It’s funny I’ve never really thought about this before, but this blog made me wonder…
I am often tired and just generally “blah”. I feel like I never have energy and can generally sleep just about any time I lay down.
Now, I take anti-depressants for anxiety (gee, can’t imagine a diabetic would worry all the time) and lead a fairly healthy lifestyle with daily vitamin. So, I’ve wondered why I am always “sick”.
I wonder, could it be, that I am “sick”?! I never thought about it. Could my diabetes (and various and sundry other junk) just wear me out? Anyone ever had similar concerns?
Thoughts?
I think when your blood sugar are all over the place, it’s pretty hard on us to feel “normal”. I’ve had a few times over the years of being D, of just feeling so down when this happnens, but I try to snap out of it, and get on with life. That’s just my nature, maybe more so because as a youngster, my Mum left me in control of my D (had it since age 7 - now 50) - so I had to deal with things on my own. I find as I’ve gotten older/wiser, things are better, maybe due to less wild partying - I don’t know - but I have a better fix on staying on a level playing ground and not refusing to let diabetes rule my life - it’s the other way around for me (oh and having a wacky sense of humour helps me thru’ those down periods).
Main things, just try not to be hard on yourself, that’s what I try to tell myself to get thru’ those down times.
For the past 8 months I have either been extremely cold and I could sleep all the time. Yet, all DR.'S appointments were A Okay. However, nothing has changed, I still feel like i am in a fog and not sure of what to do, but sleep.
Have read a lot about Diabetic Depression, but I was DX. in1976 and started on Insulin in 1991. I seem to be active more when I am around the Grandchild who will be 5 in Nov… I have enough activity around the house, in-fact I have added knitting and increased activity. But, nothing has changed except pressures from the economy. What medication I am on, I have been on for years. So, I agree what is the problem. It is 200pm here, 78 degrees outside and I am freezing and ready for bed. There must be an answer.
Have you guys had your thyroids checked?
Alot of the symptoms you are describing are symptoms of a thyroid imbalance (either hypo or hyper).
Esp. feeling cold when it is 78 degrees!
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/a/symptoms.htm
I can relate as I get cold when it goes below 70 but at 78 I feel pretty good. 78 is closer to normal human temperature. If your doctors have not checked your thyroids, you might want to ask them about it.
in addition to your thyroid getting checked… get your Vitamin D level checked :o)
I use to come home at have to sleep at 3pm… blood sugars were just fine but I was always exhausted… My other symptoms… horrible pain in my legs (I was only 33 and thought it was diabetes related- not vitamin d), exhausting, and horrible periods (just more pain then I thought i should be having)
now i take lots of prescribed Vitamin D and feel a lot better
good luck!
To be perfectly honest… I had this problem a lot before either of these situations:
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My thyroid was underactive.
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My blood sugar was high and uncontrolled.
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I was having more carbs in my body than would allow me to have a good margin of error.
After I got all those three down, my constant depression, anxiety, and exhaustion mostly went away, so that I don’t need pills for that anymore. You know, I get blue every once in a while, and tired sometimes, like most people… and yes, even anxious… But it no longer rules my life. If the breeze is flowing really nice through the window, like right now, and the sofa is particularly cushiony, well, I’m gonna start yawning. lol But other than that… I can make myself snap out of it. It used to be really awful, though. I was institutionalized a few times.
My thoughts are: Get your Thyroid checked…! This Hypothyroidism thing is nothing to sneeze at… It can cause lots mood swings, BG swings, lots of fatigue and tiredness, you name it… If, on the off chance, you’re having a lot of simple carbs, or sugary foods, cut back on them a bit (even if you can bolus for them fine)… and try figuring out some kind of exercise routine. I HATE exercise to death… but I have to admit… I feel so much better with it. Shrug Some studies have shown it may work even better than the meds we take! Amazing… but it really does help. Anyways… Hope you feel better soon. 
Thyroid function should be checked very regularly… And particularly, thoroughly, if you are still having some exhaustion symptoms. Often times doctors only test for levels of t4 and TSH in the thyroid, and forget all about t3, and how we are converting (if properly) into t3… if there’s any kind of flaw in that, you will still be pretty tired.
I also started taking D3 and I think it is helping me - my periods are so much better too (but I also had bad cells cut off my cervix and my period got a lot better after that - I am also eating more folic acid for that too).
But what helped me for more energy was B12. I knew I was deficient in it before. Some days I am still tired and don’t know why - but normally those on the the days I don’t sleep well. The B12 definately makes a difference for me. I am also trying to eat more protein and that helps me too. And I am trying to build muscle - as we all know that those muscular people are normally too warm!
It took a while for me to feel more ‘normal’ after I was diagnosed (I would say at least 5 months - even though the numbers look good) so it takes a while to recover from the exhaustion that high numbers can cause.
Liz, did you take any meds for your thyroid before? Sounds like you don’t need them anymore.
There are also certain foods you can eat that help your thyroid too - seaweeds and seafoods. (foods with iodine!)
