Why am i always tired?

[RichM]

for as long as i can remember, i have always been tired. no matter how much i sleep, i still feel like **** all day and all i want to do is sleep. I asked my doctor about it, and he said i just need to eat more carbs. BS! it didnt do anything. i asked him about it again, and i told him i could sleep 9 hours and still be tired. he ignored my question and said, oh 9 hours is enough for your age ( im 18.) i was like wtf, he just wont answer my question. im not really active with exercise. i will play dance dance revolution for awile, but not every day. i can drink green tea, coffee...anything with caffeine, and it wont make me feel any better. ive had my thyroid checked and its fine. im sick of feeling this way. what can i do? any suggestions?

[2high]

What are your Bgls like RichM?? Ru often high, or do they yo-yo a lot? I find that when my bgls are unstable I just want to sleep, sleep, sleep...
Has the doctor done any other sort of tests??
Do you snore or have sleep disturbances??

Also, welcome to DF!!

[Ailsa]

I used to feel like that everyday after luinch. Now I'm on better meds & my control is better I don't any more. If I run a bit high I immediately feel that way though, or if I have a day where my bgs are up & down a lot.
Could be something else though. Have you had your iron checked?
Tell us a bit more about yourself. What are your bg's throughout the day & what is your A1c like? What meds are you on?

[TenderVittleS]

9 hours a day is too much sleep, 7 hours is enough and keep your A1c good.

[Stuboy]

if you're getting 9 hours sleep the chances are you're waking up from a "deep" sleep. when you sleep you go in and out of deep sleeps, usually last about 2 hours. I've heard 8 hours is the optimum sleeping time.

[gettingby]

Since they have checked your thyroid and ruled that out, have they checked your iron levels? I have low iron levels(anemia) and I find that if I don't take my multi-vitamin with iron, I feel so tired.

[RichM]

sry guys, went to bed lol. anyways. my A1C was good. it was like 6.1 and my average BGlvl was 115. my long lasting insulin is lantus (13units) and my fast acting is novolog. i take multivitamins, b vitamins, a vitamin called juice plus, and some vitamin c. i dont remember if they did a check on my iron. that will be next on my list.

as for my BGlvls throughout the day. They usually range from 80 to 130, but i hvae noticed that my BG will skyrocket an hour after ive eaten. It will be like 98 before i eat, an hour later, 206. i know that it shouldnt go up but more than 40 pts. of course 2 hours later, my BG will be fine and normal. the only times i have highs after i eat is of course when i miscalculate or my insulin expired. other than that, ive managed my BGlvls pretty well. im thinking that maybe because of my skyrocketing BG after i eat, i think thats whats contributing to my sleepiness. I did do a low carb diet, no sweets period, and i still was tired then. Now i occasionally eat a piece of dark chocolate or some ice cream to quench my sweet tooth. still, no difference.

i dont have any known sleep disorders and i dont snore.

[Stuboy]

how do you know you dont snore?

[RichM]

the times ive spent the night at my gf's house. she said i dont. errr....hasnt said i have i should say. but my my parents are next door so they can hear me if i do. they said i dont.

[clee]

for as long as i can remember, i have always been tired. no matter how much i sleep, i still feel like **** all day and all i want to do is sleep. I asked my doctor about it, and he said i just need to eat more carbs. BS! it didnt do anything. i asked him about it again, and i told him i could sleep 9 hours and still be tired. he ignored my question and said, oh 9 hours is enough for your age ( im 18.) i was like wtf, he just wont answer my question. im not really active with exercise. i will play dance dance revolution for awile, but not every day. i can drink green tea, coffee...anything with caffeine, and it wont make me feel any better. ive had my thyroid checked and its fine. im sick of feeling this way. what can i do? any suggestions?

You may be anemic. Have it checked out.

Clee

[JediSkipdogg]

I would learn towards you are either anemic or a very low metabolism level. One way to increase metabolism and energy is to exercise. Your body will need more energy during that exercise period and eventually it will make it's way to an everyday energy increase. My brother is currently the same way and he's trying the exercise method after 30 years of being tired all the time.

[SueM]

As you are type 1 thus autoimmune ask the Dr to check to see if you have pernicious aneamia as well as ordinary aneamia.
Do you have any more symptoms besides being tired all the time? IE foggy brain lack of concetration difficulting swollowing food, weight loss.

[RichM]

studying has been hard for me. concentration, etc., i cant really do it. i zone out a lot.

Jedi, can you tell me what your bro is doing when he exercises? i think i mentioned this, but anyways, i dont care for exercise. its not fun, thats why i play dance dance revolution for awile. its enough to get my heart pumping, but of course its not really like running. i know that i need to exercise and ive gotta do it.

[blue_eyed_devil]

I'm always tired too and I'm not anemic. Really I've just come to think it's just the way I am... I sleep about 9-10hs every night - even more when I was a kid, and my sister-in-law is the same. Is it just possibe that's the way you are?

[Erin]

I'm guessing that as you are a younger person you don't keep to a strict sleep schedule (i.e. you don't go to bed at the same time every day, and get up at the same time every day... including weekends) Doing this can help you feel more rested.

You say you DON'T exercise (I guess you are thinking that exercise would make you more tired?) exercise actually can invigorate you, and make you feel more awake. Try doing a light work out in the morning or early afternoon. (dance dance revolution counts... but steer clear of playing right before bed... it'll wake you up, and make it harder to sleep! Try to play for 30 minutes every morning / afternoon.)

Caffeine is a trap. You think it makes you wake up, but it actually interferes with you getting a restful nights sleep, and makes you MORE tired. Keep it to one or two caffinated drinks a day, and drink them before noon. Alcohol can also make sleep more difficult, keep it to one drink a day (if you drink, which of course you don't because you're younger :smile: )

I know what it's like. When I was in college I'd sleep upwards of 15 hours a day on the days that I didn't have work or courses in the morning, and I thought I was sick or something. It turns out I just did not have a schedule at all... and my body couldn't figure out when it was supposed to be sleepy. Now that I'm working and my sleep / wake cycle is more established I find I have more energy. I still need more sleep that most people (less than 8 hours, and I'm a mess) but after I get that sleep I have enough energy.

Oh, and keep hydrated. drink lots of water, it is amazing how sluggish you'll feel if you don't get your H2O.

[RichM]

thanks erin. its not that i think that exercise will make me tired. i know it wont. but....ehh i should flat out say im kinda lazy. i have college, work and gf. really no time to exercise. i usually go to sleep at around 11.30 or 12 and wake up at 6.50 every morning to see my gf before school. my sleep schedule is pretty much the same throughout the week except on the weekends when i will sleep in.

actually, now that i think about it, i do have time in the mornings to exercise atleast an hour, which i guess is enough. ill try the exercise thing in the mornings, including DDR. if that doesnt help, ill take the next step.

[spring]

I must disagree with those that suggest there's an optimum number of sleeping hours that apply to everyone. I need 9.5hrs. I feel okay with 8.5-9, but I'm the most refreshed and revitalized with 9.5 (and if I'm on a regular schedule, I automatically wake up after 9.5 hrs like clockwork). When I only get 8, I feel groggy and tired by the afternoon. Most of my friends need eight but I tried doing eight for an entire year and was perpetually sluggish in the evenings.

Just like insulin needs and diabetes related things, everone's just a bit different where such things are concerned. I know eight is what they usually say but it maybe less or more for some people. (and I must say needing 9.5 is a real pain! haha. I blame my mother - she needs about the same. My father on the other hand, seems to run best on seven. :p)