Tiredness

[Reetpetite]

Hi - I'm a newbie diagnosed last week and on Metformin 200mg. Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the tiredness with this condition to go away - I seem to be just as tired in the morning (even after a good night's sleep) than I am in the evening. I know its one of the symptons of diabetes - am I expecting too much in thinking I should be starting to feel much less tired now.

Does anyone else feel like this?

 

[ma5on]

Hi Reetpetite

All the time!!! Obviously high sugars and hypos make me feel worse, but I also blame the weather, my 4 times a week gym habit, working in London, sorting the house, and then when I do sit down I find myself worrying about what ISN'T getting done.....

Life sucks sometimes! :wink:

ma5on

 

[ang]

Hi,

If your blood sugars are running too high then you will still be tired! What are your current readings?
Metformin does work, but it takes time. You say you are on 200mg? Have you got to increase this dose over a period of weeks? I am currently on 1500mg metformin, started on 500mg per day and increased to 1000mg per day after a week and then up to 1500mg per day in the third week. I started to feel less tired when my readings came down to around 7. Unfortunately my readings are creeping back up and now around 10, and the tiredness is kicking in again.

Hope this goes some way to answering your question.
ang.

 

[cugila]

Hi reetpetite.

First of all here is a link to the information about Metformin. It is not a miracle drug and will take a little time to work.

http://www.healthyontario.com/Assets/Pd ... Advice.pdf

Do you know what your Bg levels are throughout the day ? If they are elevated you may well feel tired all the time, too much glucose in the blood. Hyperglycaemia, common symptom is tiredness.
See here:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and- ... aemia.html

Ken.

 

[Reetpetite]

Unfortunately, don't know what my readings are at present as I haven't received my test monitor yet - should arrive next few days. My reading at diagnosis was 12.5 and since then I have tried to cut out carbs by about 60% and eating regularly (little and often) to keep my bg as level as possible but without a bg machine its impossible to know what they are and whether what I am eatiing is affecting me in a good or bad way.

I really just wondered if it went away with the medication - I have another appointment with the doctor in July when he hopes to see my figures down to at least 7 - he may at this stage increase the Metformin dosage depending on what they are.

Looking at what you have said it looks like they are still high which is causing the tiredness to worsen. How on earth do people cope long term without a testing kit? I feel completely Kn******ed.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Too soon to tell without a meter, but high BG can make you knackered, so can low BG or rapid drops even if not to genuine hypo levels if your body is used to running high BG for a long time.

 

[rluscombe]

Hi,

I am a type 2 diabetic I currently take 1000mg of metformin 2x80mg gliclazide 2 times a day and 15 mg of pioglitazone and i still experience tiredness. I had some tests and found I also have a condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea which I am led to believe can be linked to diabetes. There is a website called www.sleepapneatrust.org.uk there is a questionnaire which you might find useful you never know you might have this condition. It is made much better by CPAP therapy.

 

[Reetpetite]

Thanks all for your posts. I have been feeling a lot better over the past few days, not so tired - maybe the Metformin has now kicked in.

Have also got my testing meter and figures have been reasonably good - todays so far are:

Fasting: 5.4
2 hrs after brekkie 5.8
Before lunch 4.9
1 hr aft lunch 5.1

I've cut out about bread, pasta and potatoes but still have a little rice - so appears to be working for me.

Seeing the diabetic nurse next week so hope she will be happy with these figures.

 

[Trinkwasser]

One thing that may happen is your body takes a while to readjust to normal BG. Another factor is "Atkins Flu" if your carb input is decreased enough that you start to run on ketones rather than glucose. Both conditions are temporary and wear off when your body is used to the new status quo.

Good point about the sleep apnea too, not uncommon with either type of diabetes and there seems to be a circular relationship, it may be caused by autonomic neuropathy but some research suggests the apnea may come first. This usually doesn't wear off without treatment, though sometimes losing weight can help.