If you are struggling to get up in the morning; feeling a total lack of energy or 'fogginess' or not able to perform the tasks you normally do as simply too exhausted it may be that you actually are suffering from fatigue... and it could be a side effect of your diabetes.
Many people with diabetes will describe themselves as feeling tired, lethargic or fatigued at times. It could be a result of stress, hard work or a lack of a decent night's sleep but it could also be related to having too high or too low blood glucose levels.
Fasting blood sugar test
Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L ) is normal. 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L ) is diagnosed as prediabetes. 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L ) or higher on two separate tests is diagnosed as diabetes.
Physicians can use a few different ways to test for prediabetes, including the A1C test, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). A1C results of 5.7 to 6.4 percent, FPG levels of 100 to 125, or OGTT levels of 140 to 199 indicate prediabetes.
Prediabetes Flies Under the Radar
You can have prediabetes for years without symptoms. This means you likely won't know you have prediabetes until serious health problems show up. Talk to your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested if you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes, including: Being overweight.
Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years, which puts them at risk of serious health problems, including: Heart attack.
feeling or being sick. abdominal (tummy) pain. rapid, deep breathing. signs of dehydration, such as a headache, dry skin and a weak, rapid heartbeat.
Not everyone with prediabetes will go on to develop diabetes. Over the short term (three to five years), about 25% of people with prediabetes develop full-blown diabetes. The percentage is significantly larger over the long term. Getting the wake-up call of prediabetes can be very useful.
In rare cases, it's possible for a person who doesn't have diabetes to experience hypoglycaemia. It can be triggered by malnutrition, binge drinking or certain conditions, such as Addison's disease.
What does diabetes itching feel like? If you have diabetes, itching can be intense. It's an irritating feeling that makes it hard not to scratch, but scratching can make the itch worse. You can itch anywhere, but if you have nerve damage (neuropathy) associated with diabetes, your lower legs may itch.
Fatigue in prediabetes is common and occurs for a number of reasons. High and low blood sugars can cause tiredness so it is important to check your sugars when feeling like this to try and get a clearer picture of the cause.
Prediabetes doesn't have any symptoms. If you start to have any of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes it means you have probably already developed it. So it's important to know the risk factors and what support is available to help you prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
"Diet changes and even a small amount of weight loss can significantly lower your risk." How can I have prediabetes and not feel sick? There are really no symptoms of prediabetes. In fact, even early stages of type 2 diabetes may not cause symptoms.
One type of headache caused by high blood sugar is known as occipital neuralgia, and may feel like the scalp, upper neck, back of head, or behind the ears is inflamed or in stabbing, throbbing, or shock-like pain.
Foods to avoid if you are prediabetic include sweets (pastries, cookies, cake, candy, pie, doughnuts), refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, bagels, crackers, pretzels), sweetened breakfast cereals, flavored yogurt, fried foods, fatty meats, jams, jellies, potato chips, snack bars, and others.
The Bottom Line. Bananas are a delicious, nutritious and affordable food for everyone, including those with diabetes. Eating this healthy fruit can help stabilize blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity and improve heart health.
Constant Fatigue is one sign of Pre-diabetes
The prediabetes risk factors and co-morbid conditions such as obesity, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, poor sleep and stress can also cause lead to fatigue. Dehydration from increased urination can contribute to feelings of tiredness as well.
However, high cortisol levels caused by stress can impact your blood sugar, weight and eating habits. In other words, stress is one of many factors that can contribute to insulin resistance (prediabetes) and diabetes risk.
Whether you have prediabetes, have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or if your diabetes has been out of control for a long time, it's never too late to stop diabetes in its tracks.