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Type 1: Tiredness

My sugars are all over the place. My sugars are quite low most of the time 3-4 because i have a physical job so hypos i don't always notice but for some reason there up and down. I do test every couple of hours or more sometimes. I have noticed that there high most mornings at the moment. Sometimes there in the late teens to early 20's and there high for quite a few hours then it just drops back in line. Then at some point during the day it may gi back up again in to the teens.

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Sound like you might be going hypo overnight and then rebounding back up (somogyi effect - I don't know how to spell that) & if that's the case it will wear you out (as will lots of hypos in the day and sugars being all over the place - gosh that sounds really judgey, but it's not, I only know that from bitter experience!)

I would be thinking about setting an alarm to test in or through the night to see if you are having nocturnal hypos.
 
Have you tried lowering your insulin for when you're at work to prevent the constant lows? Obviously would be best to speak with your DSN to do this unless you're really confident to do it yourself.

The suggestion from @catapillar to set an alarm during the night is an extremely good idea.

If you're on basal/bolus insulin I would strongly suggest doing some basal testing as this will likely improve your bgs

The tiredness could be nothing to do with your bgs but I think it's a very high possibility :)


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David Wass said:
Does anyone get really tired and energy less?

What can i do to get some life back in me?

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It sounds like you need to learn to alter your doses according to level of activity. And maybe switch your meals around so breakfast is bigger and dinner is smaller.

There is controversy over whether the 'Somogyi phenomenon' even exists. Most people have a high blood sugar in the morning because they went to bed with one or because they ate a meal with carbs, fat and protein late in the evening, which raise their blood sugar six to eight hours later while they are asleep.

You could talk to your DN about it. There are also DAFNE courses, where they teach you to do it. Again your nurse or doctor can sign you up for one.


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As others have said from their own experiences, i feel tired if my blood sugar is over probably 15 for a prolonged amount of time say a couple of hours. When you are at work do you find that you sweat a lot during points of your shift? I used to have a much more physical job and found it difficult to find signals that i was beginning to drift into a hypo, the thing i started noticing was i would be sweating buckets like an abnormal amount...which then became a sign so i don't know if you are similar?

With having a high morning blood sugar level, again i have experienced this too...luckily i found the freestyle libre which has helped me figure out what was going wrong and allow me not to need to wake up at 3am to get that night time sugar update, as the sensor can pick that all up for you!! Definitely recommend it to help iron out your sugars and dosages!! :)
 
Erratic blood sugars aside , in February this year I felt absolutely exhausted (blood sugars were in range) and I couldn't understand what was going on. I was sleeping fine, exercising regularly etc etc. Eventually I was recommended high dose vitamin B12 and started taking them in the morning. After a mere two days I was back to normal.
 
Agree with what's said above erratic BG levels will be leaving you feeling drained. Have you done any basal testing to check your background is keeping you stable ?

If you can afford one then the Libre is a very useful tool for watching patterns over a 24 hour period, even if you just purchase the starter kit to gain a better understanding of your day/night profile this will help you pinpoint where the issues are.

To try basal testing have a look at this link: http://www.salforddiabetescare.co.uk/index2.php?nav_id=1007
 
David Wass said:
Does anyone get really tired and energy less?

What can i do to get some life back in me?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
Click to expand...
i don't have any answers, but i get so tired, i may have several 10 min knaps throughout the day and still feel tired. my sugar levels are erratic as i've had type 1 for 40yrs. so i understand your concerns, but no answers. i've put it down to all the wifi and radio frequencies around are awash everywhere and it may be we're having a sensetivity to it.
 
KevinPotts said:
Depends what's causing it. Any triggers?

Please give us a bit more background...diet, pressure etc

I am sure somebody can offer some thoughts:)


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when i was on "human " insulin , I had the same problem , i asked to be changed to animal insulin as there are a lot of people who have the same problem , i went onto pork insulin ( beef is also available but less popular i believe ) and the tiredness went away , your doctor/nurse may not be happy to change you to animal but you can insist as it is your right . The IDDT - insulin dependant diabetes trust was originally set up to keep animal insulin available - see http://www.iddt.org/ for more information
 
jnk001 said:
when i was on "human " insulin , I had the same problem , i asked to be changed to animal insulin as there are a lot of people who have the same problem , i went onto pork insulin ( beef is also available but less popular i believe ) and the tiredness went away , your doctor/nurse may not be happy to change you to animal but you can insist as it is your right . The IDDT - insulin dependant diabetes trust was originally set up to keep animal insulin available - see http://www.iddt.org/ for more information
Click to expand...

That is totally amazing and completely new info for me. Thanks for the insight:)


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Hi
I've been type 1 diabetic for 48 years. For the last 5 years I have suffered from absolute exhaustion and lethargy. Whenever I mentioned it to a doctor or diabetic nurse I was always told it was because I was a diabetic, but I knew that being a diabetic wasn't to blame. A new GP did a blood test for vitamin D and B12 and I was diagnosed with insufficiency in these vitamins. I was given vitamin D tablets and regular injections of B12 and since then I don't get tired anywhere near as much as I used to.
It might be worth asking your doctor for a blood test.
Hope this helps.

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David Wass said:
My sugars are all over the place.
Click to expand...
You may be tired from riding a roller coaster of sugar levels. It's tough on your body going up and down and up again, which is why so many health care providers suggest a flatter level of blood sugar. I once had a doctor tell me it was better to stay consistently high instead of very high then very low then back high again in one day. It wears me out when I fluctuate like that.
That may be it; I'm not an expert. I found out I'm also anemic, and once I started taking ferrous sulfate I was less tired. I still feel exhausted when I'm riding the roller coaster though.
 
cjj said:
i don't have any answers, but i get so tired, i may have several 10 min knaps throughout the day and still feel tired. my sugar levels are erratic as i've had type 1 for 40yrs. so i understand your concerns, but no answers. i've put it down to all the wifi and radio frequencies around are awash everywhere and it may be we're having a sensetivity to it.
Click to expand...
I also have 40 years of type 1had about 36 years of excellent control 18 years of pumping can't use pump anymore body refused to accept canula after about 12 hours so went on to levimer and humalog pens but can't get good control, spend days with high levels then a sudden return to normal for a few days sometimes spend several days below 4mml with my insulins reduced to almost half , have contacted my Endo it leaves him with no answers to it,went to my GP asked him to get liver and kidney function tests done all came back in normal range the only other option is to change my insulins to Novorapid and maybe lantus but I doubt that insulin is the problem
 
In relation to the other posts about the libre you could just buy one sensor and download the libre link app from the play store. As long as your phone has NFC (I'm fairly sure the S7 does) you can use that to read the sensor data. It would be 50 quid for the 2 weeks but would give you a great insight into what your levels are doing, especially over night..

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When I received my pump 20 years ago, they (the doctors at the hospital) discovered a hypothyroidism and the doctor asked me if I have difficulties getting up from bed and feel tired in the mornings, which was a symptom I had for years but I put it down to "I am not a morning person" kind of thing.
Since then I take Thyroxin and when sometimes I run out of tablets, a few days later I feel the same symptoms.

Just a thought!
 
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