Diabetes and fatigue
 

Does diabetes cause extreme fatigue? My A1C's run from 6.2 to 6.5 but as soon as I eat "anything", I feel like I have been drugged with sleeping medication. I will almost fall off my chair with an overwhelming need to sleep. My doc said "take a walk" after you eat. "You can't fall asleep while walking." Well, walking is NOT an option due to extreme nerve pain from an unrelated condition. I recently had out of town company and could not stay awake after lunch just to sit and visit. Should I be looking for other causes?
Thanks for any comments.

Feeling sleepy is from the insulin rush.

You should take your blood sugars 1 hr after and 2 hrs after eating.
That may show you something.

A large meal or too many carbs are sleepy making. Protein is alerting as a rule as long as you don't eat too much.

Carbs tend to stimulate serotonin release. Protein less so.

Carbs not the culprit
 

I am extremely compliant with my diet. If I eat a piece of boiled, boneless, skinless chicken for lunch, I have the same drugged feeling. I try not to have any more than 15g of carbs at any one time with any meal. I eat vegetables, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc. as the major portion of my meal with either baked or boiled boneless, skinless, chicken for dinner. I am not sure if my fatigue is a result of my diabetes, my coronary artery diseasse, my medications, my depression (from my conditions), or a combination of them. I was just wondering if people without multiple conditions, just diabetes, have extreme fatigue and daytime sleepiness.

A lot of my medications require that they be taken with food so I take several at lunch and the rest after eating dinner. Since the meds and meals are simultaneous, I do not know if the meds are the culprit. I am on several types of anti-hypertensives and I do know that beta blockers can make you sleepy.

It might be your medications.

Can you list them for me?

I take a beta blocker and have no problems with it.

I did however have a terrible reaction to Lisinopril. (which is an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure.) I had dizziness and huge fatigue from it, and also lupus, and angioedema swelling! Since changing to atenolol, I have no more problems.

Coreg however is a beta blocker that is very strong, and it can cause slow heart beat and lack of aerobic endurance in some people.

Some people react to blood pressure medications and report less stamina and strength to do tasks. This might indicate the need for a dosage adjustment.

If your sugars get high there will also be fatigue. This is because the cells are starving as the glucose is not getting into them and is remaining in the blood instead.

Hi Hope,

I've only heard of extreme fatigue after eating in diabetics going with an elevated blood sugar. I understand that you aren't one for overeating and/or too many carbs, but have you been checking what you post prandial bs's are ?

I've had type II diabetes for a few years. I was totally noncompliant with my diet. Dumb, I know......and I knew the risks, so no lectures necessary for thinking I didn't know any better, but I do deserve those lectures for being a stubborn dummy ! My bs's were usually in the 110 (fasting) to 140/150 (after most meals), but I would have occasional readings of 170-180 and twice I had readings approx. 220 (all after really overindulging). 170 and up I would feel like I would fall asleep sitting/standing up unless I went to lay down asap.

In April 2012, I decided I needed to attempt to get healthier, which included working on my diet (although I still am not perfect and in total compliance with my meal plan, I do now watch what I'm eating 95% of the time) and I'm up to walking 2-5 miles almost every day. Between the weight loss, better eating plan, and exercise, I started having issues with frequent low bs's last fall and got rid of one of my diabetes meds. Now that my fbs's are 80-100 and post prandial bs's stay under 120, I don't feel like it's happy nappy time from those bs's over 170. I do still get that feeling sometimes, though, especially if I cheat with some ice cream, but sometimes when I have been good on my diet. The other day that happened and my bs was "only" 129. My diabetic nurse educator says that when my body was used to being 140 to 150 after most meals, that didn't register to my body as way to high, it felt normal, only those over 170 bs's felt "higher than normal (for me)" Nw that I'm in better control, and I am usually around 100-110 after a meal, 129 can feel too high to my body.

Even if your post prandial bs's aren't crazy high, maybe mild increases are affecting you. It's worth looking at.

Remember too that if you are dehydrated from the hot summer weather, your bs could be higher than normal even if you are eating within your diet plan.

Because the overwhelming fatigue is such a frequent issue for you, my guess is that it's a different problem than the diabetes, but who knows ? Doesn't hurt to get as much info as possible for when you talk to your doc about trying to figure it out. Good luck !

Oh, and check out the first post in the next thread on this forum : http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread189651.html

Hi finz,

Seeing my endocrinologist in the morning. Cut my leg a little while ago and it took over an hour to stop the profuse bleeding. (Plavix and aspirin) Glad I know what to do for bleeding. Will reply tomorrow to your post.

