Many people with diabetes also complain of fatigue. The fatigue can be so disabling that it can interfere with your ability to partake in regular activities of daily activities. There are many reasons why diabetics suffer from fatigue and many complain that it is the most debilitating of symptoms of diabetes they experience.

Fatigue can be a problem of both high and low blood sugars seen in diabetes. When the blood sugar is high, patients often feel groggy and drugged because the insulin resistance prevents the blood glucose from entering the cells for use as fuel. The fatigue, then, is on a deep cellular level. Fatigue from high blood sugar can result from inflammation. Inflammation causes monocytes to travel to the brain so that fatigue is manifest.

Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar levels sometimes seen in diabetics who overdo their insulin and other treatment can result in fatigue. Low blood sugars mean that there isn’t the cellular fuel necessary to service the cells and the lack of fuel makes one fatigued. Continue reading →

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition of unknown etiology that causes pain in specific trigger points. More women than men appear to have the disease. There are other symptoms of fibromyalgia besides aches and pains. In fact, a recent survey of forty patients who suffer from fibromyalgia say that the second most annoying symptom after pain is the symptom of fatigue.

Unfortunately, many of the clinical trials on fibromyalgia currently underway are focused on how the treatment or medication affects pain and not fatigue.

The individuals surveyed did not know that the subject of the research was on the fatigue of fibromyalgia so they gave honest and open comments indicating that fatigue was a common problem of fibromyalgia without being led to say so. Instead, they were asked open ended questions, such as “What is your experience with the disease of fibromyalgia?”

The participants who partook in the study had fibromyalgia for an average of 6.6 years and were, on average, 49 years of age. In keeping with the epidemiology of fibromyalgia, 70% of participants were women. Continue reading →