Type 1: Tiredness

shoki

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
Not surprised about your doctors' or nurses' reactions, i.e. it is not uncommon at all, indeed quite common. If it's not "oh, because you are a diabetic", it might be something similar and equally banal and stupid, like "oh, it's your age" or "you're never going to get BGs down to 47-48 (Hba1C)", etc. I'm afraid primary healthcare provision (i.e. that afforded by doctors and nurses at GP surgeries) is often quite useless and you find that you as a patient can know far more than them about an individual condition through wide reading, even though the secondary provision (i.e. that available and given in hospitals) is usually, though not always, excellent. The moral of the story is that, for one's own health and life, it's best to take the matter in one's own hands, equip oneself with as much knowledge and understanding as possible, and question what the frontline medical profession (in surgeries rather than in hospitals) is spouting rather than take it as gospel and put your health in jeopardy. At least that is my personal view from experience.
 

cjj

Active Member
Messages
39
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

Also, my job as a tv cameraman doesn't really help as I travel extensively, thus, effecting my blood sugars and the control is not easy and at 55yrs old it's even more difficult juggling work & diabetes; though I have now stopped doing any overseas work as it's too physically demanding. But I'd rather keep going, than frizzle up in a chair all day moaning and groaning. Just get on with it. I remember the days when I was filming in conflict zones; Bosnia, Sudan, Kosovo, I don't even remember ever checking my blood sugars, just injecting when I felt my body needed it. How I'm still alive I can only thank GOD.
 
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prancer53

Well-Known Member
Messages
209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Professionals who know little about diabetes who generalise!!
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
I get exceptionally tired when my blood sugar is above 7 (!!!) (out of normal range) so I always attempt to keep bms between 4-7. Don't find swings problematic providing I take corrective action immediately I realise and test to confirm. About 20 years ago I began to be unable to stay awake but after seeing many doctors who just blamed diabetes I realised that it could be a problem with thyroid (mother, brother and sister all had overactive thyroids) and asked for a test. A doc (diabetes clinic) arranged test but said it was ok but if I started falling asleep all the time to see GP (I was already falling asleep all the time particularly when driving--I would nod off after 1/2 hour). Anyway it just got worse and worse so saw gp who told me results were indicative of an under active thyroid and I have been on thyroxine ever since (which complicates handling diabetes making it even more precarious--in my opinion--but I manage........ have to be even more careful with testing and taking corrective action). Just be aware that tiredness could possibly be due to another cause--because as long as you alter insulin and food intake according to activity you shouldn' t really find diabetes is a cause of tiredness (my opinion, anyway).
 

solitaire

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
miserable moaning people!
My Dr said he thought I was having hypos whilst asleep and this was what was sending daytime sugars haywire - Then I got a cat from a cattery- He is 8 years old and we got on like a house on fire - now he wakes me at night by scratching me or gently biting and after testing I find he does this when my sugars are beginning to drop -usually about 2.8. so I rely on him as my early warning system. I have read about animals being able to sense this but didn't believe it !!
 