Hope

Will write more tomorrow but my docs seem happy with my A1C's but I am not happy with them. They are OK, 6.2 to 6.5 most of the time but I have huge swings in BS levels. We change my meds but ...... well, that is for tomorrow as I have only a few hours to sleep before I head out to the doctor appointment.
Hope

I would be thrilled with those numbers, the ones when you were not in compliance. Every now and then even my FASTING blood sugar in the morning will be 157. Two of my docs are "happy" with my control because I keep my A1C's below 7.0

I am not happy because I have huge swings that average out to a fair A1C. I get very frustrated that no matter how hard I try to control my BS, it seems to have a mind of its own. There are times it appears there is no rhyme or reason to the resulting numbers.

Maybe I should start putting vinegar on everything I eat. (Smile)

Oh, to have something different for a change, I ate some sauerkraut one evening and had a resulting blood sugar of 306. Guess it did not have enough vinegar but sure tasted like it. That was all I ate. Just one small helping of warmed sauerkraut from a small glass jar.

It has been a year since I started this thread.

I am still not only having trouble with fatigue but it is getting much worse and so is my diabetes. My A1C's have been climbing higher and higher over the past year.

My fasting blood sugars are almost NEVER in the normal range any more. My post prandial readings are in the high 200's and stay there for 4-6 hours after eating just one piece of boiled chicken and a half cup of steamed broccoli.

When my meds finally seem to kick in many hours later, I will drop to 130 or near there. Some times I get low's in the 50's during the night.

If I have a reading in the 90's during the night, by the time morning rolls around, I will have a fasting blood sugar level between 130 and 160. All I did between the 90 and the fasting level was sleep.

My doc has changed my meds a few times but nothing seems to stop the spikes and roller coaster. I am very compliant with my diet but I do not exercise due to pain from PN, angina from CAD and the severe fatigue I have on a daily basis.

Has my pancreas quit on me? Seems I should not ever get "lows" if I am not still making insulin. I do not go low often, just a few times per month. In fact, I seldom get into the normal range at any time any more. If I do approach normal levels, that is when they continue falling and I wind up going low.

Any suggestions? I would love to have enough energy to do something, including exercise or something but all I seem to be able to do is lay down and sleep off the highs.

These levels are taking a toll on my eyesight already. I worry about all the other complications and damage to body organs.

Is there some way to stop the roller coaster? Is there a way to prevent the spikes without causing lows?

Do you eat any carbs? Like 45 or so per meal? Can you get a continuous glucose monitor to alert you to your swings? Have you seen a dietician recently? Will you consider learning about, and using insulin? Get in touch with your doc with your ? And answers.

Hi Barb,

Thanks for your response. I have used insulin very short term after getting steroid injections for my PN. I have no aversion to using insulin but being a type 2 diabetic, insurance does not cover it until you meet certain criteria. I do not know the criteria but a while back, my doctor told me that my insurance will not cover insulin for me yet.

I would love to be able to use a CGM for 3 days to get a more accurate picture of exactly what is going on but again you must meet the criteria. Because of the cost, it is nearly impossible to use one if you are type 2.

I just saw my endocrinologist last week and he changed my meds. So far, the new meds are NOT doing the trick. I tested hourly for a few days. Even during the night if I woke up.

As to my carb intake,.... did you read my prior posts on this thread? I am probably one of the most compliant patients I could possibly be as I do not want to go down the road of complications. I already have too many conditions that came along BEFORE diabetes.

The ONLY beverages I have consumed in over 7 years (When diagnosed) is water, coffee, and the rare and occasional few ounces of milk. ABSOLUTELY not a drop of any other beverage has crossed my lips since I was first diagnosed with diabetes. As far as diet, I stick to steamed veggies and baked or boiled chicken most of the time. On the rare occasion that I eat out, I will have broiled fish and steamed veggies. On special days, like holidays, I eat home but will "cheat" and have a small boiled red potato as a treat. An example of a holiday meal for me for New Years Day was a real feast. It had a spoon of black-eyed peas, cabbage, a slice of baked pork, and eggplant. At Thanksgiving I cook a turkey breast for myself, eggplant, and boiled potato. Christmas consists of turkey, broccoli or green beans, and the BIG cheat of oyster dressing in a very small quantity.

I am NOT willing to give up my very limited cheats on those 3 holidays. Out of 365 days a year, I think those 3 days do not factor into my control issues.

I try to limit my carbs to 15 grams at any meal. The last time I had a dietician consult was about 4 months ago.

I had tight control according to my doctor until the past two years. I have not changed anything in my life. Diet unchanged for 7 years. I have become even a bit less active than before due to pain issues but no drastic change. I have been sedentary for some time.

Thanks again for your response.

Then I guess it must depend on your insurance. I've gone through 2 DexCom cgm's. I have been on the OmniPod insulin system for over 5 years. I am T2.
Yes, I did read your posts. It sounds crazy, but you do need to eat Some carbs. It could be some of your other meds are preventing better control. I found that out when I started a new med. my A1c went up to 6.8! Stopped the med, my averages are dropping.

Sending you a PM. Hope you don't mind.