Symptoms

[Mr. L]

Hello All

I am being tested for diabetes and wanted to ask if the type of fatigue or lethargy frequently associated with diabetes is sometimes debilitating or disabling.

I am fatigued to the point of not being able to work or "play" full-time and am not, therefore, living a normal life.

I also have sleep apnea, but am on a CPAP machine, which does help considerably.

It just seems like there is something else going on, besides the sleep apnea and I was wondering if anyone here has had disabling fatigue similar to what I just described.

Thank you in advance for any responses.

[Dusty]

That's the bad thing about diabetes, sometimes there are no symptoms or they are such that they can come on gradually until they reach a severe point.

Are you overweight? When I was diagnosed I was 281lbs, couldn't sleep, could barely get through the day I was so fatigued. Once I got my BG in control and lost 100lbs, I have energy to spare and generally have no sleeping problems.

My doctor told me years ago that If I lost all the excess weight that 99% of my problems would diasppear, he was right.

Good luck on your test.

[Mr. L]

Thank you, Dusty.

Mind sharing how you lost the weight and how long it took?

I do need to lose weight and think this would definitely help, but have struggled to do so.

I hear diabetes can trigger hunger, as can insufficient sleep, so, anything you can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks again.


Mr. L

[Dusty]

I knew all along that I needed to lose weight but it's hard to do when you enjoy food as much as I did. The diagnosos really scared me into doing something about my weight.
I left the doctors office with a 400+ BGL and no idea what I should and shouldn't eat so I came home and started searching the internet.

It didn't take long to figure out that carbs were bad and that's what I started cutting way back on. I ate lots of vegetables and just a small amount of fish, beef, poultry, etc. No bread, no grains other than WASA low carb crackers and low carb buritto wraps, no chips, no pasta, no rice, and no sugar of any kind other than what little natural sugar was in some of the raw vegetables.
I drank lots of water and my wife and I started walking 2-3 miles every day along with some resistance training. (weights)

The first two weeks were horrible, some days I felt so bad I was scared I would live instead of the other way around but later found out it was due to my sugar levels falling pretty rapid.

When I went for my 1st 30 day appointment with the doctor after diagnosis, my fasting level was 94 and I had lost about 35lbs. I was started on a small dose of metformin to help keep my liver from dumping glucose in my system and also it can help with weight loss although I had a good start on that before the medication.

I'm not going to tell you it was easy because it wasn't. I smoked for 30 years and quit cold turkey and it was way easier than getting control over the eating.

Diet and exercise will make a huge difference in the way you feel health wise and the way you feel about yourself.

I almost forgot, my cholesterol was always really high until I started eating healthy and lost the weight. Last tests were well below optimal on everything execpt the HDL (good cholesterol) so I started adding in some healthy fats like olive oil, fish oil, walnuts, almonds, salmon, flaxseed meal, etc and will see how the numbers were affected next week when I have new labs done.

All of this has taken place since june of this year.

Good luck and If you have more questions, ask away.

[jimmys devoted]

I get a tired like my muscles are suffocating, which essentially they are.
I feel very sleepy as well and almost like I have done loads of exercise but havent.

And at other times like when you get out of a pool after aday of swimming and your muscles just dont cooperate.

I found that a few B vitamins in my case helps with it. It acts like Actos without the side effects.

[stel2006]

here were my symptoms when I was found to have"secondary type 1 diabetes ????":

I had increased thirst
I was urinating 4 times a day and 2-3 times a night
not hungry (no increased appetite)
no weight loss

the tests were all normal except:

Blood: sugar levels (glycemia?) = 336 mg/dL, Triglycerides (????) = 260, total cholesterol = 190, HDL cholesterol (????) = 46, cortisol at 8am = 210 (normal up to 150), low eosinophil (????) count
Urine: positive for glucose (4+) and ketone bodies (3+)

Anybody else with my symptoms:( ?

[Lanterns]

Dusty,

Do you still follow that diet?
Doesn't it get at all boring? I personally LOVE to cook... and I'll cook anything. I just can't think of having no carbs... it seems extremely weird.
So, basically... do you have special recipes or is it just basically fruits and veggies?

[Dusty]

Dusty,

Do you still follow that diet?
Doesn't it get at all boring? I personally LOVE to cook... and I'll cook anything. I just can't think of having no carbs... it seems extremely weird.
So, basically... do you have special recipes or is it just basically fruits and veggies?

I still follow that diet and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. The key here is "LOW Carb" not "NO carb". I replaced bread with flaxseed meal bread, pancakes made with flaxseed topped with SE maple syrup or blueberry syrup. I eat beef, chicken, fish, pork, bacon, etc.

I love cabbage and several times a week I make cabbage soup with a little of whatever is in the fridge at the time added in. Smetimes it's ham and sweet peppers, sometimes it's chicken and brocoli.

I'm not a very picky eater, if it doesn't smell bad and doesn't bite I'll cook it.:D

[jhellie_baby]

"Lethargy" in diabetes is in the severe form already. Some even go into diabetic coma, which is dangerous.

[manojjonam10]

That is the reason why diabetes is considered as a dangerous one. Some type of diabetes has fewer symptoms, it is better to have a check up twice a year for checking diabetes level.

[Ammy]

Your cholesterol was really high, then use Cholestyramine 9GMS Powder to lower high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
This medicine is known as a bile-acid-binding resin. Lowering cholesterol helps decrease the risk of stroke.