Hi everyone, have a question. I have been maintaining my T2 with 500mg of Metformin 2x/day & keeping my numbers between the teens and 120's before meals and in the 130 range after meals. While I feel a lot more energy, I am exhausted. I feel like I am wearing myself out. I have been a T2 for little over 5 months now. Through my diet & daily exercise, I have lost 32 lbs so far (was 277 in December)with the goal to be at or below 200 by the end of the year (I didn't put the weight on overnight so I am taking it slow to lose it). At first I had energy to spare. But I have notice that within the last month of so I have to push myself a little harder everyday to do everything I normally do. I work full time so by the weekend comes I am wore out.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? Just curious. Will have a follow-up with MD in June to see how my A1C and blood sugar is at that time (starting A1C 10.1, March A1C 6.9).
Thanks, I decided early on that I could either work at controlling T2 or let it control me. I am determined the try my best to control it - sometimes to the point that I am a little crazy about it.
I worked with a dietician initially upon my diagnosis but not since. Maybe I should touch base again with her to review my diet plan.
After reading your comment about being consistent, while I try to me consistent, I am not always especially when it comes to eating snacks throughout the day at work. Something for me to think about.
I will definitely look into something like the Extend Bars perhaps that is my problem, I am not eating enough. I feel great eating what I do, but I do not eat the snacks I should. My numbers are not showing any fluctuations so I thought I was doing ok, but if I am not eating enough & more importantly on a schedule, then it makes sense that I could be feeling tired.
No meds, wow congrats.
At my first follow-up appt with my MD, I told him that my plan was to get off the meds to control with diet & exercise - his response was that less than 10% of the people with T2 can do that. Maybe he was trying to invoke my normal response of "I'll show him". At that same appt he told me not to be disappointed if my A1C was not where I thought it should be as he said it takes time to get it in a target range (again most people do not achieve the target) well I showed him when his office called me with my 6.9 in just 3 months.
Thanks so much for your thoughts, I will definitely look at my food plan and try adjustment to see if that works.
Fraser has a good point. Successful dieting should not be about denial, restricting calories and resulting hunger and fatigue. I don't know if you're doing this, but eating enough is key. If you're trying to lose weight and tightly manage BG at the same time, it's worth considering a Ketogenic meal plan. Essentially, you're switching your metabolism from burning glucose to burning fat as your primary fuel. It gives you very stable BG and energy throughout the day and also is a great way to lose weight. I've been doing it for the last two years and have been very happy with it.
Thanks Christopher, I am not restricting calories as much as I've changed my diet to eliminate all the bad "white" stuff. I eat veggies, lean protein (white meat chicken/turkey, pork mostly). I use the plate method which has really helped me tremendously. I never heard of the Ketogenic meal plan, but will look into it.
I welcome all thoughts and ideas. Thank you so much
It sounds like you're most of the way there. Key is to cut out all sugar and processed carbs, as you are currently doing. This includes all breads and grains. Carbs are derived from non-starchy veggies and nuts. Fat is essential in this type of diet - so lean meats are not necessary. This is what provides you with long-term all-day energy. Healthy fats are also key: avocado, olive oil, butter, sour cream, coconut oil. The only fats to be avoided are trans-fats and vegetable oils.
This type of diet has had all sorts of names over the years: Ketogenic, Atkins, Paleo, etc. Just do a search under "Optimal Ketosis," "Ketogenic Diet" or "Paleo" on Google and you'll see a wealth of info.
I’ve struggled with fatigue. One of the first things I had checked was whether I had sleep apnea. I have severe sleep apnea. Treating it help a lot but I still struggle with fatigue.
Christopher and Fraser have already shared great suggestions, and one more thing came to my mind while pondering your exhaustion. Since it sounds like you're eating well and maintaining your blood sugars in a healthy range, there's always the possibility that (gasp!) the exhaustion is not diabetes-related. It's easy to blame everything we feel on diabetes, but of course even with D we are still susceptible to other things. If none of the great suggestions you've gotten so far yield answers, perhaps you're exhausted because it's allergy season, or you're fighting a low-grade spring cold, or some other "normal" thing?
