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Acute Tiredness

penick

penick

Member
Messages
8
Location
Scarborough
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I would be interested to know if anybody else suffers from the same acute tiredness as I do.
I retire each evening around 10.30/11.00pm and I have to say that I sleep very soundly until
I awake about 8.00am. You would think that after 9 hours of good sleep I would feel refreshed,
but not so. All I want to do is go back to sleep and on occasion I have done just that and slept
on until 10.00am. When I then awake, I feel no better and just want to sleep on again.

Most mornings however, I struggle to get up at 8.00am and after the usual shower and breakfast
if I don't force myself to get up and do something I will fall asleep again in my chair. Is this sort of
thing happening to others and if so what would you suggest I do to break the cycle and regain my
life.

Perhaps I should add that I am 86 years old and was diagnosed T2 six years ago. I am taking
2 x 500mg Metformin each day, along with other medication for a heart condition. I would
welcome your observations.
 
Hello and welcome.

I wonder if your blood sugars are high in the mornings, making you feel tired? Have you got a meter, and do you test yourself?
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Hello and welcome.

I wonder if your blood sugars are high in the mornings, making you feel tired? Have you got a meter, and do you test yourself?
Click to expand...
Hi Bluetit1802, yes I do have a meter and I do use it every morning before I have any food or drink. Most mornings my reading is around
9 mmol/l.
 
Thanks Penick. That is high, but I wouldn't think it is high enough to cause such sleepiness on its own. Do you test before and after eating? That will tell you what sort of levels you are running at during the day. What was your last HbA1c?

Have you approached your GP about this?
 
Hi and welcome!

Oddly enough, I have just been reading a thread on vit D deficiency (which is surprisingly common), and one of the symptoms is fatigue.

Do you get much sunlight? Spend much time outdoors?
Vit D is obtained through nutrition, but it is easily and profusely made by the skin, in direct sunlight.

Doctor's blood tests will show a deficiency (if you can persuade the doc to order the test). Or you can google the symptoms of deficiency and see if they apply to you.

However, this is just a suggestion, and only you or your doc could decide whether you need to supplement.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello Penick and welcome to the forum.
Your fasting bloods are a bit high,mine are in the 6s fasting,I feel fine.
I would have a chat to your Dr .
 
Here I am again.........I have a Doc's appointment for a Blood Test in a couple of weeks time and I intend to
make an appointment to discuss this after the test. I will look into the Vitamin D question and see if I can
gain anything from it.
I try to get out as much as possible (when the weather is good) I generally like to walk about two miles in
about 40 mins, so I think I am OK as far as exercise goes, I also like to do a bit of cycling on quiet roads.
Whether or not I am getting enough sunlight, is debatable, as it is winter time and I am usually well
muffled up !
 
penick said:
Here I am again.........I have a Doc's appointment for a Blood Test in a couple of weeks time and I intend to
make an appointment to discuss this after the test. I will look into the Vitamin D question and see if I can
gain anything from it.
I try to get out as much as possible (when the weather is good) I generally like to walk about two miles in
about 40 mins, so I think I am OK as far as exercise goes, I also like to do a bit of cycling on quiet roads.
Whether or not I am getting enough sunlight, is debatable, as it is winter time and I am usually well
muffled up !
Click to expand...

After writing my last post, I am now doubting myself! Is it vit D or vit B12 deficiency that causes fatigue? Sorry, I am not quite certain.

May be worth reading up on both!

Good luck at the docs. :)
 
Thanks Bluetit 1802,
I have heard that Metformin can cause Lethargy so maybe it is having an effect.
I will discuss all of this with my Doctor, when I see her and I will certainly keep
you all informed as to what happens. However, don't expect a quick result as
my appointment is weeks away ( our Surgery is extremely busy)
 
penick said:
Thanks Bluetit 1802,
I have heard that Metformin can cause Lethargy so maybe it is having an effect.
I will discuss all of this with my Doctor, when I see her and I will certainly keep
you all informed as to what happens. However, don't expect a quick result as
my appointment is weeks away ( our Surgery is extremely busy)
Click to expand...

If there is anything else we can help with, just shout.
 
Hi @penick,

It may be that your blood pressure tablets and the statin that you take are contributing to your tiredness as it is a side effect for these medications.
 
You're describing exactly how I felt when I was diagnosed - Vitamin D3 deficiency was part of the diagnosis and supplementing made a huge difference to my energy levels, even before I lost weight or gained control of BG levels.
 
I hope you get it sorted - it's an awful feeling isn't it!

I suffered from similar acute tiredness for several years and my doctor initially blamed my high weight and later suggested taking vitatimin D during the winter months (but he didn't do any deficiency tests!) - which didn't help me much, and I eventually decided it must be old age creeping up (though I'm not as old as you are!) However after being diagnosed as diabetic just over a year ago and going on a low carb diet, much of my tiredness disappeared. I can usually relate it now to higher glucose levels, which mainly rise when I'm feeling under the weather, but sometimes when I've eaten a few more carbs than normal. Tiredness generally hits me after lunch - but I don't actually sleep very well at night anyway, so it may be my body's playing "catch up" as well.

Robbity
 
Good idea to get both vitamin B12 and D. Also iron and thyroid. Low levels of these four can cause fatigue.
 
Thanks to everyone who has replied. It's good to know that I am not alone in this feeling.
And yes, it is a horrible feeling. Maybe I will try a vitamin supplement for a few weeks and
see if that helps. I will know more after I have seen my Doc.
 
You mentioned heart medication. Beta blockers cause tiredness.
 
I've just had my meeting with my diabetic nurse which went very well and I had loads of bloods taken. She thinks I may B12 and Folate deficient and have anaemia as I have the classic symptoms of it. I take B complex tablets(veggie ones) and a vit supplement but she said it depends on whether or not the body can absorb it. I know when I had my son years and years ago. I had B12 injections and about 10 years ago I was told I had abnormal size red blood cells which are a symptom. I get very cold and tired and am also a vegetarian on a low carb diet. I go to the gym 3 times a week have low blood pressure 135/70 and low cholesterol and am otherwise healthy. I was only diagnose with T2 in January and have got my BG down to the 7's from 15 when diagnosed. I'm on the low carb but not high fat as I don't tolerate fat very well - never have done. So I have to wait a fortnight to see what the results are.
 
Totto said:
Good idea to get both vitamin B12 and D. Also iron and thyroid. Low levels of these four can cause fatigue.
Click to expand...


Totto, I noticed your advice just now as I often have fatigue if I don't sleep enough or have hyperglycemia or don't exercise here in Canada where we are reaching 6 months of heavy winter. Regarding the possible causes such as hypothyroidism (for which i take Synthroid) vitamins, etc. I take Metformin and glyclazide but I do not see any drug interactions or side effects of fatigue on the net or my pharma books.. So, I wonder if it is just downright diabetes blood sugars going up, the glucose relatively low, or lack of sleep.
 
Erin said:
Totto, I noticed your advice just now as I often have fatigue if I don't sleep enough or have hyperglycemia or don't exercise here in Canada where we are reaching 6 months of heavy winter. Regarding the possible causes such as hypothyroidism (for which i take Synthroid) vitamins, etc. I take Metformin and glyclazide but I do not see any drug interactions or side effects of fatigue on the net or my pharma books.. So, I wonder if it is just downright diabetes blood sugars going up, the glucose relatively low, or lack of sleep.
Click to expand...
B12? Metformin is know to cause lack of it.

And low iron, or high iron, can cause fatigue.

Syntroid isn't always enough, you may need T3 too.
 
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