Newly diagnosed prediabetic

[Deleted member 21371]

@Leadinglights thanks for the tip on the monitor with cheap strips. I offered the seller £15.99 for the 100 which was accepted so when I get close to none left, I'll check out the GlucoNavii.

@travellor well done for losing all that weight. Do you still feel so tired after the weight loss? Of course I want to address my blood sugar issue, but the original symptom was crushing tiredness and having to sleep in the day. I'm hoping losing some weight and addressing the prediabetes will make a difference to the tiredness.

On another note, I went for a bike ride today. First time for months. Just a mile round the block, not too demanding but bet I'm walking round like John Wayne who's just got off his horse tomorrow. Brake and gear cables need a spot of oil so that's a job for tomorrow. I'll keep doing the same until I can do it twice and progress from there. At 63, I'm sure progress will be snails pace, but that's ok.

Cheers

Steve

It's a chicken and egg question.
I believe diabetes as a condition made me tired.
High BG can do that, but I was also carrying around a giant armadillo all day.
The fat caused difficulty sleeping, with obstructive sleep apnoea, so weight loss definitely improved night time sleeping.

So I decided to address everything, it was a wake up call really.

 

[Samana]

Hi Sarah

Thanks for your very quick reply 🙂 The the worst part about the tiredness is that I've been bored out of my tree! I'm normally mentally quite active but have been absent without leave for some time. Watching box sets (Voyager) has helped pass the time. Like you I've been having daytime naps and sleeping like a log all night. It was good to hear that someone else experienced tiredness as a symptom. aka losing weight - I wasn't very clear - yes I do intend to diet at the same time as exercising. I'm 6' 1" tall so I don't look too bad apart from a rather large belly lol. Setting target weights over periods of time is a good idea thanks.

I was wondering - what should my fasting levels be? Around 5? I'll get into the routine of taking a measurement before brekky - maybe put a post-it note on the kettle as mornings are fairly automatic.

I will post back on this thread with any progress, thanks.

I see you're a bit of a trekky. NG was my favourite of all time. I remember the original with Kirk fighting a plastic crocodile. You had to be dedicated to watch it lol.

Keep Smilin' 🙂

Steve

Hi Steve,

I've just joined and I've been experiencing severe tiredness for some time too, and the diabetic nurse told me that it wasn't pre-diabetes, now I see you're experiencing it so thinking otherwise! So glad you're posting all you are it's really helping me as I have limited information and little help currently. Good luck with all you are doing and keep up posted on progress.
Samana

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi Steve,

I've just joined and I've been experiencing severe tiredness for some time too, and the diabetic nurse told me that it wasn't pre-diabetes, now I see you're experiencing it so thinking otherwise! So glad you're posting all you are it's really helping me as I have limited information and little help currently. Good luck with all you are doing and keep up posted on progress.
Samana

Do you sleep well?

 

[Drummer]

@Drummer I take Atorvostatin - what symptoms did you have? I'm chasing crushing tiredness and am hoping chasing diabetes away will be the answer.
Keep Smilin' all

Steve

I was taking Atorvastatin and Metformin - only for around 5 weeks, and had aches and pains, muscular weakness, but the worst was how my memory was affected. I forgot the words to the songs I sing - luckily my daughter had asked me to write them down so I had made a book of them, but just before Christmas 2016 I went shopping, lost the car, wandered around until I found it using the key fob, then when I opened the back I found I'd already done the shopping two days earlier and left it all in the car after calling in at my daughter's.
It was 18 months before the last ache departed, but I was very much weaker than I had been and for some time I stopped work.
By reducing my intake of carbs I seem to have got back to normal - I'd far rather stick to low carb than take tablets - I feel just about normal, just older - but then, at 71 I do have to accept that I really am getting on a bit.

 

[Samana]

Do you sleep well?

Hi Steve,
My sleep patterns are a work in progress I have other health issues too and have done a lot of work around this so I get more sleep at night, currently I tend to try to stay in bed even if I feel restless, which I often get and use techniques to settle back off. It can vary though, I can be awake whole nights or have difficulty settling off. Do you have issues with sleeping?

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi Steve,
My sleep patterns are a work in progress I have other health issues too and have done a lot of work around this so I get more sleep at night, currently I tend to try to stay in bed even if I feel restless, which I often get and use techniques to settle back off. It can vary though, I can be awake whole nights or have difficulty settling off. Do you have issues with sleeping?

