptoms are much worse than negative symptoms. I would be already dead without my meds. I become a criminal and can kill ppl and myself when unmedicated. I quit meds 3 times and tried suicide, drs said I was very close to die from liver failure, Tylenol overdose. I vomited many times for 2 hours.
I totally understand what you mean. Sometimes I wonder what I am doing. To be honest, I will take staying well mentally over anything. I’m a wreck if my anti psychotic isn’t working. I can put up with the diabetes, because you can live well as long as you keep your diabetes under control. Years ago there was no treatment for diabetes and people died early from it. With the modern medicine there isn’t a cure yet, but it is possible to live well with self care and medications. You just have to figure out how to balance. But yes, living with side effects from anti psychotics, is a hard road to travel. I understand your frustrations completely.
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Good point @Aziz. For some of us that is true. What I have been reading says that as an intervention therapy and for a year or two after positive symptoms that the use of anti-psychotics is very effective. However, (what I have been reading says) as time goes on and you move into the long term (I have been on anti-psychotics for 12 years now) the anti-psychotics become less effective and cause serious life threatening weight gain and diabetes. There is no research that has been done that proves either the necessity or effectiveness of anti-psychotics past 3 years.
Its your choice to take the risks. I quit my meds after 10 years of use for a year before I ended up trying to kill myself. During that year I thought I was Jesus and that jews are tying to poison me with radioactive poison. I got in trouble with the police because I threatened a jew.
Suicide is more common than homicide when you have uncontrolled schizophrenia. Usually people who murder others have serious issues other than having bipolar or schizophrenia. Violence is very very uncommon with most people who suffer from mental illnesses. If you want scientific proof, I’m happy to provide them.
Okay so you get voices that tell you to kill others. It is very different to have thoughts of harming others than actually following through. You can have a mental illness without being a psychopath. People who kill others are very rare. A very rare population of mentally ill people will murder others. Yes, you can hear voices that tell you to harm others, but only a very small percent of those people will actually kill others.
I would be very cautious in saying that the typical mentally ill person is violent. That is not true.
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