Diabetes Caregiving: Helping a Loved One, Chapter 2: Understanding What They Live With
Fatigue and Daily Energy Levels
Tiredness is common with diabetes, and persistent fatigue is worth raising with the care team.
Recognize that tiredness is a common experience with diabetes and know when to raise it with the care team.
Blood sugar rises after eating and can fall between meals or after activity. Those ups and downs can be one reason a person feels worn out or unfocused. Other things can play a part too.
Notice whether the tiredness follows those ups and downs.
Sleep can affect energy. It can also affect how your cells respond to insulin.
Insulin works like a key that opens your cells to sugar. A study of healthy adults found short sleep made cells respond less well to insulin. That is a study result, not a promise for any one person.
Tiredness that keeps going is worth describing to the doctor. Write down when it happens and how long it has lasted. Note how it affects daily life, too.
The doctor can then check for causes. If it gets worse, call the doctor without waiting for the next visit. If your loved one is hard to wake or seems confused, call emergency services now.
Key takeaways
- Blood sugar swings can be one reason a person feels worn out or unfocused.
- Short sleep can reduce how well cells respond to insulin.
- Tiredness that keeps going is worth describing to the doctor, with notes on timing.
Try it
This week, jot down when your loved one seems most worn out. Note how long it lasts, then bring the list to their next appointment.