Hi
It was me that responded.
I was diabetic, but heavily overweight. (Post above)
When I lost weight my sleeping improved dramatically.
I still wake up around fourish, but usually go back to sleep.
I do tai chi, I find the mental relaxation techniques work well for me.

 

[picitup]

It's a chicken and egg question.
I believe diabetes as a condition made me tired.
High BG can do that, but I was also carrying around a giant armadillo all day.
The fat caused difficulty sleeping, with obstructive sleep apnoea, so weight loss definitely improved night time sleeping.

So I decided to address everything, it was a wake up call really.

Hi yes, that's just how I see it - a wakeup call. Time to address my diet, weight and physical fitness. I'm carrying around an armadillo too as evidenced by my belly. The doctor couldn't believe my weight as I'm quite tall, but there it is, probably wrapped round my internal organs which ain't clever.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi yes, that's just how I see it - a wakeup call. Time to address my diet, weight and physical fitness. I'm carrying around an armadillo too as evidenced by my belly. The doctor couldn't believe my weight as I'm quite tall, but there it is, probably wrapped round my internal organs which ain't clever.

That was the findings of Prof Taylor, a lot of type 2 diabetes is caused by internal fat, and internal organs are smothered.
He found an 8 week 800 calorie diet removed a lot of the fat, the pancreas recovered, insulin resistance went, and BG and insulin responses normalised

 

[picitup]

Hi Steve,

I've just joined and I've been experiencing severe tiredness for some time too, and the diabetic nurse told me that it wasn't pre-diabetes, now I see you're experiencing it so thinking otherwise! So glad you're posting all you are it's really helping me as I have limited information and little help currently. Good luck with all you are doing and keep up posted on progress.
Samana

Hi Samana
Glad it helps. These forums are great - so many people with good information! I've been suffering from tiredness for quite a long time. I had a stroke a couple of years ago and thought it was post stroke fatigue. You can get this even if you just have a TIA. By the time I went to the docs they gave me a blood test which showed low folic acid. A couple of months of high dose folic acid tabs and my levels are back up, but the tiredness persists. Just to confuse the issue I'm also bipolar so it could be low mood which will be a change of meds for some time, experimenting with doses and on and on.....
Although I'm no nearer an answer, making the required lifestyle changes can only be to the good.
Without being too dramatic, the tiredness is gutting. I like to be active, but haven't done any hobbies for months. I feel a bit better today, probably because I parked my botty on my bike yesterday and went for a ride. Just a short one, but it's something I've wanted to do for months.

And if it wasn't all vague enough, I did some googling for patient information leaflets for my meds and 5 out of the 8 can cause tiredness as a side effect 🙄

I see you say you were told by your DN that prediabetes wouldn't be the cause of your tiredness, but my doc said the exact opposite. I asked him the direct question if he thought it was the cause of my tiredness and he said he did. I'm no expert (just what I've googled) but my understanding is that you can have low energy if your sugar levels are RIGHT, not low or high so surely if you're prediabetic and your levels are high, that can cause tiredness? Just from reading the forums I can see that different members have different experiences with different BG levels so maybe we're only a little out, but quite sensitive to that change?

I have no idea so I'm grasping in the dark, but will continue to work on my diet and physical fitness and see where that ends up. I'm guessing I'll have another hba1c test in the future so see if it goes down and I'm less tired.

Sorry this was a bit of a long one, but I'm struggling with the same as you, so keep in touch, and I will, so we can swap notes 🙂

Cheers

Steve

 

[picitup]

Hi Steve,
My sleep patterns are a work in progress I have other health issues too and have done a lot of work around this so I get more sleep at night, currently I tend to try to stay in bed even if I feel restless, which I often get and use techniques to settle back off. It can vary though, I can be awake whole nights or have difficulty settling off. Do you have issues with sleeping?

Hi Samana
My sleep is pretty good although if something wakes me up in the night, I can't get back off again so I get up. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often. I have a good bedtime routine and go to bed at 10:00 every night and get up around 7 so a good 9 hours. I'm expecting deeper sleep soon due to my bike escapades - a little more physically tired so improved sleep and less tiredness? We can but try....
Do you suffer from stress and do you spend time relaxing? The only way I can relax is to put my headphones on and listen to music, blotting out everything. I guess you've heard of it, but if not, google 'sleep hygiene' which might help.

