Always Tired?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Does anybody else find that no matter how much sleep they get they are always exhausted? I come home at the end of the day totally wiped. I always mean to do stuff, but it never happens because I have absolutely zero energy. I'm sure part of it is my job. My new para mentioned to me the other day she has never been so exhausted after work (she said she even fell asleep during a card game with friends.) I know my students are very demanding, but I'm wondering if there is something more to it. Even on weekends I'm totally zapped. Has anybody else felt like this and found a trick that works?

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

im exhausted all the time- altho these days its from my kids! lol but ive alwasy been one to need a lot of sleep since i wsa dx with colitis years ago. along with that came anemia so i was put on iron tablets. perhaps you should ask your family doc to get you in for bloodwork....thats a basic jumping off point and then you can go from there.

 

[clovergirl5]

Does anybody else find that no matter how much sleep they get they are always exhausted? I come home at the end of the day totally wiped. I always mean to do stuff, but it never happens because I have absolutely zero energy. I'm sure part of it is my job. My new para mentioned to me the other day she has never been so exhausted after work (she said she even fell asleep during a card game with friends.) I know my students are very demanding, but I'm wondering if there is something more to it. Even on weekends I'm totally zapped. Has anybody else felt like this and found a trick that works?

Ever had your thyroid checked? I have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroid) and I can tell when my meds need to be adjusted....Im very tired. After getting a good night sleep, I can be up for 2 hours and feel like I haven't slept at all and need to take a 2 hr nap.

 

[kellydizfan]

Sounds very familiar. I am the same way but I don't sleep at night either. I am up at least twice nightly. Now the other thing I need to throw in there is the cough I have. This wakes me up consitantly throughout the night. It is driving me crazy. I work 40 hours a week in insurance - 8-5 every day. I have had a physical and everything is fine. I am 43 and I think part of it is perimenopause.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Most of my bloodwork is fine. I've had it checked probably 3 or 4 times in the last year between diabetes, asthma, and IBS. My thyroid is always fine, we check that a lot because my mom had significant thyroid issues. She had to have hers out and it set the record for the largest one removed in that OR- even though it was only a half a thyroid! So far I'm scoring normal on that.

My iron has been borderline in one or two, but the last one it was fine. I do have a check up related to my diabetes in January and I'll mention it to her then.

 

[dakcp2001]

Ask your Dr for your tsh results, especially since your parent has issues. My regular pcp called my tsh "normal range" all the way up until I gained 30 lbs, my face was totally swollen and all of my hair fell out. WHen I went to see an endocrinologist she said she would have put me on meds 2 years prior. My PCP called "normal" way WAY higher then ideal, whereas the Endo likes it to be in the "ideal" range which is far tighter (.5-1.5 vs pcp calling anywhere up to 10 normal), and when I finally went to see her I was off the charts.

Have you tried a multivitamin? B vitamins can help with energy. I would ask to see an Endocrinologist, they can help with anything metabolic.

 

[WDWBarb]

I have a good friend who suffers from IBS and also chronic fatigue - apparently fatigue is a symptom of IBS. From what I understand, a bout with IBS uses a lot of muscles and is basically like getting a pretty good workout.

Also, she gets B12 shots to keep her energy level up. She says she doesn't see too much of a difference but her doctor encourages her to keep them up.

But I can tell you that working a full day and just trying to keep up with life is exhausting. I work 6a-6p 5 days a week (sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less, but never less than 50 hours a week). I come home exhausted, often in bed by 9. DH and DD are always after me to see the doctor because I'm so tired, but it's no mystery to me - I am just flat wore out.

Make sure you are eating well and sleeping well!

 

[minkydog]

I went through this for a number of years before we got to the bottom of it. I was working night shift so I thought I was simply sleep deprived. Finally got a sleep study done(at my husband's behest) and found out I stop breathing >70 times an hour. Every time I stopped breathing I would wake myself up a little to restart the breathing. Of course, I wasn't aware of the wakefulness, other than I felt restless during my sleep. I was really shocked by the results of the sleep study.

Obviously, the apnea had to be fixed. I use a CPAP machine now--it blows air into my nose which keeps my airways open(it doesn't hurt.) I'm telling you, I had that machine ONE NIGHT and got the best sleep I've ever had. I use it every single night and I'm no longer tired during the day. I have a ton of energy and better concentration, too.

