Tired all the time.

[LittleLatios]

Hi all.
I'm wondering if anyone has anything else I can be tested for when it comes to exhaustion.
My a1c is 56, so it's not high sugars, hospital said it would be that 12 months ago when I was much higher. Nope. I was diagnosed with low folate, so I take folic acid. Not that either. B12 is fine. Kidney function is good. Liver is fine. Thyroid is fine. Blood pressure is spot on. Doesn't matter how much rest or sleep I get i'm exhausted. Some hypos can knock my feet out from under me and i'm a zombie for 24-hours after. Not pregnant, before anyone asks. Umm.. part of it is mental exhaustion, but when I do get the motivation to do something I find it hard to keep going, physically.
Any ideas would be a great help. Thanks.

 

[trophywench]

Define your thyroid being 'fine' please - what sort of TSH results do you usually get?

 

[Tee G]

Hiya. Ive had anaemia for a year before it was spotted, it wipes you out, but you say your levels are fine for that. Is your weight ok? do you do any form of regular exercise? Could you possible have a touch of depression? A chat with your GP may be in order to go over those results you've been having, maybe you are borderline on somethings, and possibly need a re-test?. There could be so many reasons for this exhaustion and hopefully it can be put right with a few adjustments. I hope you can get to the bottom of it because its no fun is it. All the best.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you are struggling with exhaustion and tiredness @LittleLatios

Is there anything you can do to reduce your mental exhaustion?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Some hypos can knock my feet out from under me

Do you have good hypo awareness? Do you use a CGM (or Libre)? I'm wondering if hypos during the night are a possibility.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Vitamin d and depression would need ruling out. Any pain? I have fibromyalgia and am often anaemic so both make me very tired.

 

[PhoebeC]

Do you get much exercise?

If it’s more mental that physical I would suggest light exercise like walking x

 

[Lilian]

A doctor's idea of fine means you are within the reference range. This does not mean you are optimal - for you. Look at your test results and see where you are within the range. If your TSH is higher than 3 ask if you could have some levothyroxine to see if you can reduce it. The lowest in range is something like 0.35. B12 has a very wide range from about 180 to 900. If you are above 500 then you could be fine less than 300 it is possible your B12 is too low for you.

 

[LittleLatios]

Define your thyroid being 'fine' please - what sort of TSH results do you usually get?

My GP and hospital have tested my thyroid due to being exhausted and they have said 'it's fine'. I don't know numbers.

Hiya. Ive had anaemia for a year before it was spotted, it wipes you out, but you say your levels are fine for that. Is your weight ok? do you do any form of regular exercise? Could you possible have a touch of depression? A chat with your GP may be in order to go over those results you've been having, maybe you are borderline on somethings, and possibly need a re-test?. There could be so many reasons for this exhaustion and hopefully it can be put right with a few adjustments. I hope you can get to the bottom of it because its no fun is it. All the best.

The folate led to anemia. But taking folic acid stopped every other symptom, just not the exhaustion. This was 3 years ago.

Do you have good hypo awareness? Do you use a CGM (or Libre)? I'm wondering if hypos during the night are a possibility.

Very good awareness. Symptoms at 4.2 and also a Libre user. Night hypos leave me with a foggy brain and dont help the exhaustion, but a good stable night doesn't leave me feeling rested.

 

[LittleLatios]

Do you get much exercise?

If it’s more mental that physical I would suggest light exercise like walking x

Not as much as I used to. I had a very physical job, but it led to extremely bad control (a1c of 124) as the work and shift pattern was so inconsistent. So I left. But the exhaustion began while I was still in that job.

 

[trophywench]

It would be very very reasonable of you to ask your GP surgery (or hospital, whichever is easiest to ask) what the results are - for the exact reason that Lilian has defined. My old GP (sadly for me healthwise) has now retired - said to me that 'people like you' - which he defined as 'otherwise reasonably healthy active folk with long-term conditions' - tend to do better all round with a TSH between 1 and 2 or even lower. And he's right - I do !

Plus as I told him at the time, I'd recently seen a stand-in instead of my usual D consultant at the hospital D clinic, who was a normal Endo without having specialised in D - and he'd said precisely the same, hence I made the appt to see my GP!

 

[LittleLatios]

It would be very very reasonable of you to ask your GP surgery (or hospital, whichever is easiest to ask) what the results are - for the exact reason that Lilian has defined. My old GP (sadly for me healthwise) has now retired - said to me that 'people like you' - which he defined as 'otherwise reasonably healthy active folk with long-term conditions' - tend to do better all round with a TSH between 1 and 2 or even lower. And he's right - I do !

Plus as I told him at the time, I'd recently seen a stand-in instead of my usual D consultant at the hospital D clinic, who was a normal Endo without having specialised in D - and he'd said precisely the same, hence I made the appt to see my GP!

The frustrating bit is everyone goes straight to my blood sugars as soon as i mention exhaustion. But I will ask about thyroid testing again. I thought there were other symptoms tho. I used to get cold and weak too but that was the folate anemia.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

The frustrating bit is everyone goes straight to my blood sugars as soon as i mention exhaustion.

I'm sure we can all relate to that! On the other hand, potentially blood sugars could explain tiredness and ought to be easy to fix, so it makes sense to make sure they're OK. Which you've done, so if they ask you again you can point at the evidence.

 

[Megaphage]

I’m type 2 in remission now. I was suffering very badly from fatigue when my sugars were high but I’m feeling more energetic now. Trouble is I’m not sure which of the many changes I’ve made is responsible.

Have you checked your vitamin D level? Low vitamin D is very common and I believe can be related to fatigue. If you can’t get a test out the NHS you can do a home test with eg Thriva or Forthwithlife. Vitamin D3 supplements are dead cheap.

Another thing you could try is electrolytes. I believe diabetes can mess up your electrolytes from peeing. If your kidneys were at all dodgy then I would say to talk to your doctor first, but I note you say they’re ok. I recommend trying high5 zero tablets. They have a nice mix of sodium, magnesium and potassium. I also recommend trying San Pellegrino - just the plain sparkling water obv. Do you feel hungry for salt at all?

Please report back if either of these work. I’m curious!

 

[Tee G]

Not sure if i missed it in the thread but when did you last have a full BT done? If it was over a year ago, I would ask for a repeat. Especially if you are prone to anaemia. The other thing i would advise is to ask the receptionist at your GP surgery to give you a copy of you results each time you have a test in future and ask them for a copy of older tests so you can see and compare. I get mine all the time, we are entitled to see these things, not like the old days where everything was hush hush. People nowadays are more forthright with their health. Once you have them you can go do a little homework, as it maybe the case, as @Lilian already said that Dr's are ok with results of various things if they fall between two points on the scale, but you may be at the bottom end of those scales, and may be effected more readily by this kind of result. And unless you get access to those results then you are solely reliant on the Dr's guidance. We each need to take a full interest and get informed about our medical conditions.