I used to wake up in the early morning which is called 'middle of the night insomnia' and there's no help from sleeping tablets as these get you off, but wear out in the night. After some time, it corrected itself I'm pleased to say.

Cheers

Steve

 

[picitup]

That was the findings of Prof Taylor, a lot of type 2 diabetes is caused by internal fat, and internal organs are smothered.
He found an 8 week 800 calorie diet removed a lot of the fat, the pancreas recovered, insulin resistance went, and BG and insulin responses normalised

That's very interesting thanks. It motivates me more to lose some weight. Not sure if I'm quite ready for an 800 calorie a day diet though, I'll start gently by cutting out any refined sugar products and exercising. Nice one to keep up the sleeve though.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Hi Samana
My sleep is pretty good although if something wakes me up in the night, I can't get back off again so I get up. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often. I have a good bedtime routine and go to bed at 10:00 every night and get up around 7 so a good 9 hours. I'm expecting deeper sleep soon due to my bike escapades - a little more physically tired so improved sleep and less tiredness? We can but try....
Do you suffer from stress and do you spend time relaxing? The only way I can relax is to put my headphones on and listen to music, blotting out everything. I guess you've heard of it, but if not, google 'sleep hygiene' which might help.

I used to wake up in the early morning which is called 'middle of the night insomnia' and there's no help from sleeping tablets as these get you off, but wear out in the night. After some time, it corrected itself I'm pleased to say.

Cheers

Steve

I never got rid of waking up at 4am!

 

[picitup]

I was taking Atorvastatin and Metformin - only for around 5 weeks, and had aches and pains, muscular weakness, but the worst was how my memory was affected. I forgot the words to the songs I sing - luckily my daughter had asked me to write them down so I had made a book of them, but just before Christmas 2016 I went shopping, lost the car, wandered around until I found it using the key fob, then when I opened the back I found I'd already done the shopping two days earlier and left it all in the car after calling in at my daughter's.
It was 18 months before the last ache departed, but I was very much weaker than I had been and for some time I stopped work.
By reducing my intake of carbs I seem to have got back to normal - I'd far rather stick to low carb than take tablets - I feel just about normal, just older - but then, at 71 I do have to accept that I really am getting on a bit.

Hi thanks for your reply. I'm not sure about Metformin, but it looks like you had the Full Monty of side effects from Atorvastatin. It must have been very disorientating. Well done for acheiving remission and losing 50lbs. I've probably got that to lose 🙂

Cheers

Steve

 

[picitup]

I never got rid of waking up at 4am!

That's a bugger. Do you get up or manage to get back off?

 

[Deleted member 21371]

That's a bugger. Do you get up or manage to get back off?

I usually get back to sleep.
It's easy to start thinking about different things though, I try clear my mind or go to my happy place.

 

[Samana]

Hi
It was me that responded.
I was diabetic, but heavily overweight. (Post above)
When I lost weight my sleeping improved dramatically.
I still wake up around fourish, but usually go back to sleep.
I do tai chi, I find the mental relaxation techniques work well for me.

Hi, great that losing weight has helped you and your sleeping has improved. I too wake early around 4ish in the morning, and then tend to doze for a while until just after 6am and then get up. Oftentimes as currently I get so tired I do nap mid afternoon but that is more to do with the nutrition side of the Gastroparesis as I have absorption issues so lack in energy but continually working on it, the pre-diabetes thing is something else I just have to add in now.
Yes, I find that I'm finding more ways to relax too, I'm not very mobile but do do stretches when I can and find ways just to chill and de-stress helps a lot! Watching something funny also lifts me on not so good days! It's like a tonic!

 

[Samana]

That's very interesting thanks. It motivates me more to lose some weight. Not sure if I'm quite ready for an 800 calorie a day diet though, I'll start gently by cutting out any refined sugar products and exercising. Nice one to keep up the sleeve though.

Cheers

Steve

I agree with picitup I might not be ready for 800 calories yet but making some change I'm definitely up for! Especially around refined sugars etc where I can and a little more movement. You're doing great Steve!

 

[Samana]

Hi Samana
My sleep is pretty good although if something wakes me up in the night, I can't get back off again so I get up. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often. I have a good bedtime routine and go to bed at 10:00 every night and get up around 7 so a good 9 hours. I'm expecting deeper sleep soon due to my bike escapades - a little more physically tired so improved sleep and less tiredness? We can but try....
Do you suffer from stress and do you spend time relaxing? The only way I can relax is to put my headphones on and listen to music, blotting out everything. I guess you've heard of it, but if not, google 'sleep hygiene' which might help.

