Blood Levels and Fatigue/Tiredness

[stillo]

Hi

Sorry another question i seem to be getting conflicting answers to on the net i hope someone can put me straight, although my level is not as severe as some suffers i am suffering from extreme fatigue and tiredness, i currently take Januvia and Gliclazide and the only thing these two have managed to do so far is give me an headache no alteration in my levels at all.

I am constantly between 9 and 16 all through out the day and night i understand that when people go hypoglycemic they become very tired and fatigued does the same apply to Hyperglycemia.

I have suffered with sleep apnea which is now under control with a cpap machine i did suffer with severe insomnia that now also seems to be in remission and i have no other explanation for my tiredness apart from constant high readings,i am getting myself in a tizz as i cannot for the life of me fathom out what could be causing it, i will add that my Gp is of no use whatsoever with regards to the Diabetes or Tiredness and they have now referred me to community Diabetes team, your help/advise would be very much apprecieated

Regards
Stillo

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Some people feel tired with hypo and hyperglycemia, others like me don't so we are all different in that regard. How old are you and are you over or normal weight? Also, are you having a low carb, low-portion size diet? The fact that Gliclazide doesn't work (it didn't do much for me either) is a hint that your pancreas isn't producing enough insulin rather than you being insulin resistant. If the pancreas isn't top-notch, then the Sitagliptin would also not be that effective as both drugs need enough working islet cells to have an effect. If you are young and not overweight, then there is a possibility that your diagnosis is not T2 but might be late onset T1? If this should be the case then the tablets would not have that much effect. There are two tests the diabetes team could do i.e. c-peptide and GAD to check insulin levels and whether you have any GAD antibodies. So, let's hope the diabetes team do their job well as I expect they will and do let me know your age & BMI. BTW, I'm not a doctor but have been thru a similar process of tablets not working well and am now on insulin which has had a dramatic effect and not a problem at one-a-day for me.

 

[stillo]

Hello Daibell

Thank you for your reply, i am 50 years old and excessively overweight although due to a genetic disease with my eyes i am not allowed to drive so i believe i get more that enough excessive i currently cycle 10 miles per day and i walk a minimum of 3 miles a day 5 days a week as part of my employment, please don't tell me i need to lose weight i know i do and i have tried my very hardest my Dr has also tried all sorts including medication to help me and nothing works, i have been told by many people on these forums that i don't eat well enough and i admit i do not but unfortunately when i do eat regardless of what is is my weight increases and my levels go and stay high my current BMI is just as tad over 37 and my GP mentioned batriatric surgery,i wont even consider route that as the amount of food i eat per day is probably the same as someone who has had the surgery.

I Don't and will not eat breakfast due to feeling extremely unwell i also avoid lunch and mostly eat one meal per day around 6-8 at night so low carb is definitely what i follow portion size is the one meal a day that i have,no more than an estimated 600 cals i do drink a lot of coffee per day and water, i am aware that i am doing everything wrong and eating like this will contribute to my fatigue/tiredness but i have eaten properly in the past and still been tired fatigued, Since starting Januvia and Gliclazide i have felt unwell with pains in my stomach under my ribs and in my back, i have had metformin but unfortunately for me they did not agree with me and i ended up at A&E at Christmas.

Thank you for your reply it is very much appreciated

Stillo

 

[Finzi]

Stillo - I really feel for you being overweight on such a low calorie intake - it must make it much harder to know where to go. Yes, high blood sugar can certainly make you feel fatigued. It definitely did with me. I am also overweight, and before diagnosis, I had levels probably around 11 to 12. When I started following a low carb, moderate fat diet, my levels plummeted to about five, and I have also lost about 20 kg so far. My fatigue and exhaustion disappeared almost immediately, certainly within 2 to 3 days. I am Type II, so have not had a hypo, but from what I understand, fatigue is not quite the way that it would be described. Fatigue is much more typical of high blood sugar.

 

[stillo]

Hi Finzi

Believe it or not at Christmas when i was given Metformin i ended up in hospital i was severely dehydrated and the pains were unbelievable i could not stand up straight the feeling of sickness that it brought on was awful i did not eat a scrap of food for a week and predictably i lost no weight at all, for people reading this i know it sounds impossible but i can assure you it is true.

