Tired all the time

[Clare Pritchard]

hi I was diagnosed in February I'm struggling with everything really particularly my diet my main concern is that I'm constantly tired and I feel unsupported by my GP practice sorry for moaning I just needed to vent

 

[JayBay]

Hi Clare. It is not easy to get to grip with changing what you eat and being constantly aware of what certain foods can do to your glucose levels. The thing is that once you change your diet and get your BG levels under control you will start to feel much better. It will not take long to feel less tired if you manage to make he changes.
Tell us a bit more about yourself and you will get support and advice from members of the forum. With the support from this site I got my levels under control and started to feel so much better. Are you on meds? Do you test? What sort of numbers are you getting. High BG will make you feel tired so the aim should be to bring them down, some minor changes will help.

 

[Northerner]

hi I was diagnosed in February I'm struggling with everything really particularly my diet my main concern is that I'm constantly tired and I feel unsupported by my GP practice sorry for moaning I just needed to vent

Hi Clare, sorry to hear this Have you tried writing a food diary? Getting everything down on paper can really help you to get to grips with things, spot patterns and find areas where you can make 'easy wins' to improve your diet 🙂 If you want, you can share it with us and we can help with suggestions 🙂

 

[JimBear]

Sorry to hear what you're going through Clare - it can be daunting to start with, and sorry to say not all practices seem that supportive, especially if you don't fit in to their way of thinking. Some of the older members of staff may have had their diabetes training some years/decades ago and aren't always aware of more modern ways to approach the problem.
It would be an idea to get a blood meter if you've not been allowed one as you can test regularly (first thing in the morning and 2 hours after a meal) and get an idea of what foods/drinks affect you the most. I was really surprised how some affected more than I would have expected and others which I thought should affect me made very little difference. If your practice seems unwilling to help you, you may need to consider changing surgeries.

 

[happydog]

Hello Claire and welcome to the forum. There is such a lot of information to take in on diagnosis and the worst part is that often you are given conflicting information I have an unsupportive surgery too so I can sympathise. The good news is that we can do so much to help ourselves and take control. It is not easy and takes a while and there will be setbacks but you will get there with perseverance. Start with baby steps. I found keeping a food diary helped and insisted on testing. DNs and doctors were not interested in either thing but I knew it was the only way to go. Ask for the equipment to test and if they won't give it to you buy your own. Like you I was so tired all the time but I do also have hyperthyroidism so that was part of the explanation. I did feel so much better once the BGs improved. This is a good place to ask for information. I know that I could not have done it without all these lovely people on this forum. Good luck with it and keep in touch, you will get there🙂

 

[Copepod]

Don't forget that activity, as well as food, is important in "diet and exercise". Have you been offered any education about living with diabetes?

 

[Ljc]

Hi Clare. I'm sorry to hear your GP practise is not being supportive. You can change practices without having to notify your GP.
Knowing what your BGs are doing after meals etc will help you gain control over them, just remember this is a marathon not a sprint and changes you make to your diet and exersize must be sustainable and enjoyable. Just to give you an idea, I've not gone LCHF but I have cut down on carbs , have never been afraid of fats and my control is good plus I'm losing weight without really trying.

Once your BGs come down you won't feel anywhere near as tired and ant other symptoms will ease too.
If your practice won't give you a meter , the most economical one is the SD Codefree available from Amazon, the test strips for this meter are around £8 for 50 other brands are a lot dearer.

 

[Martin Canty]

Hi Clare, one of the things that we don't mention a lot is the feelings of depression that D can often bring on; particularly as BG levels are changing from the previous "normal"..... Discussing your diabetes with the group can help a lot in terms of understanding what is going on & reassuring yourself about the symptoms.

From "Crocodile Dundee"
Sue Charlton: People go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems. She just needed to unload them. You know, bring them out in the open.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Hasn't she got any mates?
Sue Charlton: You're right. I guess we could all use more mates. I suppose you don't have any shrinks at Walkabout Creek.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Nah - - back there, if you got a problem, you tell Wally. And he tells everyone in town... brings it out in the open... no more problem.

 

[Amigo]

Hi Clare, one of the things that we don't mention a lot is the feelings of depression that D can often bring on; particularly as BG levels are changing from the previous "normal"..... Discussing your diabetes with the group can help a lot in terms of understanding what is going on & reassuring yourself about the symptoms.

From "Crocodile Dundee"
Sue Charlton: People go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems. She just needed to unload them. You know, bring them out in the open.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Hasn't she got any mates?
Sue Charlton: You're right. I guess we could all use more mates. I suppose you don't have any shrinks at Walkabout Creek.
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Nah - - back there, if you got a problem, you tell Wally. And he tells everyone in town... brings it out in the open... no more problem.

That's my hubbie's favourite saying from any film Marty and I suspect the way they dealt with problems in the small village he came from! Lol