February 27, 2001
Daily Care
Question from Lewisville, Texas, USA:
I am a 19 year old with type�1 diabetes, and for the past several months, I have been experiencing some symptoms that have made it extremely difficult for me to carry on with my daily activities. Every day, starting at about 3:30 pm, I develop a quickly intensified headache, extreme fatigue, vision problems, and worst of all, ravenous hunger. These symptoms last until the next day. The hunger doesn’t stop no matter what I eat. It doesn’t appear to have anything to do with changes in my blood sugar levels because these symptoms occur even when my reading is perfect. My life has been put on hold. I don’t have the energy to do anything. Is it possible that this has something to do with an unknown condition other than diabetes? No one seems to understand what I am describing or offer me any advice. I have tried without success changing the times, amounts, and frequency that I eat.
Answer:
It would be interesting to know what insulin regimen you are on. Are you on NPH? This usually corresponds to the peak effect of the insulin. Could it be a central nervous system effect of the insulin? Although your symptoms may not be from hypoglycemia, they could be stimulated by insulin. You may want to review this with your physician caring for your diabetes. The option would be another insulin regimen or a modification of the same one. I do not have another explanation for your symptoms.
JTL
[Editor’s comment: It may be that your blood sugar is dropping rapidly, even though you get normal readings. Your situation might well be clarified by monitoring sugar levels continuously for several days to try to sort out what’s happening in more detail. See The Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and talk with your diabetes team about using it.
SS]