Should i still feel ill 4 weeks in

[chris-e]

Hi,i'd really like some assurance please.I'm type 2,diagnosed Oct 6th.The thing is i still feel really really lethargic, not unlike when i was 1st diagnosed and surely i should be feeling a bit better by now. Im on metformin 2000mg and not having any side effects.My head is really fuzzy and im wearing my reading glasses (x1) for normal vision and had to buy some others (x 3.50) to read, so i can understand the headache ive got is through swopping glasses over all day but this fuzziness is different to an actual headache. I went back to work yesterday and i'm finding it very hard to stay there cos i feel so bad and have no energy and my concentration is zero and i do need to concentrate. My diet has been really good and i've pratically cut out all carbs and definatley sugars/choc/sweet stuff cos i've almost been afraid to eat so its not that im eating badly that could be causing it,i'm beginning to wonder if i'm type 1 and need insulin cos i cant imagine feeling like this until my next hba1c in January. Is it normal to feel so c**p 4 weeks in, my meter readings after fasting have gone down from 16 to 6.5 in that time. Some days they have gone up a bit but they seem to be going in the right direction. So could i be type 1, or do i need to eat more carbs for energy, i'm confused again.Please help 😱

 

[Northerner]

Hi Chris, I'm sorry you are still feeling bad. It can take some time to get used to all the changes you have been making - both with your diet and also adapting to the medications and lower blood sugar levels, all of which are new to your body. It's a lot to cope with all at once so try and be patient - I know it can be very frustrating. Can you request shorter hours at work until you are feeling stronger?

 

[vince13]

Hi Chris, sorry to hear you are still feeling so tired and confused. Can't help too much as I don't low carb (or even carb count as I'm on a mixed insulin since January this year and therefore can't inject to cover the carbs I eat, just twice a day the amounts I've been told to). Perhaps you aren't eating enough carbs - someone else will come on here and explain things a little more on that score.

It is early days for you yet but you have done wonderfully well with your fasting levels coming down so much and so you must be doing something right (and the Metformin does help there I understand).

Just wanted to say "hi" and wish you all the best - sorry that you had to join the Club which no-one wants to be a part of but this place is a great start in learning what to do so keep posting please - nothing's too silly or sad I can assure you of that - and no-one makes judgements on what you do or say (unless you use bad language that is !).

Good luck,

 

[Ellie Jones]

There could be a couple things going on that is making feel no better..

How much have you reduced your carb intake? If you've done a very drastic reduction then this can make you feel lousy, one complaint about the Atkin diet!

If you had T1, metformin wouldn't do very much at all in reducing the blood glucose... It has two main actions, one is reducing the amount of glucose that the liver produces and helps the cells to uptake available insulin and utilise it better..

And with T1 you either don't produce insulin or may only be producing a very small amount that can't support so your BG's would continue to increae rather than decrease..

 

[Catwoman76]

Hi,i'd really like some assurance please.I'm type 2,diagnosed Oct 6th.The thing is i still feel really really lethargic, not unlike when i was 1st diagnosed and surely i should be feeling a bit better by now. Im on metformin 2000mg and not having any side effects.My head is really fuzzy and im wearing my reading glasses (x1) for normal vision and had to buy some others (x 3.50) to read, so i can understand the headache ive got is through swopping glasses over all day but this fuzziness is different to an actual headache. I went back to work yesterday and i'm finding it very hard to stay there cos i feel so bad and have no energy and my concentration is zero and i do need to concentrate. My diet has been really good and i've pratically cut out all carbs and definatley sugars/choc/sweet stuff cos i've almost been afraid to eat so its not that im eating badly that could be causing it,i'm beginning to wonder if i'm type 1 and need insulin cos i cant imagine feeling like this until my next hba1c in January. Is it normal to feel so c**p 4 weeks in, my meter readings after fasting have gone down from 16 to 6.5 in that time. Some days they have gone up a bit but they seem to be going in the right direction. So could i be type 1, or do i need to eat more carbs for energy, i'm confused again.Please help 😱

Hi I'm sorry to here you are feeling so rough. I think the best thing to eat is a good healthy well balanced diet. You certainly sound as if you are suffering. Please have a word with your DSN or Dr for advice and support. You seem to have made big changes to your diet and this could have affected your body( hardly any carbs etc) similar to someone giving up smoking or alcohol, it can be a shock to the body. I hope you start to feel better soon. Best wishes Sheena

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi Chris

Sorry you are feeling rough.

It is perfectly possible to have a satisfying and healthy diet with much reduced carb intake, but it needs to be carefully nutritionally balanced.

If you decide to add carbs back in, I suggest you do it cautiously and eat to your meter, testing as you go after meals to make sure your BG levels stay at decent levels.

 

[chris-e]

Thanks everyone i am starting to feel better already,especially knowing its not type 1.If this is "normal" then i can cope with it if i know its gonna end soon and 4weeks is early days i guess, just feels so bloody long when you feel ill. I spend a lot of time on here getting info but often get sidetracked by all the threads and don't get the info i was originally looking for.Hence i get worried . Thanks Northerner i have asked today about cutting my hours to 8 a day instead of 10 so i think that'll be happening soon.
I'm having 2boiled eggs and some chicken at 9.30 then at 12.30 i have a cheese sandwich,burgen bread, then at 6pm im having meat, veg and a large jacket potato,i take all the potato out and just eat the crispy skin which i love, so maybe i'll try and eat a bit more i think. Ha! eat a bit more ,thats a joke my body must wonder whats happened to it,i've always had ,lets say an emotional attachment to food and had a compulsive eating problem all my life so having gone to the other extreme now i suppose it seems sense i'm having withdrawal symptoms .I haven't been using my meter apart from after fasting cos i wanted to get my levels down to somewhere near normal (5ish)first which doesn't look too far off now.Such a lot to learn and this is a great forum,thanks again for the replies x

 

[trophywench]

Chris, I think you've just explained the reasons for your symptoms exactly!

Plus, you really are doing brilliantly, because it takes Metformin 3 weeks to 'soak in' - what I mean by that is you have to get the Metformin in your body built up to a level that does something, then what you take each day thereafter, just keeps it topped up. So if you have been gradually increasing you dose since Oct 6th, you have only been on the full amount for 5 minutes, haven't you? (bit like going onto eg anti-depressives - don't do anything for you for approx the first 3-4 weeks)

Well done!