I used to wake up in the early morning which is called 'middle of the night insomnia' and there's no help from sleeping tablets as these get you off, but wear out in the night. After some time, it corrected itself I'm pleased to say.

Cheers

Steve

Hi Steve,
Yes, I get up sometimes too, just for a break! That often helps me to settle then when I go back. For me it was like at least 3 nights out of 7... now it's more 1 night out of 10... so drastically improved.
I go to bed and we watch something light on the laptop with amber light and then I settle about 9.30pm and I don't eat anything beyond 6.45pm as that's my last tiny snack of the day (Gastroparesis snack).
Yes I'm getting more hours too. I wake always feeling tired, never refreshed, not mastered that yet... I live in hope hahaha.
I do get easily stressed yes, I tend to work with my feelings and handle them mostly but of late that's been more difficult so I've taken time out in nature or done distracting things on a daily basis to turn away from stuff, that has helped but things are still there sometimes if you don't handle them you know? I've used headphones too to relax, but at the moment with headaches I just want quiet, so totally get what you're saying. Yes, I've followed the sleep hygiene list, thank you. Yes that's right sleeping tablets just settle you off, not keep you there... not sure what the long term answer is... I practice self care and relax and rest when I need to and that helps and doing it more and more, which I definitely need right now! Got a few other tests in play n the coming weeks and potentially surgery on my shoulders so think that all adds to the stress, it will all work itself out... it just all came at once so it's just handling it all that's my issue I think! One thing at a time is the key. I really appreciate the great tips you are sharing, thank you, and good to be in touch with people who are experiencing or have experienced the same things, it really helps, this is all very new to me! Thanks

 

[Samana]

I never got rid of waking up at 4am!

I know it can be difficult once you're awake to settle back off, sometimes I manage it, others I just rest and enjoy just relaxing for a while and think it benefits my body. It's a work in progress!

 

[picitup]

Hi Steve,
Yes, I get up sometimes too, just for a break! That often helps me to settle then when I go back. For me it was like at least 3 nights out of 7... now it's more 1 night out of 10... so drastically improved.
I go to bed and we watch something light on the laptop with amber light and then I settle about 9.30pm and I don't eat anything beyond 6.45pm as that's my last tiny snack of the day (Gastroparesis snack).
Yes I'm getting more hours too. I wake always feeling tired, never refreshed, not mastered that yet... I live in hope hahaha.
I do get easily stressed yes, I tend to work with my feelings and handle them mostly but of late that's been more difficult so I've taken time out in nature or done distracting things on a daily basis to turn away from stuff, that has helped but things are still there sometimes if you don't handle them you know? I've used headphones too to relax, but at the moment with headaches I just want quiet, so totally get what you're saying. Yes, I've followed the sleep hygiene list, thank you. Yes that's right sleeping tablets just settle you off, not keep you there... not sure what the long term answer is... I practice self care and relax and rest when I need to and that helps and doing it more and more, which I definitely need right now! Got a few other tests in play n the coming weeks and potentially surgery on my shoulders so think that all adds to the stress, it will all work itself out... it just all came at once so it's just handling it all that's my issue I think! One thing at a time is the key. I really appreciate the great tips you are sharing, thank you, and good to be in touch with people who are experiencing or have experienced the same things, it really helps, this is all very new to me! Thanks

Hi Samana

It sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on it and are doing everyting you can, It's just that everything has come at once which sounds overwhelming. The Amber laptop screen is good as I'm sure you know that blue light reduces melatonin and inhibits sleep.

I had some Occupational Therapy from a very nice lady once. I was overwhelmed by pretty much everything. She suggested that I cut a job in half if it seems too much. If it's still too much, cut it in half again and again.... This worked very well for me and I still use it to this day.
I remember I had 2 jobs to do at home and needed tools for both. I was overwhelmed so I drove to the builder's merchants and bought tools for the first job. Then I drove home and did the first job. The back to the merchants to buy the tools for the second job, back home and did that. It might sound a little barmy, but I go both jobs done and it didn't take much longer so who cares? 🙂

I do wish you luck with all your challenges, including sleep. As you say, one step at a time.

Cheers

Steve