Prediabetes - more tired, or is it fatigue?

[Abalance]

I am new to the forum. I was daignosed with prediabetes in 2018. Friends were surprised because I am slim, reasonably active , understand nutrition and eat a healthy diet, but there is diabetes in my family.

In the last few months I have had more days when I have felt tired and a few occasions when I have felt exhausted. Hard to tell whether that is due to:
doing too much in one day (tired),
doing moderate activity, gardening, for too long without a break/snack (I did not feel hypo when I stopped, but felt awful/wiped out for the rest of the day )
or a combination of mild depression and being less active in the winter (maybe diabetic fatigue linked to higher blood glucose?).

I would have liked to talk to the diabeteic nurse at my surgery, but that is not allowed because I am not diabetic. I have to make an appointment with the doctor, presumably to try to rule out other possible causes of fatigue. If I was shown how to measure my blood glucose, I might be able to work out a better routine for myself with meals/snacks and activity. For me it might be a delicate balance. I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?

In 2018 my HbA1c 46 mmol/mol and fasting b glucose 6.3. I was sent on a "Healthier You" programme and although there was no need for me to lose weight, I decided to try to reduce my waist measurement a little. In 2019 HbA1c was slightly lower at 45, then 43. My weight is also slightly lower and stable at 53kg.

I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?
And do people with prediabetes usually suffer fatigue?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I am new to the forum. I was daignosed with prediabetes in 2018. Friends were surprised because I am slim, reasonably active , understand nutrition and eat a healthy diet, but there is diabetes in my family.

In the last few months I have had more days when I have felt tired and a few occasions when I have felt exhausted. Hard to tell whether that is due to:
doing too much in one day (tired),
doing moderate activity, gardening, for too long without a break/snack (I did not feel hypo when I stopped, but felt awful/wiped out for the rest of the day )
or a combination of mild depression and being less active in the winter (maybe diabetic fatigue linked to higher blood glucose?).

I would have liked to talk to the diabeteic nurse at my surgery, but that is not allowed because I am not diabetic. I have to make an appointment with the doctor, presumably to try to rule out other possible causes of fatigue. If I was shown how to measure my blood glucose, I might be able to work out a better routine for myself with meals/snacks and activity. For me it might be a delicate balance. I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?

In 2018 my HbA1c 46 mmol/mol and fasting b glucose 6.3. I was sent on a "Healthier You" programme and although there was no need for me to lose weight, I decided to try to reduce my waist measurement a little. In 2019 HbA1c was slightly lower at 45, then 43. My weight is also slightly lower and stable at 53kg.

I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?
And do people with prediabetes usually suffer fatigue?

Prediabetes and fatigue do happen, but fatigue could be caused by a lot of things... From prediabetes to thyroid issues to low vitamin d to... You get the idea. I am all for you getting your own meter, as being prediabetic is basically saying you're headed to T2 and you want to avoid that, so I'm tagging @Rachox in for her excellent information. The meter isn't the cost, the strips are, so you want one that's accurate and cheap to use. I don't know what the Healthier You program entailed, but if its like most programs, it may have advocated the exact opposite of what a prediabetic needs... The NHS is catching on to the latest research, but the various programs are slower to catch up.

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- that might help a little. Since you don't have weight to lose, don't go for intermittent fasting or one meal a day, you'll want to stick with 3 meals and 3 snacks, if you don't want to end up shedding more than you should. Just as long as its all low carb, it should keep your blood sugars in check and out of the diabetic range. (And, out of the prediabetic range, even!).

Good luck!
Jo

 

[KK123]

I am new to the forum. I was daignosed with prediabetes in 2018. Friends were surprised because I am slim, reasonably active , understand nutrition and eat a healthy diet, but there is diabetes in my family.

In the last few months I have had more days when I have felt tired and a few occasions when I have felt exhausted. Hard to tell whether that is due to:
doing too much in one day (tired),
doing moderate activity, gardening, for too long without a break/snack (I did not feel hypo when I stopped, but felt awful/wiped out for the rest of the day )
or a combination of mild depression and being less active in the winter (maybe diabetic fatigue linked to higher blood glucose?).

I would have liked to talk to the diabeteic nurse at my surgery, but that is not allowed because I am not diabetic. I have to make an appointment with the doctor, presumably to try to rule out other possible causes of fatigue. If I was shown how to measure my blood glucose, I might be able to work out a better routine for myself with meals/snacks and activity. For me it might be a delicate balance. I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?

In 2018 my HbA1c 46 mmol/mol and fasting b glucose 6.3. I was sent on a "Healthier You" programme and although there was no need for me to lose weight, I decided to try to reduce my waist measurement a little. In 2019 HbA1c was slightly lower at 45, then 43. My weight is also slightly lower and stable at 53kg.

I hope to avoid medication (or avoid for as long as possible). Is this possible, do you have experience of doing this?
And do people with prediabetes usually suffer fatigue?

Hi there, without wishing to alarm you, how do they know it is pre diabetes and not LADA (a slower onset of type 1)? I was a few years younger than you when I got diagnosed with 'pre diabetes', erm, roll on 3 years and suddenly it was type 1 when they finally did the specific tests. In fact the ONLY reason they did any specific tests when I was showing all the symptoms of full blown diabetes was because I was slim & active. Now they suspect the pre diabetes was in fact the honeymoon period where I was still producing insulin, not in sufficient amounts but enough to keep me plodding on for a bit. Please go back to your Drs and ask for specific tests based on your presentation. Of course not every diabetic (type 1 or 2 or other) rigidly follow the exact same profile but for my Consultant (eventually after those 3 years in the twilight zone) said the only thing where I fell into the 'normal' type 2 category was age and every other marker was screaming type 1. x

 

[Rachox]

Thanks for the tag @JoKalsbeek

Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned. For a meter with cheap strips go for the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/


Some members have got a free Tee2 by phoning up to order, with a large order of strips they often throw the meter in for free:


Phone number 0800 8815423


With more expensive strips is the Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free from Home Health which has the cheapest strips available. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go, just bear in mind it seems they are replacing it with the Navii, details below.

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


Home Health have recently bought out this one too, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet, links to strips and the meter:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/


https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/gluconavii-blood-sugar-meter-glucose-monitor-starter-kit/


I think @DCUKMod has some discount codes for the Navii strips


Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)