Normal levels. Type 2

[Kevin10320]

Hi all. Why is it, when I get my glucose levels within the correct area, I feel so lethargic and just want to sleep. Currently at 6.2

 

[GrantGam]

Hello @Kevin10320

Do you feel that your query wasn't already answered in this thread?

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/feeling-bad.110751/

It's common to feel lethargy and tiredness with fluctuating BG levels. Once things settle down, you'll more than likely notice an improvement.

 

[Kevin10320]

I have been lowering my bg levels consistently for 3 months now, but I am still feeling absolutely terrible. I have done everything I have been asked and it isn't just lethargy, it is debilitating to the point I struggle to get out of bed. If I had some indication that this was going to improve then maybe it wouldn't seem so bad. I am my wife's carer and this is making it difficult to cope

 

[mo53]

@Kevin10320 hello. Have you explained how you feel to your doctor? There may be something else causing this.

 

[Kevin10320]

I have an appointment with my diabetic doctor on 5th Dec (soonest appointment and all the other doctors just say see him because he is the specialist diabetic doctor) ... hopefully he might have some idea thank you for replying mo53.

 

[Kevin10320]

Hello @Kevin10320

Do you feel that your query wasn't already answered in this thread?

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/feeling-bad.110751/

It's common to feel lethargy and tiredness with fluctuating BG levels. Once things settle down, you'll more than likely notice an improvement.

Thank you for your response

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

That doesn't sound good. Are you on any meds?

 

[4ratbags]

What do you generally eat throughout the day as I have good BS levels but if my diet isn't good I feel horrible.

 

[Freema]

I have an appointment with my diabetic doctor on 5th Dec (soonest appointment and all the other doctors just say see him because he is the specialist diabetic doctor) ... hopefully he might have some idea thank you for replying mo53.

WELL on top of having diabetes one can easily have some kind of malnutrition, like too little vitamin D, which can make people feel very very tired and also sometimes depressed, and if you have too low levels of iron you can get the same lethargic feeling, and if you lack magnesium and potassium you can also feel sxtremely tired and lethagic...

all these are essential nutirent that yout body needs most every day to get optimally from ones food, but if you do not get enought there it is nessesary to get it as suplementations...

yous should ask your GP to get all those measured in some blood sample... and then he can guide you in how to get enough if you are too low..

but already now I can tell you that in nothern Europs almost 75% do get too Little vitamin D in most of the year except from when there is a bright summer sun.... so everybody almost should take vitamin D suplemantation, only not if they eat fatty fish evey day but WHO does that ?

 

[Kevin10320]

That doesn't sound good. Are you on any meds?

Yes, I take Linagliptin 5mg per day as I had a bad reaction to Metformin (which was my docs first line med) ... it seems to be helping me bring down my bg levels (along with diet changes) ... the diabetic Nurse is more than happy with my progress in terms of numbers but I just wish I would start to feel better

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Did you try a low carb/high fat diet before trying Linagliptin?

 

[Kevin10320]

What do you generally eat throughout the day as I have good BS levels but if my diet isn't good I feel horrible.

Hi 4ratbags,
A days diet example -
Weetabix for breakfast
1 or 2 warburton wholemeal thins made into sandwich at lunch with ham, Philadelphia light and salad
Evening - baked fish and Mediterranean veg with a couple of new potatoes.
I have a cereal bar or 3 biscuits on some of the days (which I consider my treat) and I occasionally have a couple of drinks but never alcohol with high sugar content.
A couple of days a week I do allow myself a more processed meal, burgers (in Thins and not rolls to cut the carb level) or a grilled bacon and egg etc.
My wife and I tend to eat quite a lot of veg but not fruit.
I have tried to note down what I have eaten in an effort to learn what might be causing this but there really doesn't seem to be any consistency. I just feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall! It is my 40th birthday in a couple of weeks but I feel like 90!!!

 

[Kevin10320]

Did you try a low carb/high fat diet before trying Linagliptin?

No my doctor didn't feel it was appropriate as I had already changed my diet to what it is now (to try and make myself feel better!) and that had not brought my bg levels down

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

No my doctor didn't feel it was appropriate as I had already changed my diet to what it is now (to try and make myself feel better!) and that had not brought my bg levels down

That's too bad. You've gotten the standard low fat/high carb dietary advice, which generally doesn't work for type 2 diabetics.

You really need to educate yourself about type 2 rather than relying solely on your doctor. I guess I was fortunate that I had a doctor who told me to find another doctor when I started asking too many questions. At that point I decided to find out as much about type 2 as I could. A couple of years later and I have normal blood glucose levels and am on no meds.

I read this web site thoroughly:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.php

After you have read it you'll likely know more about type 2 than your doctor.

 

[4ratbags]

Definitely do some research on LCHF as I was the same as yourself, I got my HbA1c down to prevent diabetic levels by changing my diet but I still felt awful. It wasn't until I reduced my carbs even further that I started to feel good. If I eat carbs, especially in the form of cereals or bread I feel sluggish and just generally horrible so it is worth a shot. It doesn't have to be drastic, try replacing your weetabix with an omelette, make sure you eat above ground veg.

 

[Indy51]

If I ate the amount of carbs you were eating, I'd feel like death too. It was quite usual for me to have to go back to bed after eating a "healthy" breakfast of porridge. Many Type 2's find that breakfast is the meal that they can least tolerate carbs without substantial BG rises.

You say your reading is 6.2 - how long after eating?

 

[Resurgam]

Bread and biscuits don't usually feature on a low carb diet sheet, nor potatoes, nor breakfast cereals. I found that I felt great eating low carb following Dr Atkins - twice I have been persuaded to give it up and both times I felt that it was a mistake - the last time was over a year ago, in which time I have put on weight and developed diabetes - my HgA1c level is in the 90s. Now I am eating low carb again - combined with Metformin once a day and I feel wonderful. I avoid alcohol, legumes, higher carb fruits and vegetables and all grains. A week ago I could only crawl upstairs, today I was dancing.

 

[Kevin10320]

If I ate the amount of carbs you were eating, I'd feel like death too. It was quite usual for me to have to go back to bed after eating a "healthy" breakfast of porridge. Many Type 2's find that breakfast is the meal that they can least tolerate carbs without substantial BG rises.

You say your reading is 6.2 - how long after eating?

The 6.2 reading was 2 hours or so after breakfast. I then had a cereal bar for lunch and 2 hours after that it was at 6.3

 

[Indy51]

The 6.2 reading was 2 hours or so after breakfast. I then had a cereal bar for lunch and 2 hours after that it was at 6.3

Try measuring at 1 hour and see what happens. You can also work out your own personal carbohydrate tolerance by following the method outlined in this video:

I know from past experience how badly certain carbs can affect me and cereal grains are absolutely the worst for me. I do better on sugar rather than starch, strangely enough.