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prancer53

Well-Known Member
Messages
209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Professionals who know little about diabetes who generalise!!
Not surprised about your doctors' or nurses' reactions, i.e. it is not uncommon at all, indeed quite common. If it's not "oh, because you are a diabetic", it might be something similar and equally banal and stupid, like "oh, it's your age" or "you're never going to get BGs down to 47-48 (Hba1C)", etc. I'm afraid primary healthcare provision (i.e. that afforded by doctors and nurses at GP surgeries) is often quite useless and you find that you as a patient can know far more than them about an individual condition through wide reading, even though the secondary provision (i.e. that available and given in hospitals) is usually, though not always, excellent. The moral of the story is that, for one's own health and life, it's best to take the matter in one's own hands, equip oneself with as much knowledge and understanding as possible, and question what the frontline medical profession (in surgeries rather than in hospitals) is spouting rather than take it as gospel and put your health in jeopardy. At least that is my personal view from experience.
Yes I agree--I have had diabetes for 54 years (no complications) --since age of 8 and have found that learning from your own experiences is the best thing. Your body, and response to insulin, can change dramatically as you progress through life stages and depending on levels of activity--if you are female it also changes every month through hormones involved in the monthly cycle and, of course, during pregnancy. At 16 I was accepted at a professional ballet school and the daily activity whilst training meant I had to lower my insulin substantially but was also able to eat more spontaneously rather than eating every 2 hours (1 daily injection of soluble and Protamine Zinc insulin--which at aged 27 I started to produce antibodies against so had to be put on different insulins). No advice about this offered by docs though--I just had to work everything out for myself!!!!! Same happened whilst working as a dancer in Italian Operetta Company for 2 years & other work I did in UK which involved heavy & constant physical activity whilst employed as a dancer. When I got married and gave up dancing I had to have far, far more insulin and stick to a very careful diet once more (& I put weight on too--even though I was eating far less food). I found that things also changed substantially in my mid 30 s re insulin and diet & then during pregnancy-also when I developed hypothyroidism. At 47 (when both children were at senior school) I did a Dance Degree and then went onto the Royal Academy of Dance to do a Post Graduate teaching degree at 50--both of which involved daily substantial physical activity and travel and which again meant great responsive changes with diet & insulin. I have since been a teacher of dance, drama & English (thanks Michael Gove for taking dance & drama out of core curriculum and Cameron's government for taking both out of curriculum altogether--so I now do supply teaching which often means I do not know where I will be working from day to day, have t/b suited and booted by 7am ready to travel to wherever-- have 1 mark of insulin at 5.30 am so sugar doesn't rise substantially before proper time for morning jab, breakfast jab in car at a convenient stop and then eat food on the way into school so I do not run out of insulin (& feel awful) by the time lunchtime comes (most schools have very long mornings but short afternoons). I also work on Cunard & P & O ships,, during school holidays organising & delivering youth activities and that involves other dramatic change to diabetic management. My advice is to always learn by your own experience because although most doctors understand facts and figures re diabetes they have virtually no experience re diabetes management--in my opinion anyway (one doc @ diabetes clinic started shouting at me re this and was very much on the defensive--but respect--he was actually a very good doc with good understanding...)!!!! I know I sound very, very opiniated and judgemental but I know that most of the learning re diabetes has been accumulated from my own experience!! I find I am treated quite negatively since I reached 60 (going on 63 now), not just re diabetes, & that most docs talk to me as though I have type 2 (& cannot be persuaded otherwise, it would seem)!!!!!! Fed up arguing with dos, frankly.......!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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prancer53

Well-Known Member
Messages
209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Professionals who know little about diabetes who generalise!!
That is totally amazing and completely new info for me. Thanks for the insight:)


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Yes I had awful probs with human insulin and eventually asked to be changed to pork insulin--consultant just took the mickey and told me I would be scraped up off the floor every 5 minutes--anyway I didn't desist and eventually received my prescription for pork insulin. I feel so much better, hypo warnings are far more definitive too (consultant asked me what sort of warnings I got but my reply elicited from him that I was getting too low on pork insulin..............). Same consultant also told me that I should keep HBA1C much higher than 4-7 after which I got quite angry and told him that he obviously had no idea how blood sugar above the normal range (+7) makes me feel so awful and that he should try it (this was after many, many other negative things he said and then gave me a test for dementia.....really.....). I have had diabetes for 54 years, have no complications, through my own learning and management of diabetes, and would prefer to keep it that way....!!!
 
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GBS_82_

Well-Known Member
Messages
70
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
It certainly is worth asking your GP to sort out a test for vitamin D deficiency. I had similar symptoms and they didn't test this at first. But when they did my vit D levels were 14 - they are meant to be about 70 - 100. Some people think there is a link between low vit D and type 1 diabetes.
 

prancer53

Well-Known Member
Messages
209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Professionals who know little about diabetes who generalise!!
I get exceptionally tired when my blood sugar is above 7 (!!!) (out of normal range) so I always attempt to keep bms between 4-7. Don't find swings problematic providing I take corrective action immediately I realise and test to confirm. About 20 years ago I began to be unable to stay awake but after seeing many doctors who just blamed diabetes I realised that it could be a problem with thyroid (mother, brother and sister all had overactive thyroids) and asked for a test. A doc (diabetes clinic) arranged test but said it was ok but if I started falling asleep all the time to see GP (I was already falling asleep all the time particularly when driving--I would nod off after 1/2 hour). Anyway it just got worse and worse so saw gp who told me results were indicative of an under active thyroid and I have been on thyroxine ever since (which complicates handling diabetes making it even more precarious--in my opinion--but I manage........ have to be even more careful with testing and taking corrective action). Just be aware that tiredness could possibly be due to another cause--because as long as you alter insulin and food intake according to activity you shouldn' t really find diabetes is a cause of tiredness (my opinion, anyway).
Having said that, though, I can remember I didn't feel brilliant on so called human insulin. I then discovered that the amino acid structure in manufactured insulins was different and there were less of them contained therein (52 rather than 53) than in insulin manufactured by the human body or in pork and beef insulins. I suspected that that might be a cause of not feeling so good & mentioned it to the consultant and asked him how that might affect utilisation of glucose in the body & therefore how one might feel on human insulin. His answer? If I wanted more amino acids I should eat steak (honestly.........!!!!!). Did he think that I was stupid, was he not listening to my statement and question or did he, simply, not know the answer? If it was the latter I might have had more respect had he admitted it and then tried to find out answers to my questions in order to inform my decision re which insulin I would prefer to use. I went back onto pork insulin and felt a noticeable difference in energy levels. The hospital DSN had a quiet word with me when I left and told me that I had made a good decision. Likewise the GP DSN who also echoed the same thoughts. I haven't seen that consultant since!!!!!!!!!!
 

