For months, Josh Bachu lay awake in the stillness of his room, his mind racing as the hours ticked by with what he thought was insomnia. He’d seen doctors and tried all sorts of remedies, bedtime routines, calming teas, even sleeping pills, but nothing was a permanent fix. His exhaustion piled up, but his sleepless nights only continued. It wasn’t until one doctor said Let’s just run a diabetes check, that the truth of Josh’s restless nights was revealed. What he thought was insomnia was diabetes. Suddenly it all made sense, the sleepless nights weren’t just about the inability to rest but a sign of something more.

Josh has had sleep issues since the age of 15, first manifesting during a stressful exam period. Ever since then, he has had on-and-off periods of sleepless nights, with them hitting an all-time high last January. University dramatically impacted his sleep schedule from sleeping at 3am to midnight dinners. Josh developed lots of unhealthy habits that he blamed for what he thought was insomnia.

After years of struggling, six unbearable months and six different GPs, Josh finally had his sugar levels checked. They were a shocking 6 times higher than the average male for his age. As a paramedic science student, Josh was well aware of how dangerous this was. “I thought, oh my god, am I going to die?” 

Because someone with those high sugar levels should be taken to the hospital immediately, which is what Josh’s GP contacted him about. Josh says “I should have been collapsed, unable to get out of bed, let alone function.” 

The problem was Josh’s body was so used to the high blood sugar levels that he was able to walk around and function. “I say I was functioning now I look back I really wasn’t but it just became my new normal and you get used to it.”

Symptoms

Although there may not seem to be many similarities between insomnia symptoms and diabetes there are a few notable ones in Josh’s case. The first being the constant tiredness, lack of sleep but almost a high at night, experiencing bursts of energy in the evening, Josh says “I would become so alert, I remember at one stage I started writing all my assignments at night, getting the urge to go to the gym because I couldn’t sleep.

“It’s like the opposite of being exhausted, but not full of energy, sounds crazy I know, but I just couldn’t.”

This is because the early symptoms of diabetes mimic the signs of insomnia. Due to increased glucose levels Josh was becoming more resistant to insulin. The more resistant the less energy his body had. So he would eat something in the morning and have no energy because it can’t break the glucose down into something that can be used to charge up the ATP in your cells. Essentially, it would take all day for the food he ate to break down into energy, which then created the ‘insomnia’ because all of a sudden at night, he would get a massive burst of energy from everything he ate, and this would happen on a continuous cycle.

Another persistent issue affecting Josh’s sleep was waking up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. This is because having high blood glucose levels can cause the body to excrete glucose via the urine. When more sugar appears in the urine, it stimulates extra volumes to be produced, in turn, this adds to the high levels of thirst those with diabetes experience. Josh says, “I was so thirsty, and what I mean by thirsty is an unquenchable thirst. You could be downing litres of water and yet you’re still thirsty.

“I’m a paramedic so I was aware of these symptoms. But I was in complete denial. I was like, “No, I can’t have diabetes at 24.”

How it affected Josh

The symptoms of diabetes, mixed with the lack of sleep, had huge effects on Josh’s day-to-day functioning. “It was like someone put a weight on my shoulders, and no matter what I did, I just walked along dragging it.

“You’re so tired that you feel it in your bones, you don’t have the energy to move or talk. I became so snappy it really affected my mood.”

The lack of sleep also started to impact his work and ability to focus which as a paramedic student was detrimental. “I developed this mental fog during lectures and on placement. 

“I would be with a patient while they’re telling me how their loved one passed away, and all I can think about is keeping myself alert and awake. I would have to get my mentor to step in, it’s so unprofessional and awful to experience those negative aspects.”

How he dealt with it 

When Josh was diagnosed alongside medication, he also made a lot of lifestyle changes, including eating healthier and reducing sugary food, as the lower his sugar levels, the better he slept.

Josh also made conscious improvements to his sleep schedule, regulating his bedtime and scrapping late-night snacks. 

Alcohol is another factor that can cause blood sugar levels to spike, sometimes causing Josh bad sleep. But the main difference he finds is that the mix of Coke and orange juice hugely affects Josh. “It’s trial and error. I just have to learn what works for me, without hugely missing out.”

Josh is currently taking the drug metformin but is in talks with his doctors about changing to the drug Ozempic, popularly known for weight loss, but originally used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Helping others

As a paramedic student Josh is dedicated to helping others and making sure that they do not have to deal with the same struggles as him. He has already educated and referred a number of patients for diabetes checks and diagnosis, helped individuals understand their medication and monitor their sugar levels after hypoglycemic episodes where they’ve collapsed and been unresponsive. “It’s nice to be able to take my personal experience and professional knowledge and go and make a difference to someone else’s life.”

Josh’s experience shows just how deeply sleep can be impacted by underlying health issues, and how easily those issues can go unnoticed. His story highlights the importance of viewing persistent sleep problems as potential signs of something more serious. Now, with the right diagnosis and lifestyle changes, Josh is reclaiming his nights and  As a paramedic student, he’s helped others understand that sleep isn’t just about rest, it’s a vital sign of overall health. 

If you have any concerns about the topics raised in this piece, contact your GP.