The Hospital told me i had IBS and gave me one tablet to take that made absolutely no difference whatsoever i was taken off metformin by my GP as i complained that i only had this problem when starting Metformin he wasn't convinced and after a further week asked me to try metformin again and under protest i did 3 days later and a further Dr appointment it was evident to the Dr that metformin had done something to me as once again i could hardly stand i crawled into his surgery (sorry im going on)

My levels have been high since diagnosis last year and nothing changes them medication,diet,no diet,low carb,high carb no food nothing works i am suffering with constant headache diarrhea sorry to much info

Thanks for your input

Stillo

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Thanks for your info. I think we can eliminate my background thoughts as it is obvious as you are aware that you are an insulin resistant T2. It's sad that the Metformin gave you problems as it is the best first drug for insulin resistance. Was the Metformin the SR (Slow Release) version? I guess it probably was but if not, the SR version is much kinder to the body as long as you start with one tablets and build-up. You realise that having just one meal a day is really bad for diabetes as it completely confuses the body's metabolism. If there is any way you can gradually move back to meals spread thru the day it should help. I can understand it must be very difficult if you have IBS and perhaps other problems. I would expect the diabetes team to consider insulin as the way forward although there are some other injectables that can help if you are overweight (Byetta, Victoza etc). Let's hope the diabetes team can find a way forward for you.

 

[stillo]

Hi Daibell

I have tried both standard and SR Metformin unfortunately the problems persists with both formulations so i think it's out of the question for me, yes i agree that i should try and eat little better but i have trouble doing so i have no desire to eat and i feel quite sick,as for insulin i don't think i will go that route even if it is the only thing i need i am not willing to gain any more weight i would rather be as i am than to risk more weight gain wrong i know but i will not tolerate anymore weight gain

Once again appreciated

Stillo

 

[Finzi]

I do understand (well, I don't but I can imagine) why you don't want to eat more/more frequently. I wonder if maybe your metabolism is just really screwed up? Have you been on lots of crash diets in the past? You remind me of my mum. She hardly eats anything, only tiny portions, but puts on weight really easily, eg if she eats more than about 500 calories a day. She spent years of her younger life doing these semi-starvation diets eg the Cambridge diet, cabbage soup diet etc. Not really sure what I'm trying to say here, other than I completely believe you, and that maybe, just maybe, you'd have more luck with weight and blood sugars if you were able to eat a little more and a bit more regularly. Your body might be thinking you are in serious starvation mode and be hanging on avidly to everything it can. Very hard if you're feeling sick. But maybe little and often of high quality proteins and fats, eg nuts, seeds, dark green veggies, avocado, full fat Greek yoghurt, chicken, oily fish?


Type 2 on Metformin, diagnosed Jan 2013, ultra low carber, Hba1C at diagnosis 8% (11mmol), now between 5 and 6 mmol. 20kg lost so far

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Insulin doesn't necessarily cause weight gain as many on the forum would confirm. I've been on insulin once-a-day for 3 months and have increased my 58Kg by 1 Kg and it has stopped over the last month. Many people gain weight on insulin as they become freer to eat more, but if you can have the discipline you may be able to avoid the weight gain. Do give it a try if the Team suggest it. It would take a while to break thru the insulin resistance but the good news is that it really doesn't have any real bad side effects other than that potential, and I say potential, to cause weight gain (obviously there is always the risk of hypos).

 

[stillo]

Morning Finzi-Daibell

No i have not been on any silly diets i have always since childhood felt really sick during the first few hours of the day, it's now 6.52 am and i have cramps and aches in my stomach and i would never be able to swallow any type of food if i tried at this moment.

Insulin is like i said a no go for me i understand that it may possibly not cause any weight gain but i don't trust it not for me anyway,and if i did yes i can be very disciplined and control any urges i would have to overeat. maybe the diabetes team could persuade me to try it but i hope they would not

Kind Regards and thank you

Stillo

 

[stillo]

Hi

Just a little update i took your advice to eat something and at 10.40am today i had two boiled eggs , when i left for work at 07.30am my level was 9.4 that is 13 hours after my last meal two hours after the 2 boiled eggs it was 15.6 and now at 16.45pm it is 11.8

Cheers
Stillo

 

[Daibell]

HI. You may have heard of the Dawn Phenomenon which is when the liver dumps glucose to start the day. With you strange meal pattern the liver may be dumping more than usual, so don't take too much notice of meter readings in the morning as they may not be related to the food you've eaten

 

[stillo]

Hi Daibell

yes i have heard of it

Thank you
Stillo