Tiredness does it stop?

[CarbonSteak]

Hey folks,

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back about this time last year.

I've not been given any sort of medication, told to manage it with diet etc.

Despite cutting sugar, controlling my carb intake most days below 200/250g.

I'm still drained of energy most days regardless of sleep, in all honesty it's starting to drain on me because it doesn't feel like I'll ever not feel tired again.

So does the tiredness ever end?
What made the difference to you with that?

 

[Laineybod]

Oh that's a shame. My tiredness reduced as my hba1c dropped and my diet improved. I still have times of being tired when I have slipped but I also have a disabled son who can be up late into the night so that doesn't help. I think it was only a few months for me to see a difference but I was also losing weight so I don't know if that affected it too. Have you had any recent tests to see how things are?

 

[MrsA2]

Hey folks,

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back about this time last year.

I've not been given any sort of medication, told to manage it with diet etc.

Despite cutting sugar, controlling my carb intake most days below 200/250g.

I'm still drained of energy most days regardless of sleep, in all honesty it's starting to drain on me because it doesn't feel like I'll ever not feel tired again.

So does the tiredness ever end?
What made the difference to you with that?

How are your bg levels? Are they actually dropping?
200-250g carbs would be far too many for me, and many others. I just about maintain at 20- 50g.
Once my levels got down, yes I felt much less tired. Its so worth doing

 

[cdpm]

Sorry to say nothing has helped me. It's hard feeling dragged out all day every day

 

[mouseee]

I definitely feel less tired now I'm working on lower bg. I hadn't realised how exhausted I was really but was regularly in bed early, like 7pm, as I was exhausted. Now I'm lower generally I'm still snd early bed person but to read and relax as I don't do too much telly.
I'd check your bg again and look at your carbs. For me, that amount would be far too high.

 

[zand]

I was constantly tired for years before diagnosis. Having checked my blood test results from way back then I now know I was deficient in vit B12 and my doctor didn't bother telling me.

 

[Rachox]

Hi @CarbonSteak and welcome to the forum. I have to agree with @MrsA2 without checking your blood sugars you can’t tell if you are getting acceptable levels on that amount of carbs.
I eat under 40g per day and with one tablet I get non diabetic HbA1cs.
Have you had your annual check up yet? If so has your HbA1c improved?

 

[jjraak]

I was constantly tired for years before diagnosis. Having checked my blood test results from way back then I now know I was deficient in vit B12 and my doctor didn't bother telling me.

Hi @CarbonSteak

I'd be with @zand on this, if at all possible.

When you get your bloods checked, do try to get & keep the full results for yourself.
(Personally I find all that info very informative and gives us a clear line in the sand for measuring the future improvements or declines )

If you can, ask for your B12 to be tested at that time.

I'm here in the UK, and even though it's a known issue, doctors don't normally ok the check.

I had to request mine, and like zands, mine was poor.

A change of diet & some supplements put me up to a higher level.

As we age vitamins levels ( and much else declines )
Throw in Metformin & it's wise to find & check levels.

Tiredness is one of the effects of poor levels, but then again so is almost every thing, ho hum.

But it's a good idea to know what your level is now, so you have early warning of any issues & you have your baseline.

Then you'll be able to spot and identify any decline....imho.

 

[Resurgam]

@CarbonSteak You are eating the equivalent of almost a week's worth of my carb intake every day. I think that might indicate where to start to make changes to regain some bounce.
I found it really useful to have a blood glucose test meter to compare before and after meal levels to see how food suited me.

 

[mouseee]

Hey folks,

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back about this time last year.

I've not been given any sort of medication, told to manage it with diet etc.

Despite cutting sugar, controlling my carb intake most days below 200/250g.

I'm still drained of energy most days regardless of sleep, in all honesty it's starting to drain on me because it doesn't feel like I'll ever not feel tired again.

So does the tiredness ever end?
What made the difference to you with that?

I've just looked up the average intake of carbs per day in a normal diet. It's between 200 and 300g. So the amount you're eating is only what 'typical' people need/eat. Reducing carbs to successfully lower bg would need to be lower by that estimation.
Also - cutting sugar - cutting or eliminating?

 

[CarbonSteak]

Wow surprised you guys are eating so little in carbs.
200/250g is a massive cut for me with 3 meals a day and that's counting everything from carbs to protein to calories.

As for what I said about cutting sugar, to clarify I avoid all sugar so it doesn't go in the tea, drinks are diet if not just water and chocolate has become a dream.

If I cut my carbs further I'd be struggling to get enough calories a day as it's already a push at that amount.

As for my bloods, no clue what they are wasn't given a tester diabetic nurse said they don't give them out straight away these days and wait to see if people can manage it first.
She didn't even tell me a figure just that I'm only just tipping into the range considered to be diabetic is that 8 or something?

All seems a bit daft if you ask me as I've got no way of knowing if changes I'm making have made any difference they honestly don't feel like they have.
But not sure what else I can do if they aren't?
I suppose I can cut carbs further but at that point I feel I'll be on a massive calorie deficit then. :-(

Also thanks for the replies

 

[Antje77]

I suppose I can cut carbs further but at that point I feel I'll be on a massive calorie deficit then. :-(

There's absolutely no need to be in a calorie deficit when cutting carbs.
I think you'll like to have a read of this informative piece, written by one of our members: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html

As for testing BG, almost no T2 will be given a glucose meter, unless on medication that can cause hypos.
If you can afford it, I'd buy one yourself.
@Rachox has up to date information on meters in the UK which give you the best value for your money.

 

[HSSS]

So drinks are looking ok (assuming you aren’t drinking fruit juice).

What are those 3 meals a day typically? I’m sure we can make suggestions how to lower carbs. The good news is you have a lot of room to make changes and improve how you feel. Replace the carbs with more healthy fats and more protein (ie everything else on the plate to fill the gaps

If you were diagnosed a year ago you should have had a 3 month review and only if that was good or stable moved to 6 monthly blood checks of hba1c to see how control is going (as per NICE guidelines). Other tests (like foot and eye checks are annual and sadly too many surgeries move patients to once yearly blood tests alongside those others rather than the more regular ones.

And definitely get the glucose meter if you can. Even a short period of testing if money is tight can really really help get to grips with this. There’s also a wearable device that can be got on a two week free trial - Freestyle libre that links to most phones with its own app. They are expensive to buy but even two weeks of the free one is better than nothing at all to see what different foods do for your glucose levels.

 

[Rachox]

Thanks for the tag @Antje77 , if you do decide to get a meter @CarbonSteak , here’s some info with links for UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

 

[DeejayR]

If I cut my carbs further I'd be struggling to get enough calories a day as it's already a push at that amount.

Hi, don't worry about calories. Some years ago I got a book called Carbs & Cals. It's got pictures of food portions with nutrition numbers including carbs. I burn fat instead of carbs so I'm interested in "good" fat content too. That's my energy source.
I can see where you're at because I was there too. My attitude to food was completely different then, even though I thought I ate healthily and tried the "healthy" plate recommended by the NHS. It's not so much what's on the plate that's the key, it's what's in my head, my attitude. I couldn't have done it without this forum, so stick around.