If this is a situation that has been ongoing I would talk to your doctor. I know you have some other underlying health issues and they could also be implicated. You might need to address some of your meds too. As I remember, you work in special ed. Having a disabled son myself, I know how difficult it can be to work with that population, no matter how sweet they are. Working 40yrs a week with disabled children has to be playing some part in your fatigue.

 

[4greatboys]

I had this problem earlier in the year and after some blood work found out was anemic. My iron was very low, had to take a supplement 3 times a day. Once my levels went back up I felt so much better.

 

[davidsprincess]

I had this problem 4 years ago. Found out I was pregnant. Could that be a possibility?

Now I am sure it is due to my iron levels. Really should get that checked out. My sis-in-law has such bad iron levels she had to get shots done at the beginning of the year. Looks like she will need to get them done again.

Hope that you and your doctor will get to the bottom of it soon and you will be able to get back to your old self.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I had this problem 4 years ago. Found out I was pregnant. Could that be a possibility?

Now I am sure it is due to my iron levels. Really should get that checked out. My sis-in-law has such bad iron levels she had to get shots done at the beginning of the year. Looks like she will need to get them done again.

Hope that you and your doctor will get to the bottom of it soon and you will be able to get back to your old self.

LOL. Let's just say that it is physically impossible that I could be pregnant. I am 100% sure that is not the culprit.

 

[mom2rb]

I was anemic and had sleep apnea. My doctor said she didn't know how I was getting out of bed in the morning. I had my tonsils and adnoids out, started taking iron pills, and sleeping with a CPAP. That was almost two years ago. Once I started feeling better, I was able to get my life back. I have lots 40 pounds and no longer need the CPAP.

 

[brittsmum1998]

Have your vitamin D level checked. Many people for some reason have had low vitamin d levels which can cause many syptoms, the main being fatigue.

 

[IDoDis]

When you go to bed, do you sleep soundly or do you wake and toss & turn often? Maybe you have sleep apnea. My mom had a similar problem and went in for a sleep study. She diagnosed with sleep apnea. At first she was given a c-pap machine to help her breathe better at night, but the machine was too noisy and kept her awake. She ended up having surgery which solved her problem.

You are on winter break now, right? If the rest away from school doesn't help, talk with your doctor.

 

[alliecats]

When my sister felt like this, it turned out to be a symptom of depression.

 

[beckmrk04]

Most of my bloodwork is fine. I've had it checked probably 3 or 4 times in the last year between diabetes, asthma, and IBS. My thyroid is always fine, we check that a lot because my mom had significant thyroid issues. She had to have hers out and it set the record for the largest one removed in that OR- even though it was only a half a thyroid! So far I'm scoring normal on that.

My iron has been borderline in one or two, but the last one it was fine. I do have a check up related to my diabetes in January and I'll mention it to her then.

Have them check you vitamin levels. I was so exhausted all the time, had a total blood workup, and was VERY low in B12 and Vitamin D, so I started doing B12 injections and D supplements and felt SO much better within about a month.

 

[Explodo]

Have your vitamin D level checked. Many people for some reason have had low vitamin d levels which can cause many symptoms, the main being fatigue.

I agree with this comment....I (and my wife) both had this same issue. I couldn;t sleep enough as to have energy to do anything but her basics. Went to the doc multiple times...finally argued with him to check my Vit D levels. When the tests came back, my Vit D was almost non-existent. Took a 20,000 IU pill twice a week for 3 months, and now I have to take 4000 IU's a day to maintain the level.

Swear to god and GOD that this has made all the difference in the world.

 

[Feralpeg]

Did you feel this way before the winter gloom began? I lived most of my life in the Kansas City area. More days than not, during the winter months, it is gloomy. It can really get to a person. You may have a form of seasonal affective disorder. If so, vitamin D should help this.

 

[Lachesis00]

I too get iron infusions. My body does not process iron in any other form. Every 4 weeks I go in for 500ml. But I feel so much better.

 

[brittsmum1998]

Did you feel this way before the winter gloom began? I lived most of my life in the Kansas City area. More days than not, during the winter months, it is gloomy. It can really get to a person. You may have a form of seasonal affective disorder. If so, vitamin D should help this.

Doesn't necesssarily have to be the type of season. Mine was diagnosed (single digits) in the summer after just having returned the week before from Disney World in the middle of August. As I had problems in the past w/ vitamin D I thought for sure after travelling that wouldn't be the case. I was wrong.