If you have diabetic macular edema (DME), you know its impact can go far beyond your eyes.

Since Pamela Curdes, 56, was diagnosed with DME earlier this year, finding the right care and dealing with changes to her daily life has been overwhelming.

“It makes you stressed,” says Curdes, who lives in Indianapolis. “You don’t know what’s going to happen to you.”

A few months after her diagnosis, Curdes lost most of her vision and was suddenly unable to drive or travel on her own. She had to cancel a trip to meet her newborn granddaughter out of state, give up her regular visits to her daughter a short drive away, and even lost her ability to get to the laundromat.

“Everything that I can think of has been impacted by this,” she says.

Vision problems like those caused by DME are linked to depression and poor mental health, says Briana Mezuk, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. 

“It’s very distressing,” she says. “It severely limits somebody’s ability to work or do other things that are important to us and help us find meaning in our life.”

Curdes says missing everyday things had a big impact on how she felt. She especially missed things like her haircut appointments and regular trips to a local restaurant where she knows her servers.

“That was socialization I lost,” she says.

What’s the Relationship Between Mental Health and DME?

Studies show that diabetic retinopathy, DME, and vision loss can impact your psychosocial well-being, or your mental and social health. Diabetic macular edema may increase your risk of anxiety and depression by increasing psychosocial distress.

People with depression are also more likely to have diabetic retinopathy which is a condition that can lead to DME.

“While it’s both distressing and even depressing to develop vision loss as a result of diabetes, it is also the case that stress and depression increase the likelihood that someone will have poorer diabetic control, and therefore develop said complications,” Mezuk says. 

Emotional distress is common among people with diabetes, regardless of their complications, she says. It can be helpful to think of emotional difficulties and depression as a part of diabetes, instead of a side effect.

What Can You Do to Take Care of Your Mental Health?

“In the same way that you might check in with your doctor on a regular basis about your blood sugar or hemoglobin A1c, checking in with some member of your health care team, or your broader support team, about your mental health on a regular basis is really important,” Mezuk says.

Some things that may help you manage the emotional side of DME include:

  • Getting peer support
  • Talking with family or friends 
  • Speaking with other people who have DME 

Clinical trials have shown that both those who get peer support, and those who give it, benefit, Mezuk says.

Peer support programs don’t have to be linked to your doctor, or be specific to DME, diabetic retinopathy, or even diabetes to be helpful, she says. You can explore other options when looking for support programs, such as:

  • Church health ministries
  • Groups at senior centers
  • Community centers
  • Support groups at the YMCA

Curdes’s sight has improved after DME shots and cataract surgery. She was introduced to another woman with vision loss by a local church and gets support from a connection she made in a DME group on social media. She and her online friend text to share their concerns and compare treatments.

“We keep track of each other’s appointments,” Curdes says “It’s nice to have somebody just ask how you’re feeling.”

When Should You Get Professional Help for Your Mental Health?

If you’re feeling depressed, there’s help out there. If you think you’d benefit from help, don’t wait, Mezuk says.

“The data is crystal clear that both talk therapy and pharmacological therapy are effective treatments for depression,” she says. “They are effective even if someone has a complex medical condition like diabetes.”

Medication and therapy can also be used together. Keep in mind, it may take several weeks of trial and error to find the right dose of medicine.

“The most important thing is to get started because it often takes some time to find the right fit,” Mezuk says. Be persistent in seeking help, she says.

Doctors often feel they need more skills to help people with the emotional side of diabetes, and mental health therapy can be hard to find.

“Just because the first door they knock on for support may not provide exactly what they’re looking for, they shouldn’t give up,” she says. “Have the expectation that it may take a while to get to the right place, but they should prioritize that, and their family should prioritize that, and their physician should prioritize that.”

Show Sources

Photo Credit: Tetra images/Getty Images

SOURCES: 

Pamela Curdes, DME advocate, Indianapolis.

Briana Mezuk, PhD, professor of epidemiology, University of Michigan; co-director, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Quality of Life Research: “The relationship between diabetic retinopathy and psychosocial functioning: a systematic review.”

American Academy of Ophthalmology, EyeNet Magazine: “Diabetic macular edema: diagnosis and management.”