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Question - strange drained feeling?

briony1

Well-Known Member
Messages
79
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,
I am new to the forum and was diagnosed with Type 1 just over a year ago now. Wanted to join the forum to speak to others about my current experiences with Diabetes and get a better understanding from other sufferers too. I take Apidra as my fast acting and Lantus as my background. Generally 20 units of lantus which I split in two doses and Apidra varies a lot dependant on time of day and food. Cant seem to get my sugars down as easily in the morning which I understand is common but this is having a big knock on affect on my overall control and HBA1C levels. My HBA1C on diagnosis was 10.4 and managed to get this down to 8.4. I am 23 years old and work full time in London as a PA and also have a son who's nearly 2. I lead a busy life and don't really get time to do regular and dedicated exercise but my job, travelling and being a Mum keeps me a little bit active!
Generally, I think since being diagnosed I have dealt with it pretty well and have managed to make improvements but am feeling slightly deflated and feel like I've hit a wall and can't seem to get past it. My levels are constantly fluctuating up and down and I am finding it hard to grasp a solution.
One question I would like to put out there to all other sufferers is if you have had any side effects or the same phenomena that I'm experiencing. Its soooo hard to explain but basically, at some point during the afternoon, after lunch and after my lunch insulin dose, I start to feel very spaced out, tired, and just weird. Its really hard to describe but its just such a horrible feeling and I struggle to carry out any tasks while this is happening. It can last anywhere between an hour or for the rest of the day. Sometimes I think it may be my sugar level dropping too quickly but this isn't always the case as sometimes this happens when my levels are too high. I can't seem to make a connection between why this is happening and my sugar levels. I went through a phase of this a few months ago and then it suddenly went. Had lots of blood tests which all came back normal but now this has come back and for a reason I can't work out! Was just wondering if anyone else experiences these general feelings of being drained and generally rubbish throughout their time with diabetes. I can generally manage well but at times like this when I feel so rubbish, it hits home what a tough struggle living with Diabetes can be.
Thanks and look forward to chatting with you all
Briony
 
Hi @briony1
welcome to the forum
the feeling you describe in your post I mostly associate with either high blood sugar ( above 12) or low blood sugar ( below 3).
it would be interesting to know how often you have tested when feeling this way.
In my experience on days where I was high after lunch I generally wanted to sleep and couldn't really hold a proper conversation.
this would last from about 2:30-3:30pm and then fast acting insulin would start to correct and I would regain my so called normality.

your comments about the daily struggle with keeping things under control resonates with me as well.
I have devoted a lot of my time to avoid feeling rubbish and at times it does hit home as to the difficulties of living with and managing this condition.

you have found us now so do keep posting --

all the best !!
 
Hi Himtoo,

Thanks for replying to me. I test myself constantly throughout the day post and pre meals which I know I shouldn't probably do. Throughout my year with diabetes I get highs and lows and this feeling isn't a hypo sort of feeling nor is it the feeling I get when I am running high. It's very bizarre. It also comes with dizziness and a bit of nausea which then makes me feel a bit anxious as of course I am worrying what this may be - not a good combination eh!! I'm just curious to see if anyone has possibly had this feeling when their blood sugar is dropping too quickly or if it's associated with any other illness or condition? What sort of readings were you getting when you had this feeling??

Thanks again!!

Briony

 
I've also been diagnosed for 1 year and know exactly what you mean and experience the same on occasion. Couldn't have described it better myself. Unfortunately, for me, I've found absolutely no rhyme or reason for it linked to my BG level but it's definitely only started since my T1-diagnosis. I don't know if it could be anxiety/stress related for you, but that's what I've put it down to for me. Seems worst when I'm super stressed out ... and it's times when I'm stressed that I really wish I didn't also have to be on the ball to manage T1 as well as "real life".

I should say, I've also been to the GP and had multiple blood (and other) tests and investigations carried out. Everything came back fine which leads to the generic "anxiety" diagnosis.
 
I can relate to what you say. Just a weird feeling you cant describe or explain in any way. I even suspected I was allergic to insulin and was anxious to take higher doses for carby meals. Since Ive started a pump I don't have that feeling and I think its down to better control. It must be sudden highs/drops that cause this anxiety. Try to eat lower in carb meals where you don't have massive spikes/drops and see if that helps
 
in my case, something like what you describe, but maybe not the same, is linked to levels of insulin being too high in my brain, while not hypo. Like Ewelina, i find being on the pump means the feeling is seldom there. But before the pump i lived with it for years and gradually learnt that for me it seemed to be connected to high insulin levels while i was not in any way hypo. I surmised that the insulin may also have been affecting my brain - doctors did not know what i was talking about, but for me the 'proof was in the pudding' - I started having more, smaller, injections more spaced out, and things improved. Maybe worth a try?? also agree with the lower carb meals point Ewelina suggests
 
Interesting Ann. Wonder how that ties into the ongoing research about Insulin concentration or lack thereof in the brain.
 
I certainly find when things are changing quickly that it makes me feel odd, even if the readings are in range. So if I shoot up high after a meal, but come down quickly to about 5, I will feel slightly hypo even though I'm not - it's just the speed of the spike & drop.

