Hi everybody! Thank you for welcoming me to this community! I was diagnosed with type 1 a little over 1 year ago and I am excited to have a new support group of people to get information from! For the past few months I have been incredibly tired (sleeping 9-10 hours/night whenever possible, but usually averaging about 8 and being able to take a 2 hour nap at any given moment) and I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I have no other symptoms and my a1c is always below 6. I’m not sure if I have something else going on or if this is a symptom of the diabetes.
Sometimes fatigue can indicate a thyroid problem. My doc always sounds disappointed when I *don't* have those as I guess they are sort of comorbidities with diabetes. I sleep pretty heavily now but not that much when I was younger.
Hi SMal: Definitely have your thyroid checked, as Mr. AcidRock suggests. A really high percentage of women with Type 1 diabetes also have Hashimoto's Disease (autoimmune hypothyroidism). An underactive thyroid = fatigue!
Thanks! I just saw my doctor yesterday, so we will see what my lab report shows. I almost hope there is something that I can figure out that's wrong so that I can treat it and stop being so dang tired!
Your question: [ is incredibly tired a symptom of the diabetes?] "Yes it can be", especially if your limiting your food and insulin to a bare minimum. After living with the Bete's for a few years you will find there is a balance point where you feel best. I cannot say how successful you will be at staying in this zone or if it is even a safe place to be, for many of us it's not the most healthy BG level.....I feel like I have much more energy at 140-180mg/dL, but my body is much better off and less likely to see damage at around 90-110mg/dL.
Stay busy doing things you like to do....the Bete's can cause Depression, I'm not saying you are depressed, just don't stick your head in the sand, Physical activity can be a challenge but it should not be a reason for not doing somethings.
Just curious… Do you find the fatigue hits you the hardest after eating significant carbs-- even if you manage your insulin perfectly and don’t see any unreasonable elevation in bg? That’s a trend I’ve been noticing myself lately and I haven’t figured it out. I know people tend to get tired after eating, but sometimes I get flat out exhausted, and it seems to be related to how many carbs I eat
Sometimes lows develop gradually in small steps. In this case it is possible that you do not wake up from the low. The typical dawn phenomenon in the morning might raise your level to normal. Thus you would wake up very tired without any other indication that you have been low during the night. I would recommend to check your blood glucose between 3 to 4 AM to rule that out - especially on days with intense physical activity.
Tiredness is symptom of so many things. Do you snore? Do you have a poor quality of sleep, waking up a lot during the night? I ask this because have a severe case of apnea. I'm sooooo tired sometimes that I could (and have) fallen asleep sitting up and even when talking to someone! Check it out with your DR. A sleep test may help to determine your condition if the answers to the DR's questions point to apnea testing.
Good luck and you may also try taking vitamins recommended by your DR.
Lois
Thanks everybody! I am very fatigued throughout the day (I don’t really notice a particular time or a relation to food intake) so I was thinking maybe I wasn’t sleeping well because of nighttime lows. Last night before bed (about 10 pm) I was at 165. I woke up around 4 am with a BG of 135. A drop of 30 points seems pretty a significant to me! When I woke up (9 am) it was 89. I lowered my nighttime basal the other day, should I lower it more? Also, turns out my thryoid is fine!