prancer53

Well-Known Member
Messages
209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Professionals who know little about diabetes who generalise!!
Not surprised about your doctors' or nurses' reactions, i.e. it is not uncommon at all, indeed quite common. If it's not "oh, because you are a diabetic", it might be something similar and equally banal and stupid, like "oh, it's your age" or "you're never going to get BGs down to 47-48 (Hba1C)", etc. I'm afraid primary healthcare provision (i.e. that afforded by doctors and nurses at GP surgeries) is often quite useless and you find that you as a patient can know far more than them about an individual condition through wide reading, even though the secondary provision (i.e. that available and given in hospitals) is usually, though not always, excellent. The moral of the story is that, for one's own health and life, it's best to take the matter in one's own hands, equip oneself with as much knowledge and understanding as possible, and question what the frontline medical profession (in surgeries rather than in hospitals) is spouting rather than take it as gospel and put your health in jeopardy. At least that is my personal view from experience.
I agree totally!!
 

Babs_reek

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
When you buy things on line,then they pass on your details,like your phone number,get so many unwanted calls.
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
Hi,David,i don't get tired,I'm always in my Garden,i hate being Diabetic,i worked on a Diabetic ward yrs ago,it won't ever go away,we just have to get on with it,iv found power walking helps me,i walk every day,iv stopped Baking,my hubby does all the cooking,sometimes feel a bit down,don't know wether is due to Diabetes or not,keep in touch,x
 

PC16

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 1
If you eat a high gluten diet then get checked out for a gluten allergy - I am in the same boat and will be getting checked soon I might also mention hypothyroidism I had that as a kid - good point sugarsweetDino - if I avoid all gluten I feel ten times better!
 

diabev

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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!
A comment that might be useful or just interesting. I was/am having bouts of super-tiredness like I never had before. I haven't investigated recently but if you search n "Tired Thyroid" you'll find some links suggesting relationships between high T3 and high blood glucose, and perhaps insulin resistance. I have T1D, and found out I have also hypothyroidism. Apparently extreme tiredness is more likely associated with hyperthyroidism than with diabetes, so might be worth checking for hypothyroidism.
 

Happy hippy

Well-Known Member
Messages
126
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Football
:rolleyes::rolleyes:
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

Yes. I get so tierd I fall asleep at any time.
Sitting in side of bed. I've nearly landed in the floor. On the loo I drop off for a few mins. Lol
I don't sleep well at night due to pain from arthritis and two hourly weeing lol
Fed up with feeling rough all the time.
I'm type two and my sugars are high all the time especially after eating.
I even take multi vits but don't feel any better. It's hard. Take care.
 

jimmax

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Yes. I get so tierd I fall asleep at any time.
Sitting in side of bed. I've nearly landed in the floor. On the loo I drop off for a few mins. Lol
I don't sleep well at night due to pain from arthritis and two hourly weeing lol
Fed up with feeling rough all the time.
I'm type two and my sugars are high all the time especially after eating.
I even take multi vits but don't feel any better. It's hard. Take care.
Running high blood sugars all the time is the ideal recipe for feeling tired. Get your sugars into the zone and you'll feel much better.
 
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David Wass

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
It is my sugars. My sugars can not get controlled. Every morning i get up they're running from 15 up to 24. This morning 21.5 and it just stays above 10 all day. I've been told to change injection sites due to me not having any fat but its not changed anything at all. It knackers me out everyday. Saw my diabetic nurse her only advise was to change sites adjusted my bolus a little from 14 to 16 but nothing. I understand it takes a fewcdats to adjust but last night was night 3. How manyyl more data will bolus start to take effect?
 

David Wass

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks. Every day my sugars are running high. No keytones though even when they run in the 20's????

Though my suagrs don't feel that high no dehydration nor running in and out of the loo for pee (excuse my wording).