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Poor sleep - Type 1 (LADA)

R

Red_Fox22

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Posting on here to see if anyone has any similar experience to me, I am becoming miserable at a problem that may or may not be related to my T1D.

I was diagnosed with LADA almost 4 years ago at age 38. For at least a year (maybe more) before diagnosis I recall my once excellent quality sleep really suffered, I would wake up early and often have night sweats and tingling in my feet.

No doctor that I have spoken to since diagnosis has been able to offer much of an explanation on what this sleep issue may be. In truth it has carried on like this for the four year period but has become particularly pronounced in the last few weeks.

I will fall asleep very quickly, have a deep sleep (no dreams) for about 4/5 hours. Then I will be wide awake at about 4AM for a couple of hours and then drift off to sleep again for a couple more hours but the sleep is much poorer quality and I will often have vivid dreams. I sometimes get night sweats too.

I also seem to experience the dawn phenomena in a serious way. I am just starting now on basal insulin (6 units) but this is not having much impact, I think I may need to seriously increase this dose.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I am not sure it may not even be related to diabetes but it is becoming very difficult to cope with.

Thanks
 
Do you check your your blood sugars when you wake?
I find I wake and don’t sleep well if my blood sugars are high.
You mention DP, does this start around the time you wake?

A CGM or Libre may help spot any correlation between sleep and blood sugars and a pump would help with DP.
If you have neither, I highly recommend requesting them.
 
there is a lot unanswered in your post which might allow some insight --- what regime are you on insulin wise ( MDI ? long acting and bolus insulin for meals ? ) ......... see that you waking at 4 am... is this because of stress related issues ?
do you set alarms to test blood sugar during the night to see if levels are affecting your sleep ? ..... as a LADA type 1 are you able to access LIBRE to monitor your levels 24/7 to see what patterns if any might be happening ?
 
I'm lada and don't sleep well

But mostly when my bg is running high.. I have a pump and dexcom and find my night time requirements of insulin go up not down.. the lower my bg the better I sleep

I also find the lowered my bg the lower my heart rate which could contribute to sleep??
 
I think the important question is, "Do you test your blood when you waken?" Others have said high blood sugars could cause sleep disturbance, but I have found that I get weird dreams and sweat when hypo. If you haven't tested, you don't get the full picture. You could try testing every 2 or 3 hours during the night (night basal testing) to see whether your results are level, fall or rise. Yes you'll be exhausted but it's worthwhile seeing what's happening to your blood sugar.
 
Hi, before I was diagnosed with RH, my sleep deprivation caused me so many problems, I had all kinds of tests, but they couldn't find a reason for it.
This period in my life, I call my hypo hell.
I would go straight to sleep, like you do.
I would have rem sleep, and have Technicolor, storytelling, recurring vivid dreams
Which I would remember!
I would have to get up for a toilet break, and if I went back to bed, I would lay there and couldn't get back to sleep so I would go down stairs and walk about, watch rubbish television, and drink tea.
At that time I was unaware of how my blood levels were continuously going up and down all the time from hyper to hypo, I had all the symptoms of T2 diabetes and more. It was only testing and stopping the carbs that helped me.
Keeping my blood levels in normal levels works for me.
Going on the hyper/hypo rollercoaster, certainly was responsible for my sleep deprivation.

Keep safe
 

Wow! I could have written this. I have put my symptoms down to being a woman of a certain age but this really makes me think.

I am (still) under investigation fir my strange atypical diabetes. No one knows what’s wrong, but may be genetic. Anyway, yes I was always a good sleeper. I recently starred in basal insulin as they really didn’t know what else to do with me! Made very little difference despite eating virtually no carbs. Up to 8 units a night and I’m just about ok most days.

Interesting...
 
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