Has anyone found something to help with fatigue? I've had T1D for 14 years now,and I seem to consistently have a few days every month or so where my energy bottoms out. I'll need 12 hours of sleep to function, and my brain will still feel asleep all day. It's not that frequent, but is getting more annoying with my work schedule.
Besides keeping your A1C down, does anyone have any advise for something they've found to help?
does it happen to be right before your period. i know with me a few days before i get almost sick and very tired. with me i have to eat better allthough it only makes a slight difference
It might be worth getting your thyroid function checked. Low thyroid often goes hand in hand with Type 1 diabetes, and can make you feel extremely tired, even if your function is just starting to drop. I found out recently that I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and since I've been on medication, I feel like I have SO much more energy.
Other things to consider are the amount of exercise you're getting, and how often you're having lows or highs. I know having lots of lows totally wipes my energy out, as well with being constantly high. Good luck figuring things out!
I definitely agree that your thyroid might be involved.
Assuming your thyroid function is normal, I have found that BG high and rising can cause me to feel sleepy, and BG low and dropping can cause me to be tired and overwhelmed. So it is possible to be tired on either side of the BG balancing act.
The first thing I do when I feel tired is check my BG. The good news is that correcting your BG back to normal will cure your tired-ness as soon as your BG returns to the normal range (at least it does for me).
Yes like above posters said the thyroid also, if anyone should know that would be me as i have been on meds for 10 years now and totally forgot to mention that. Maybe get the thyroid checked. But if only a few days out of the month maybe make a chart and see if there is some sort of pattern that this happens right before AF, if its just random then might be thyroid or other thing to get checked out.
Well, I can tell you one thing that will give you fatigue. Sleep apnea. And apparently diabetes and sleep apnea are associated. But anybody can have it. And it isn't just about weight, sometimes it is just the genetics of your throat, tongue and mouth. I've struggled with fatigue for some time. And while I would certainly urge you to heed the advice to get you thyroid checked, I had extensive tests, it would be worth looking at your sleep.
I went to a sleep lab and found I was waking over 30 times an hour and I stopped breathing a lot, at one point I didn't breath for nearly 3 minutes. I never reached full deep REM sleep and was always tired. I got treated with a CPAP machine and it did help. It didn't solve all my fatigue issues, I still have a significantly low body temperature and fatigue symptoms, but I am clearly better.
A good home test if you sleep with someone is to simply ask them to observe you sleeping during the night. If you stop breathing, it is pretty obvious. You may never notice, you are asleep and if you and your partner are always asleep at the same time, your distressed sleep may go totally unnoticed.
ps. My sleep doctor didn't advise weight loss as helpful since I am at a healthy weight already and a 10 lb weight loss only gave like a 10-20% improvement on average.
I would also get your Vit D checked. A lot of people with D have VitD deficiency. I was having the same problems and found my Vit D to be seriously low. Now I am on supplements and really notice the difference. I still have some day like your describing but I can relate them to my menstrual cycle.
Vitamin D also you may be low. Every year I am low so now I just keep taking it year long to avoid this.
Chronic fatigue is a common and frustrating problem tied to type 1 diabetes. I have been struggling with it too. I am already on thyroid meds and it is the right dose. I get that checked regularly. I do at least some exercise each day and eat a healthy diet. Anemia and low vitamin B12 can cause fatigue as well. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/1/73