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Not sure what to do

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AJLang

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
For the past few months I have been so lacking in energy. I have some good days, but they are not very often. I go to bed at 9pm and, apart from waking up to do an injection, sleep solidly until 8am apart from the two days I need to get up at 6.30am - and on those days I find that I need a solid hour of sleep early afternoon. I'm trying so hard to do my part-time job and have normal energy levels but I just keep feeling so absolutely exhausted. Apart from walking Susie today I've managed to do nothing apart from lay on the sofa and go to bed for an hour's sleep. I feel like I am wasting my life living like this
 
For the past few months I have been so lacking in energy. I have some good days, but they are not very often. I go to bed at 9pm and, apart from waking up to do an injection, sleep solidly until 8am apart from the two days I need to get up at 6.30am - and on those days I find that I need a solid hour of sleep early afternoon. I'm trying so hard to do my part-time job and have normal energy levels but I just keep feeling so absolutely exhausted. Apart from walking Susie today I've managed to do nothing apart from lay on the sofa and go to bed for an hour's sleep. I feel like I am wasting my life living like this

oh no :( that sounds horrible. How have your levels been? are they high or have you been feeling like this still with good levels? are you hydrated? eating well? (sorry, lots of questions!)

I hope others can help with solutions too.
 
Other posibilities are not enough calories. Might be worth seeing your GP to have some tests done.

Might simply be poor sleeping. Sleep apeoa (sp.?) is a possibility.

Could be thyroid maybe ?

Rob
 
Hi Katie and Rob

Thank you for your suggestions. Definitely having enough calories (haven't been keeping to my diet), blood sugars are the best that they have been for me a long while thanks to my CGM - they're not brilliant but they're not too bad either. Had a thyroid test last month and that was fine. I wondered about sleep apnoea but not sure what I can do if it is that. I did phone the GP for an appointment today but there were no appointments available. The tiredness is so bad sometimes it just makes me feel like crying - but I'm not depressed - at work I'm considered the noisiest one who does the most laughing!
 
Might be you current medication cocktail..................might need tweaked.....


I hope the doctor can come up something........🙂
 
Might be you current medication cocktail..................might need tweaked.....


Thank you my biggest concern is that it is the current medication cocktail causing the fatigue but it can't be tweaked. My glaucoma medications are at the maximum because my pressure levels are only just ok enough at the moment to prevent further laser/scary surgery. The erythroymycin and domperidone are the only thinks stopping me from from being very ill/needing surgery. The statin has only got my cholesterol down to 4.6 and I need the aspirin for my eyes as well as circulation and the lansaprazole is to protect me against the aspirin affect and the acid caused by the gastropareiss. I know that my GP is not happy with me being on so many medications that but they have mainly be determined by a combination of two diabetic consultants each at a different hospital (one is for the gastroparesis) and two different eye specialists (one for the glaucoma and the other for maculopathy/retinal vein occlusion/retinopathy). I feel like I'm falling apart at the age of only 43 and it's getting to the stage of affecting my work as well as the rest of my life
 
I'm very sorry to hear that you are feeling so tired Amanda. I have periods like that, although usually due to insomnia, but the effects are similar. I really don;t know what to suggest. The fact that you have been taking your meds for some time would suggest that they are not the cause if this is a relatively recent thing. I actually wonder if the improved control has anything to do with it? It would be typical of the Diabetes Fairy to reward improved control by telling your brain it's not getting the levels of glucose it has been used to, pre-CGM. I hope that you can get an appointment and the doctor will be able to suggest something to improve the situation - and soon 🙂
 
Thanks Alan. I hope to see the doctor tomorrow and have just emailed work to say that I don't feel well enough to go in tomorrow unless they desperately need me to. To be honest I've been feeling really tired for months now and just kept blaming it on the events of the last year etc. I don't think I've had reaonable energy levels since the end of March. But I've now realised that I can't walk round feeling like this all of the time - I used to be so full of vitality and wake up before the alarm clock went off - not turn it off and go back to sleep. The annoying thing is that for a week at the beginning of September I felt really great, my boss was amazed how I had got all of my energy back but it has just disappeared again.
 
Hi Amanda,
just a thought for you. Have you had your thyroid levels checked or iron levels?
It could be something as simple as that
 
For the past few months I have been so lacking in energy. I have some good days, but they are not very often. I go to bed at 9pm and, apart from waking up to do an injection, sleep solidly until 8am apart from the two days I need to get up at 6.30am - and on those days I find that I need a solid hour of sleep early afternoon. I'm trying so hard to do my part-time job and have normal energy levels but I just keep feeling so absolutely exhausted. Apart from walking Susie today I've managed to do nothing apart from lay on the sofa and go to bed for an hour's sleep. I feel like I am wasting my life living like this

Please go and see your doctor, tell him all the symptoms you have and he will probably do a blood test. An underactive Thyroid can make you very tired. I hope you can get it sorted out very soon. Good luck and take care Sheena
 
Thank you Sue and Sheena. I've had my thyroid test done recently and that was ok BUT Sue I had assumed they had also checked the iron - after seeing your post I phoned the surgery - they checked back as far as 2010 and couldn't find any record of my iron levels being tested or a full blood count (although that surprised me as I had an operation last year). I'm going to phone the GP's at 8am tomorrow to make an appointment to see the GP tomorrow - guess I also ought to mention to them that I haven't had a period for 18 months which might be a contribuing factor??
 
Hi Amanda - I know a couple of people with sleep apnoea and these use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines over night. They can take getting used to . One person found that they removed their mask in their sleep.

Definitely go back to your Dr and stress how your quality of life is being affected.

{{{Amanda}}}
 
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Definitely worth getting checked for anaemia and also check your hormone levels in case it is something like that.
 
Hi Amanda,

So sorry you are not feeling good. I don't really have any suggestions I am afraid. Just make sure are eating healthy, drinking plenty of water and get to see your GP as soon as you can. I hope you feel better soon🙂
 
Hi Amanda, to be honest I'm not surprised that you are so tired with all the issues you have to contend with. This, of course, doesn't really help as you don't want to be tired in this way. I was going to suggest that you might be anaemic but someone else has already said that so it's definitely worth getting that checked. Hormones, yes, that's another one. I've just been told (age 45) that I've officially started the menopause but its been going on a while and I do get terribly tired at times. I think you have to get them to do all the blood tests they can and just see if that gives any clues. I wish there was more I could say. Take care and go easy on yourself - very wise to take a day or two off work and just rest. Sending love and hugs, Karen.x
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. I've got an appointment with the GP mid-morning. Now struggling to find the energy to have a shower
 
Hope the doctors can get to the bottom of this and improve things for you very soon.
 
Good luck today Amanda. Will be keeping everything crossed for you getting some answers today and hopefully being able to do something about it. 🙂
 
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