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Fatigue/ Constant tiredness + Lantus LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
#1 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 08:04 AM
DeusXM
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Fatigue/ Constant tiredness + Lantus
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As a student, I suppose tiredness is kinda going to come with the territory, but bear with me here....
I was wondering if anyone else out there suffers from general fatigue. I'm not talking about the 'oh I'm a bit sleepy' kind, I mean the 'yeah, if I don't get a chair in the next 30 seconds I'm going to fall over' kind. Put simply, I'm ALWAYS tired.
Whilst I am living a student lifestyle, I'm still getting about 8 hours sleep a night, I don't usually drink to excess and I've limited myself to one cup of coffee a day for the last 3 months. Furthermore, my BG levels are usually pretty good, like 4-9, never higher than 12 except in really exceptional circumstances. My diet, although hardly a paragon of healthy cuisine, contains plenty of carbohydrates and fluids (I'm a pasta and curry fan!), and according to recent testing, my heart function is actually slightly better than average and my blood pressure, although easily affected by stress and caffeine, is still within acceptable limits.
Put simply, I'm absolutely stumped as to why I'm always so tired. I've ruled out night-time hypos too. What worries me is that this all started about 2 weeks after I started on Lantus, which I've now been on for 6 months.
I raised this concern to my care team when i last saw them 3 months ago, but they basically fobbed me off with the usual 'you're a student' routine, but having had a break from uni and having only just got back, I still had the tiredness over summer.
I'm starting to run out of ideas as to why I'm so tired, and to be honest, I can now only think of 3 possibilities:
1. I'm anaemic
2. I've got M.E.
3. It's the Lantus.
Basically what I'm trying to find out is if other Lantus users out there have had similar problems, because understandably I'm trying to find out what the heck is wrong with me.
Cheers.
#2 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 10:11 AM
Alaska
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I never had run into that with the lantus that I can remember, I was on it for such a short time though.
Any other symptoms other then just being tired?
#3 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 10:46 AM
HeatherP
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I am a: Type 1 Join Date: Aug 2003
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How long have you been diabetic? What other meds are you on besides the Lantus? Being anemic could be a possibility. What's M.E.? Personally, I haven't had problems w/ the Lantus. I don't understand the scale you're using for blood sugars, but it sounds like you're doing well. Are you having a lot of lows?
HeatherP
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#4 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 02:49 PM
duck
Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Manassas, in the Old Dominion
Posts: 6,607
Fatigue is the most common complaint to physicians, and "energy" supplement sales are going through the roof, so you're not the only one who feels tired all the time.
I always feel like I could have used another hour of sleep...
#5 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 02:50 PM
rzrbks
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Actually, the Lantus routine was part of the reason I began to feel better. Then Novolog was added and snce then I've been improving all the time.
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#6 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 04:39 PM
DeusXM
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The scale I'm using is millimoles per litre, which to the best of my knowledge only appears to be used in the UK, with 4-10mmol/l being good (72-180 mg/dl).
I've had diabetes since I was 14, so that's five years now and it's only in the last six months that I've had this problems.
ME is Myalgic Encephalopathy, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or, rather unsympathetically, 'yuppie flu'. The debate over whether it actually exists or not is largely over, with the majority of doctors (and the WHO) generally agreeing that it does. Basically it does exactly what it says on the tin, 'severe and debilitating fatigue, painful muscles and joints, disordered sleep, gastric disturbances, poor memory and concentration'.
I rather doubt I've got it because it strikes me as a bit of a hypochondriac's disease, but it appears to be linked to coelic's disease, which in my experience seems to crop up fairly regularly when diabetes is involved.
And no offence Duck, but i think you underestimate what i mean by 'tired'.
#7 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 05:38 PM
snydermom
Member Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 221
Deus - I think I'd describe what you're saying as "bone-weary". Total exhaustion that isn't even alway a sleepy thing but more tired to my bones and I just need to curl up and hibernate for about 3 years.
Ed takes Lantus and has not experienced any of those symptoms. But that doesn't mean it can't be a side effect that you are experiencing.
Also, anemia or other vitamin deficiencies certainly should be checked and would be relatively easy to be tested for. Keep insisting!!!
Regarding the CFS/M.E. - from what I've read, if you can get to class, you don't have it! It's that bad. I also don't know that there are any tests you can have done for it.
The "student routine" is almost as bad as the "oh well, you're dm so that explains everything" mentality! Keep fighting and keep insisting that you are living a healthy enough lifestyle to consider this abnormal.
