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Occasionally feeling unwell - unexplained?

S

Sickly Shane

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi All,

I was diagnosed as a diabetic (Type 2) approx 4 years ago. As many of you have stated, I got little or no information at the time, aside from being given some diet sheets, which were the normal food pyramid type information and being told to keep my bloods between 4-7mmol. I did keep my bloods under control for the first couple of years, but did notice it creeping up to closer to, or slighlty over 7 more regularly. I was not advised or instructed to get HbA1c tests completed, and so I have only completed my first one last week - awaiting results.

My questions relates to me feeling unwell occasionally, where I feel muggy headed, and unable to function, and also very tired. When I have these instances, I do notice my blood sugar is slightly elevated - (6.4 yesterday), when I would not expect it to be - good control on what I've eaten. Therefore, I do not know if the diabetes/blood sugar levels, are the cause, or refelcting something else!!

I wonder do others have these unexplained(?) one day bugs, (best way I can describe it), relatively regularly, where they really affect your ability to work, etc? Is this normal and expected with diabetes?

Thanks,

Shane.
 
Hi Shane and welcome to the forum :)

I hope you will soon get some replies to your question. In the meantime, in answer to your comment about getting no information when you were diagnosed, here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Hi Shane,

I'm type 1 so it might be different for type 2s, but I wouldn't think 6.4 would make you feel ill. From experience, the number itself sometimes doesn't correspond with how I feel - its a quick drop / hike in sugars that I normally feel the worse for. (Have felt fine at 15 or 1.5 but "really low" at 4 for instance!) Do you record your blood results? Might be worth keeping a note of when you feel bad and check your sugars again an hour later so see if there's a pattern.

A few other things to consider -

Have you ever suffered from anaemia? That makes me feel "not right" but difficult to pinpoint whats wrong and it comes and goes.

Are you drinking plenty? Again, being dehydrated can make you feel tired and groggy.

I think I speak for many diabetics when I say I feel down from time to time, sometimes without cause, which can manifest itself in many ways including tiredness, inability to function etc. I went through a phase years ago of feeling out of sorts all the time, even had antidepressants for a while but a cat got me out of it! Is there any particular problems that are getting on top of you - home / work etc? If this is the case, have you got friends / family / colleagues you can speak to? Or I'm sure there's plenty of folk of here to lend a virtual ear if you want to chat anonymously!

Finally, could it be a food intollerance? Keep a note of what you're eating the days you feel unwell and over the course of a few weeks see if any pattern develops.

Probably worth speaking to your GP if it continues, and keeping above notes may help them find whats up.

Hope you feel better soon,
Cleo
 
Hi Daisy1, Cleo82,

Thanks for your replies.

Cleo82, I do keep a record of my bloods, but unfortunately have been unable to find any pattern that may result in an explanation - which is the frustrating part!! Like you, I do also find that the BG level does not always indicate how I am feeling. Your comment on dehydration may be something I should look at though, because this may be something that does relate to it.

I really wanted to see if this is 'typical' in other Diabetics, or if I have some other underlying issue that also may be causing this. I will continue to monitor and also try to record my potential dehydration during these episodes.

Thanks again, this forum has been a real Godsend.

Rgds,

Shane.
 
Hi Shane
I too feel generally unwell most mornings when I first get out of bed but have put this down to the diabetes?

I also get very tired when I get home from work (I get up at 4.30am go to work just after 5.20am and I get home for 3pm)

My bloods sugars are usually around the 5.5 to 6.0 mark in the morning so I'm not sure that could be making me feel that way?
I do know though that I don't drink enough water so maybe its that
Mike
 
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