But there are also some foods you could avoid:
http://www.lowthyroidhelp.com/foods-that-help-the-thyroid-gland.html
This is if you already have a bad thyroid. So maybe limit those no foods and increase some of the yes ones.
No, no… Don’t get me wrong. The meds I don’t need anymore are the depression and anxiety meds. You CANNOT cure thyroid imbalances with natural things, or diets. You need a replacement hormone, as much as you need a replacement hormone (insulin) to deal with Diabetes.
And also… tons of seaweed and seafood is NOT good for Hypothyroidism. People go OVERBOARD taking things for the iodine… and in reality, our Western diet has enough iodine in it. It is believed too much iodine is causing Hypothyroidism in the western world. And soy, which is recommended on that site, is ESPECIALLY harmful for people with Hypothyroidism as it inhibits hormone absorption, and causes goitrogens.
So you are still taking thyroid meds?
Definitely. Because I am so severely Hypothyroid, if I didn’t take thyroid meds, with enough time… I would go into serious complications, and eventually die… Particularly in Winter, when my body wouldn’t be able to tolerate the cold very well, and regulate itself, and I could potentially go into a coma just from being outside.
Actually soy is on the avoid list on there - it is written kind of weird. Soy is on the avoid list on all the sites I looked at (this is for people who already have thryoid problems).
Foods You Should Avoid and/or Limit
It is also important to note that in addition to foods that help the thyroid gland naturally, there are also foods that inhibit the production of thyroid hormones. These foods, known as goitrogens, contain compounds that interfere with iodine absorption.
Goitrogen-containing foods include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, soy, pine nuts, peanuts, strawberries and millet.
The iodine is to help the thyroid - not to cure the problems.
Generally, that is true about the salt and iodine but most of the Western diet contains foods with processed salt that is than fortified with iodine. It is not natural. The best way to get it is with foods that have not been processed and than fortified. The other minerals that are available in REAL salt that has not been processed are also ones that people need and they much over looked. The iodine in unprocessed salt and other natural foods is what people need. If you have high blood pressure, you don’t want to add extra salt (esp. the processed white stuff) but foods that naturally have this mineral are important. Not disagreeing with you but there is a big difference between the quality of iodine in that processed salt and that in natural foods that have not been processed.
I actually have always been a big salt person but I never eat the white salt - only sea salts or pink salts and I have never had high blood pressure. Not sure if you will agree but that is OK. We all have our different information. I just believe that the processed white salt is what causes problems for people.
But that I am going off -topic here…
It used to be, back in the days… that people did not have access to plentiful food. Either there was lots of poverty, or food was very expensive (a lot more than we think it is right now)… it was prohibitive for people to feed their families, period. Because of this situation… Many people were not receiving the iodine they needed, and were getting sick with Hypothyroidism. Iodine was added to salt to make whatever little foods people consumed be able to give the very minimal amount of Iodine our bodies need every day.
In this day and age… We have access to a LOT of food. Plentiful food. We can get what we need in natural iodine from almost all food: meat, dairy, eggs, veggies… In effect, many of us are getting way too much Iodine and it is not well understood at what level of excess the Thyroid starts malfunctioning. Most cases in our day and age are from taking too much Iodine, including, iodized salt… on top of an already rich diet. One CANNOT heal the thyroid, or improve it, by taking lots of iodine supplements, or by putting a lot more iodine rich foods like kelp, into the diet. Some of these foods contain sooo much Iodine that they are overload for our systems. Kelp is one of them. Our current diet is so rich in iodine, that even people who eat a lot of processed food get the recommended minimal amount of Iodine that our bodies need. Natural is not always a solution, and it is not always better.
I appreciate your point of view Liz but lets just say we both have different viewpoints/knowledge on this subject. Neither one is the answer definate answer and different things work for different people
I don’t want to get off topic of the thread or get into a big debate on this.
Well, it’s really not a point of view. It’s fact… Iodine is dangerous in larger quantities than the infinitely small amount that we need, every day.
But you can call it a point of view if you like. And it might be just fine consuming kelp and all those things, if you don’t consume any meat, or eggs, etc.
But, I digress, and I won’t comment anymore.
Yep - I take Levothyroxine for thyroid. It is funny, though, someone else I know mentioned D3. Maybe I’ll try to look into it if it isn’t too expensive. You’d think I’d get enough D from living in southern Arizona where it is sunny something like 275 days a year, but I don’t spend a lot of time outside when it is 103!
It might be wise to talk to your doctor first, before taking Vitamin D, particularly so that he can test you, know of any other potential things that could lead to your symptoms, and to determine a proper dosage, if you need it. Taking too much Vitamin D can be dangerous.
Yeah Lizmari - diabetes / thyroid go hand in hand. I get checked every 6 months for that when I go in for my blood work. Never asked about testing for Vitamin D, not sure if GP’s here in Canada can request that test (any Canadians reading this - have you ever had this done?) . I take Vitamin D now, 1,000mg - more so since I’m entering another hormonal stage of life … menopause … oh joy :S