will this tiredness ever go?

[lizz-starr]

Hi, i'm a type 1.5 diabetic. I took insulin straight after diagnosis but it seemed to kickstart my pancreas and for 3 years now i've been on no medication. Now i'm more diet controlled which seems to be getting stricter and stricter.
I do suffer from sympomatic hypos when i haven't eaten for a period of time or have been more active than usual. At the other end I obviously get highs and generally these can be anything up to 15, my average range is 5 - 11(after meals), though in the last month i've gotten a few very high readings (22,19,25).

Problem is my Hba1c always comes back perfect, last was 5.6% after what was probably a month on the low side due to changes in environment, basically I moved to uni.
This seems to make doctors think everything is okay, like its a mask but really i get ups and downs as much as any diabetic does!

I'm really worried about upcoming exams, i find revising really taking its toll of diabetes and vice versa. Like it was when I was first diagnosed during high school exams. I seem to get tired a lot and I have mentioned this to my doctor who did mention 'chronic fatigue' syndrome or not there is definately some element of extreme tiredness that affects me. I'm finding it difficult to balance out revision and i also currently have a lot of other things going on coursework and field work and i'm worried on how it will affect my exams.

Its incredibly difficult to say how my blood sugars will react during exams and i clearly need to be careful and consistant with diet and monitoring. I just feel like i've gotten the short straw all the time and all i want to do is get on with my life.
Thanks.

 

[Gappy]

Exams are always stressful, but you know when you do a pub quiz and from somewhere get an answer you never knew you knew? Well revision is a bit like that, you may not realise that the knowledge is sticking but it will. The worst thing you can do is worry about forgetting as then your brain is full of "oh I've forgotten" that it wont recall what it does actually know, and it does know it coz you've read it 5 time in revision! So seperate revision worries from blood sugar worries-they aren't related!

 

[daisy1]

Hi Lizz and welcome to the forum As you know the HbA1c is just an average and doesn't show the actual peaks and troughs of your levels that you are getting. I wonder if you need to look at your diet again and lower your carbohydrate intake. You were probably told to eat lots of "healthy carbs". The Forum Monitors have written some advice for new members (ignore the "newly diagnosed" mention as I know you are not) which includes advice on diet which I think will help you and make you feel better than you do now. Give it a try and see how you feel. Ask as many questions as you like as someone will always have an answer for you.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[worriedmum]

I am mum to an 18 year old type 1 - she has a HbA1c of 15%, but regularly has "lows" at night, and I'm really at a loss as to how to help her. She's on Apidra and Lantus. Should we review the advice given to her about "carb counting" etc and just reduce carbs? Help!