Do you have the same thing for lunch every day? Could it be causing a big peak followed by a fast drop?

Certainly a stable BG is what makes me feel best, so I have switched to lower carb options to keep things more even.
 
Very interesting topic, @briony1, thanks for bringing it up. I would agree with others that going up/down quickly makes me feel strange. I was able to limit this by low-carbing. I also switched from Lantus to Levemir but not sure if this specific change helped.

Also, sometimes I start feeling stressed out shortly after I start eating. It is very hard to figure out the cause (could be just anxiety) but now I think it could be related to my BG going up while NovoRapid not kicking in yet. And my body trying to combat the rising BG with the limited resources of my own insulin. I will try to inject NovoRapid a little earlier to see if it helps.

On the plus side, I once got high - just like with marijuana but I only had insulin. I remember I first went mildly low (not below 3.5) and then it levelled out and I felt like I have just smoked a joint. I was at work and was interviewing someone we were to hire. I could not help laughing and asking the candidate funny questions. By the way, it could not have been a flashback, as I had not smoked any marijuana in years...
 
I also have this, it tends to be if I have had either a high carb or higher GI meal/snack. In fact I had a mince pie about an hour ago and I'm feeling spaced out and a bit sick now. I also put it down to my levels either going high or changing quickly. There is only so much you can do to match your insulin timing to what you eat without a pump or cgm. I try to keep my carbs fairly low and low GI normally to avoid this, and accept this is payback for treats!
 
tim2000s said:
Interesting Ann. Wonder how that ties into the ongoing research about Insulin concentration or lack thereof in the brain.
Click to expand...

i have not been keeping up with the research - have you got a reference, tim2000s?
 
tim2000s said:
Interesting Ann. Wonder how that ties into the ongoing research about Insulin concentration or lack thereof in the brain.
Click to expand...
Hi @tim200s, thanks for the link. You may have come across this and author not a medical dr, but was very interested to read Amy Bergers book the Alyzeimers Antidote - lots of content regarding links between insulin, the brain, benefits of lchf. Will be really interesting to see outcomes from research etc.

All the best

D
 
tim2000s said:
Here's one of them: http://www.alzforum.org/sites/default/files/legacy/res/for/journal/delamonte/jad00400.pdf (I think that's 2005) - although I'd suggest googling as that's what I'd do!
Click to expand...

Thanks, tim2000s - yes, there's a lot of research, found two sites -
http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/science-insulin-in-the-brain.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151027074802.htm
interesting re memory , it may not be relevant, but for the 3 plus years before i went into a diabetic coma (when i had numerous diabetes symptoms that were not picked up) i have very little recollection of anything much at all, and could recall no detail even just a few years later
 
Hi Briony
I can relate to what you're saying partly. I'm certainly familiar with that "drained" feeling. I'm at a different part of the spectrum because I've been diabetic (T1) for nearly 35 years - but comparatively new to DAFNE as I only did my course two years ago. These feelings have come on me over the last two years since I started aiming for the DAFNE targets. Prior to that I could probably have lived with a BG of anything up to 15 and felt perfectly OK. Over the last two years my HBA1c has gone down from something like 9.5 to 7.0/7.5. The downside to my improved management is that now I feel pretty rough/spaced out/drained when my BG gets over about 8.5, and it doesn't necessarily disappear quickly even when my BG comes down, say, even when it's below 7.0 for that particular day. This can be an issue when I've had a hypo and don't want to correct my BG until I've built up my glycogen level again I mentioned that to my DSN at my last appointment and she didn't really have anything to offer as a solution other than to keep doing what I'm doing to get my HBA1c down still further. On a more positive note, it looks like you really know what you're doing to get your HBA1c down by so much. Fantastic management! I'm just wondering f it's going to be a longer journey maybe for all of us with such problems to begin feeling "normal"? (whatever that means!!)
 
Some type 1's are having a meet up on 30th January in london if you are interested in talking to others in the same situation
 
Hi Pinewood. I have only just returned to this post since I first posted it and omg it sounds exactly like you suffered with the same thing as me!! And yes I’m an anxiety textbook case and I do have a feeling it may be related but my health anxiety tries to convince me otherwise!! How are you finding it now? I still suffer with these weird happenings on and off but still find no pattern!! Would be good to hear from you!
 
Night of the living thread.

As far as I am aware "strange drained feeling" is just what having diabetes (or being on insulin at least) feels like. You are taking drugs specifically designed to remove all the energy from your blood, personally it makes me feel exactly as you would expect it to. Drained and lacking energy.
 

Interesting way to look at it..

I see the circulatory system with regards to BS like a fuel line in a car. The insulin whether endogenous or exogenous is a little like fuel injector fluid.
 
I agree too.
When I'm not on enough insulin I'm drained and tired more. High bgs wipe me out. Only 4-7mmol/l gives me energy and no thrush.

I know out of experience how high bgs can affect my work performance and I'm often left exhausted. My new job is walking. Even in pain. I walk to the bus stop is enough to totally knacker me out and the stress causes huge highs.
I'm going to see gp to see if another painkiller will be more appropriate, for me. Since tramadol is no longer working on the bulging disc and scatica walking pain.
 
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