'I didn't think I needed to be here' says woman with diabetes and depression

'I didn't think I needed to be here' says woman with diabetes and depression1 hour agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleTerel EdmundsandGwenllian Glyn,News ImpactBBCMother-of-two Naomi Durham says she reached a point where she didn't care about livingWarning: This story contains discussion of mental health struggles including self harm and suicidal thoughtsA woman with type 1 diabetes says she was left feeling as though her two young daughters "would be fine if they didn't have me" during her struggle with depression.Naomi Durnham, from Cardiff, experienced severe post-natal depression after the birth of her second daughter during the Covid pandemic.Diabetes UK says people with the condition - which affects blood glucose - are twice as likely to have depression, adding similarities in symptoms between the two can make it more difficult to get necessary support.A leading expert in diabetes psychology, who is heading up a new UK-first care pathway, said the toll of managing diabetes was like "having to beat your own heart".Cardiff and Vale health board said it had a perinatal mental health service offering "specialist, safe, effective and compassionate care".It added it was "sorry to hear" about Naomi's experiences and said, while it was unable to comment on individual cases, it encouraged her to contact its concerns team.Naomi DurnhamNaomi first noticed a deterioration in her mental health following the birth of her second daughter in 2020Naomi, 34, said she spent much of lockdown feeling "completely numb"."My health visitor was amazing, she could see I wasn't myself and she thought I needed some more support so she contacted my GP on my behalf," she said.But she said the GP prescribed her increasingly higher doses of anti-depressant medication over the phone, until she was on the maximum amount.She never saw them, and there was "never any suggestion of perinatal ment...