Thanks Emily, you know you may have just made a suggestion that fits me. I always suffer from spring allergies with the grasses and trees "blooming". Lots of itchy eyes, runny nose and sinus pain. Perhaps the changes that I am experiencing in my diet, weight & exercising mixed with my spring allergies could just be the answer. Hmmm. Being a newbie to this disease, my first thoughts are am I not doing something right or is this exhaustion part of the disease.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and ideas. I am so happy that I found this group that I can ask the "silly" questions that others would think are stupid.
Brian thanks for your thoughts. I was tested for sleep apnea because the MD was positive that my snoring while sleeping meant that I had it. After the study showed that I do not have it, it just means I have crummy sinus'! Hope you find ways to cope with the fatigue.
I don't think any question about diabetes is silly or stupid. It's an incredibly complicated condition! I'm glad you found us too, Bed, and I hope you never hesitate to ask your questions here :)
Deb, it is hard to lose weight and feel energetic. That's not a diabetes thing, it's an evolutionary adaptation. Some people are more sensitive to it than others.
Basically, in order to lose weight you have to starve your body to a mild degree. You have to give it less energy input than it needs. Otherwise, your metabolism won't shift to ketogenesis and burn fat, reducing your overall mass.
In response to this metabolic situation (i.e. calorie imbalance, not ketogenesis per se), a spectrum physiological and psychological responses occur. Among them, feeling tired, listless, sleepy, etc. -- your body trying to minimize the energy you use. Over the millions of years we evolved, food sources were not reliable like they are today, so animals (including us!)_evolved physiological responses to hoard energy as much as possible so you'd live long enough to replenish them.
Once you meet your weight goal and can eat a calorie-balanced diet, a lot of this energy will come back. If you are particularly sensitive to this phenomenon, one way to ease it is to back off your weight loss goals a bit (lose maybe 5 lbs a months instead of 8 or 10), so you can eat a little more, and have more energy.
Hi all I am new to using basal insulin and am seeking general guidance about the maximum units to use. I am taking januvia and glimipiride and started at 10u to increace 2units every three days.
There is no maximum, Miranda. The right dose is the dose that works for you to keep your blood sugar in target range and not to bring you too low. Just keep testing!
Miranda, I'm going to guess your diagnosed type 2 based on your use of glimipiride.
Also going to guess that you're taking Lantus or Levemir for your basal dosing, once a day, probably before bed?
A few thoughts... keep in mind I'm not a doctor, just a 15-year T2 diabetic. I treat my diabetes with only insulin and metformin using a pump, by choice. Now the thoughts:
Talk to your doctor about ditching the glimipiride. This is a beta cell stimulant, and there is a growing body of evidence that these drugs just accelerate the decline of beta cell function. With the long-acting basal insulin, you don't need to push your pancreas. In fact, let the Lantus/Levimir take a load off your beta cells.
Test, test, test, test, then test some more! Test before eating; 2-3 hours after; before bed; when you wake up. That's 6-10 tests per day depending on how often you eat. This data is critical to figuring out proper dosing for the basal insulin.
The Januvia is going to kick your pancreas in the butt every time you eat so it will bust out as much insulin as it can. So, you need to find that basal dose that results in good numbers in the morning when you wake up, and a return to good numbers within 3 hours or so after eating.
Everything your doctor is treating you with increases insulin concentrations in your body. There is a substantially higher risk of hypoglycemia than without these drugs. Testing is, again, very important. Especially if you're meeting the goal of returning to good fasting numbers within 2-3 hours postprandial -- if you're achieving that, you need to test again at 4 hours, 5 hours, etc. at first, to make sure you're not continuing to head down into hypoland.
Dave Your assumptions are right. I can not take metformin but am on glimipiride, januvia,and zetia. I am also hypothyroid using synthroid. I am currently doing 30 u of levemir and am only testing in the a.m. and only other times in the day when I am feeling overtired or jittery. I find that often when I don't feel well during the day that my blood sugar is about 100? At this point my morning readings are fluxuating between 110 and 140. I am really confused about the fluxuatoin in fasting numbers and assuming I need to increase the units of basal insulin.
Interesting what you are saying about glimipiride since my doctor has increased the dosage.
Thank you for your response, I am going to test more often and certainly consider everything you have said.
have you checked pH of your blood and urine? if it is acidic that might be the cause. low carb diet result very often in acidic pH which make us tired and prone to other diseases. it is worth to check the heart too.
