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What is this tiredness and weakness...? Please help.

K

Kebab-breath

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6
I once had very very high blood sugar, with it came extreme muscle weakness in the legs.

Got my blood sugar back down somewhat...

Im now on insulin which is new for me.
Ive managed to get my blood sugar levels down to single digits!!!!
Great news!

However, with this new single digit insulin figures, ive started eating a lot more chocolate!
And although my blood sugar levels remain good, single digits mainly, Im feeling muscle weakness in my legs.

What causes the muscle weakness?
is it
1) High blood sugar figures?
or
2) Simply eating sugar, even if we keep our blood sugar in the single digits with pills and insulin, does the mere presense of sugar (despite our levels being in sigle digits) create the muscle weakness?

Im trying to figure out if good blood sugar levels mean nothing, and its the eating of sugar which is creating the feeling of weak legs, which comes on later in the day, not so much early on.

Im over the hill by the way, and not sure if the tiredness is an age thing. It feels similar to the muscle weakness I had, when I had REALLY high blood sugar levels.

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
If I very over eat and treat with insulin I get similar

One day I eat so much that over night the pain and weakness got so bad I could not stand in the morning.. My hand were so weak I vouldnt open a bottle of drink... I could move for about 5 hours.. The pain even went right down the spine

I read somewhere but can not verify that doing this creates cologen in the muscle??

Another problem would be mass weight gain if you keep doing this
 
@Kebab-breath you day your level are low.
Is that all the time (e.g. measured with a CGM) or just at the time you finger prick?

For me, high blood sugars cause me to feel weary and any aches, pains, sniffs, coughs, etc are exaggerated.

I take enough insulin, my blood sugars come down and I start to feel normal again.
For example, I can ( and sometimes do) eat a 100g bar of chocolate. I know I am going to do it so calculate my insulin dose for the number of carbs in the bar. Afterwards, I feel rubbish until the insulin has done its job.
If I was to only take a reading before the chocolate and at the time of my next meal, I would find my levels were in single digits. But, if I was to take a reading a couple of hours after the chocolate, my levels would be high.
 
@Kebab-breath welcome to the forums
Just as people get false hypos at normal bg levels when they've been used to running high, I think (personal opinion) that symptoms of high blood sugar get noticed at lower bgs too. (I had a work colleague T1, much better controlled than me) who swore he had symptoms when his bg went to 8.) Personally, I notice this because my bgs are generally a bit lower than they used to be. I really can't function in a gym if I'm running in the low teens, whereas in times of higher bg I probably wouldn't have cared.

I agree with @In Response that it would be worth seeing what is happening with a cgm, because you may be going much higher than you think between fingerpricks (unless you're already using one). I have a secret passion for chocolate covered almonds, which I usually indulge at Christmas and my birthday, but it does make me feel like rubbish, even though I do inject for it (maybe not enough?).

Why not try a few days without any chocolate and see if it makes a difference? (And top chocolate tip: 95% dark chocolate is initially a bit of an acquired taste, but it's hard to binge on and is very low carb.)
 
Kebab-breath said:
I once had very very high blood sugar, with it came extreme muscle weakness in the legs.

Got my blood sugar back down somewhat...

Im now on insulin which is new for me.
Ive managed to get my blood sugar levels down to single digits!!!!
Great news!

However, with this new single digit insulin figures, ive started eating a lot more chocolate!
And although my blood sugar levels remain good, single digits mainly, Im feeling muscle weakness in my legs.

What causes the muscle weakness?
is it
1) High blood sugar figures?
or
2) Simply eating sugar, even if we keep our blood sugar in the single digits with pills and insulin, does the mere presense of sugar (despite our levels being in sigle digits) create the muscle weakness?

Im trying to figure out if good blood sugar levels mean nothing, and its the eating of sugar which is creating the feeling of weak legs, which comes on later in the day, not so much early on.

Im over the hill by the way, and not sure if the tiredness is an age thing. It feels similar to the muscle weakness I had, when I had REALLY high blood sugar levels.

Thanks for the help everyone.
Click to expand...

Hi,

At a guess,from personal experience with high BGs, the legs can feel shot away. (I've always had these symptoms, Even as a younger bloke.)
If you have been used to prolonged Vhigh BGs for a while? The single digits may feel a little alien to you as you get used to your insulin regime.
It's a little like a certain level of sobriety for an alcoholic?
Your "go to" seems to be chocolate as you approach a more healthy BG range? (Possibly feeling the need to eat something.)

What insulin/s are you prescribed?
How often are you testing your blood sugar levels?
How "single" are the digits when you do test?
 
Bear in mind also, that it could have nothing to do with your diabetes OR high glucose levels, especially when you had it with high and lower levels. Are you on statins for example or any other drugs? Either way I would contact your GP just to be on the safe side.
 
I test several times a day. Got a really good idea of where my figures will be. Ive reduced my insulin intake massively, cut out all chocolate, and am floating between 4 and 9. Often around 6 or 7.

Whether I can sustain this remains to be seen. I will of course try.
New to insulin, I increased my dose so I could eat more of what I wanted.

My original question is still unanswered, I think.
Put a different way:
If I eat a LOT of sugar, and take a LOT of insulin and perfectly balance my blood sugar levels, so that my blood sugar is a perfect 6 or 7 constantly, with no peaks.... does the act of having consumed sugars create muscle tiredness.

Or is it a spike of a high blood sugar figure which created muscle tiredness?

I asked because my figures had been decent since I started insulin. Yet I was physically exhausted. (I was eating a lot, but also takin a lot of insulin, and yes, I was testing ALL the time, to make sure I was avoiding spikes, which I was told were bad).
 
In Response said:
@Kebab-breath you day your level are low.
Is that all the time (e.g. measured with a CGM) or just at the time you finger prick?

For me, high blood sugars cause me to feel weary and any aches, pains, sniffs, coughs, etc are exaggerated.

I take enough insulin, my blood sugars come down and I start to feel normal again.
For example, I can ( and sometimes do) eat a 100g bar of chocolate. I know I am going to do it so calculate my insulin dose for the number of carbs in the bar. Afterwards, I feel rubbish until the insulin has done its job.
If I was to only take a reading before the chocolate and at the time of my next meal, I would find my levels were in single digits. But, if I was to take a reading a couple of hours after the chocolate, my levels would be high.
Click to expand...
Ive got slow acting 24 hour insulin, ive been told to take a set dosage in the morning only.
 
KK123 said:
Bear in mind also, that it could have nothing to do with your diabetes OR high glucose levels, especially when you had it with high and lower levels. Are you on statins for example or any other drugs? Either way I would contact your GP just to be on the safe side.
Click to expand...
Im not on statins. I should/will speak to my GP.
 
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