Headaches, like a constant hangover

[Runica]

Hello, I just wanted to chip in and say that when I was first diagnosed I asked my nurse if it was possible to control my diabetes with diet and excercises. "Oh no," was the reply, "you're too far gone for that! We'll start you one one Metformin and increase to 3 a day within 6 weeks."

The Metformin didn't suit me, but I found this forum and started Gliclazide.

Please to read my signature below, and take heart

Baby steps will get you there just as sure as great leaps for mankind, it's early days, and you may have to do a lot of tinkering with diet and meds until you feel well AND control those blood sugars.

 

[Danny61]

Hi again Danny. You're right that trying to do everything at once would be counterproductive. My attitude to diabetes management has changed a lot in the 9 years since my diagnosis. "Easy does it" is now my motto.

Can I ask you a few questions, which you don't have to answer unless you want to. Sleep disorders are common with diabetes, high blood pressure and a few other risk factors you may have. But many GPs don't think about them, esp. at the start.

Your morning headaches could be a sign of a treatable sleep disorder. Do you:
-Feel unrefreshed from your sleep upon waking?
-Feel sleepy at all during the day?
-Need to use the loo during the night? (If so, on average how many times)
-Snore loudly?
-Toss and turn a lot?
-Prefer to sleep on your stomach or side instead of your back?

Also, while a diabetic can drink alcohol without ill effects, for the next couple of weeks it might be a good idea to really limit it to say one drink with dinner only or, ideally, cut it out for a short time. This would make it much easier to get everything correctly diagnosed and treatment started well.

The combination of diabetes, high BP, morning headaches and moderate alcohol consumption increases the chance of a sleep disorder. If you can optimise your sleep quality, it makes it much easier to treat diabetes and to feel a whole lot better too.

Hi, thanks for your reply, Im happy to answer as best I can.
No i dont feel refreshed when I wake and yes I do feel sleepy during the day. I dont need to use the loo overnight. I dont snore at all. I do toss and turn, but not sure what a "lot" means? I generally sleep on my side. In the almost 2 weeks since diagnosis, I have drank very little, perhaps just a couple of units in that time.

I do appreciate your time and your advice, Thank You

Danny

 

[Jenny15]

Hi, thanks for your reply, Im happy to answer as best I can.
No i dont feel refreshed when I wake and yes I do feel sleepy during the day. I dont need to use the loo overnight. I dont snore at all. I do toss and turn, but not sure what a "lot" means? I generally sleep on my side. In the almost 2 weeks since diagnosis, I have drank very little, perhaps just a couple of units in that time.

I do appreciate your time and your advice, Thank You

Danny

Thanks for the replies. It's good that you have cut back on the drinking because that can make a sleep disorder worse. Daytime sleepiness is one of the strongest indicators of potential sleep apnoea. Snoring and using the loo at least once during the night are also common signs but not everyone with sleep apnoea has them.

Because sleeping on your back makes it harder to breathe, people tend to move onto their side or stomach. Waking feeling unrefreshed can be a sign of it, or another sleep disorder (there are several kinds), or another disorder entirely.

The easiest way for a doctor to rule out the most common sleep disorder is to send you for a sleep study either in a clinic or by taking a test kit home for one night. The in-clinic studies can pick up Periodic Limb Movements of Sleep disorder, which may account for tossing and turning. PLMS can also be a result of sleep apnoea.

I would call a lot of tossing and turning - when you wake up having rolled yourself into a burrito along the foot of the bed (I've done it, lol), and/or a sleeping partner complaining about being kicked by a sleeping you, and/or being woken up by your moving around. In a normal healthy person, they can stay asleep on their back most of the time, and there isn't a lot of moving around.

I'm not saying I think you have it but I know from experience it is better to have a study then you know where you stand. If you do have it, getting it treated will make a huge difference to your daytime sleepiness. The only way to find out is to have a study, and it's GPs who organise those.