And please don't rule out depression. While you may not want to think about it - one massive symptom is the type of fatigue you are speaking of. A mild anti-depressant such as Paxil may do the trick.
P.S. What is coelic? Beth.
#8 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 06:25 PM
DeusXM
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Yeah, I'm fairly sure I don't have ME because I know that's really severe...I'm not narcoleptic just yet!
Coeliac disease is basically a condition whereby the body is unable to digest gluten. Whilst I'm fairly sure that diabetes and coeliac are unrelated, in the last year I've noticed in Balance, Diabetes UK's quarterly publication, four letters from people who have diabetes and coeliac. I'm aware that my logic for connecting the two on those reasons is fairly specious (hair colour would probably be a far more solid conclusion!), it seems odd that quite a few people (relative to the amount of letters printed) appear to have both reasonably rare conditions. Since they're both genetically caused, it might even be that the same genes predisposing people to coeliac are the same as those with diabetes. I don't know, I'm an English undergrad and biology isn't really my strong point, but it's just a thought.
As an extra point, coeliac can also cause fatigue since the inability to digest wheat is a bit of a hinderance with the ol' carbs, but I'm fairly sure I don't have the two.
Thanks for the tip on depression - I might do a little bit of investigating into this, though I'm loathe to taking mind-altering substances (see what I mean that I'm not quite such a student cliche?).
Thanks, everyone. Once again you've proved just how useful these forums are.
#9 (permalink) 10-29-2003, 08:24 PM
duck
Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Manassas, in the Old Dominion
Posts: 6,607
Hi Deus,
You'll find when Snydermom checks back in that she is actually very familiar with Coeliac...We call it Celiac Sprue here in the US...
I actually know a few diabetics who are diagnosed as depressed--I hope no one takes offense to this, but when I feel *down* or gloomy, I refuse to give in to the temptation of pursuing a diagnosis for myself. Depression seems to be one of those slippery slopes, a self-fulfilling prophecy (maybe even hypochondria?). Yet still, there is ample clinical evidence that diabetics are prone to depression, so it is something to look into.
Yeah, I may be underestimating your fatigue (and it is hard to offend me, BTW); But you're doing the right thing in researching it and not just accepting every "diagnosis" thrown your way!
#10 (permalink) 10-30-2003, 10:04 AM
snydermom
Member Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 221
Deus - I could be mistaken & there could be other ways coelic/sprue manifests itself in different people BUT BUT BUT the main symptom would be weight loss that seems irreversible. I don't know how or why they may be related but the dietian, Celiac foundation and endo nurse were neither surprised or uneducated when we said Ed has both dm & sprue.
I'm not a huge advocate of "mind-altering" drugs myself ... unlike some politicians, I smoked ONE marajuana cig in my lifetime and I DID inhale! I decided if this is "drugs" I don't need it. I've taken anti-depressants 3 times in 30 years and each time I was my own med-nazi.
I'm not trying to force or disuade depression meds on anyone. It is my personal opion that while they are over-prescribed for the slightest ailment, they can be of great help in certain situations. And depression begets depression as symptoms are so vague & unexplainable one can feel guilty at not being able to kick it off. It's the length of your symptoms that puts up the red flag to me.
Keep up your vigilance and insistance to your med team that they keep testing you for ANYTHING. Good luck! Beth.
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#11 (permalink) 11-10-2003, 07:18 PM
lovecraft
Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: manitoba
Posts: 1
Deus... I know exactly what you're talking about with the fatigue... i'm a fitness consultant who went from working out 2 hours a day to "no way in h*ll am i gonna be able to drag my sorry @ss off this couch if you offered me a million bucks". And simple tasks, like climbing a few flights of stairs or chasing the bus became an absolute impossibility. I am SO easily winded.
I just chalked it up to the fact that my control was so crappy. Who knows?
#12 (permalink) 11-12-2003, 01:20 AM
snydermom
Member Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 221
lovecraft - I'm going to start telling everyone to get checked for Celiac!!! It's a lurker and will wipe you out faster than you can say Jack Squat! If you are THAT fatigued, something is wrong.
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#13 (permalink) 11-12-2003, 08:27 PM
garywh
Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
Just wanted to put in my two cents. Have you had your thyroid checked. I am db as well, but also had low thyroid and fatigue is associated with both. You may want to get this checked as well. Just a simple blood test, at least here in Canada. Just maybe
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