Always Tired?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

No, it's been going on for a long time. Actually a couple of years at least, and season doesn't seem to make a diference. At first I figured it had to do with blood sugar and not getting enough sleep. That's why I have never brought it up before. Aside from having lots of blood sugar issues, I was sleeping maybe 5 hours a night if I was lucky because of schedules from first grad school and student teaching and then two jobs. I finally found a doctor who listened to me and said more than just "you're body does weird things" and my blood sugar has been a lot better. But that doesn't seem to have helped. My second job is over for the season and I have been sleeping more, but am still tired.

I haven't noticed feeling any differently since the days started getting shorter.

 

[Planogirl]

I have this problem but I think that I'm letting my job get to me. I spend my day stressed and resentful and that takes energy.

 

[beachlover9395]

Fatigue is a symptom of so many health-related issues, so it's hard to pinpoint a cause.

I personally suffer from several diseases/syndromes/etc. that cause fatigue, such as IBS, PCOS, hypothyroidism and now, Vitamin D deficiency. I have not felt "well" in probably 3-4 years now, but thought it was probably related to turning 40 last year. My thyroid (TSH) was out of range in Sept. (5.85) and come to find out from my 2008 level, it was then too. I recently started a higher dosage, but still feel fatigued. I mentioned this to my gyn at my yearly physical a few weeks ago and she wanted to check my vitamin D levels. It is at 12.7, which is pretty low. She prescribed a weekly vit. D capsule (50,000 units) but it caused lower back and bone pain. I'm starting a much lower dose twice a day. Hopefully all of this will help and we're rechecking vit. D levels in Feb.

It's awful when you sleep and sleep and get no relief from fatigue. Hope you can find out what is causing your fatigue and get treated for it. I would definitely push for a very thorough and comprehensive blood panel and also a sleep study.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Is it possible to have thyroid issues but test in the "normal" range? I ask because my mom has been taking thyroid meds for a long time, and obviously now that it is out they have been monitoring that closely. When her levels are "in range" she actually feels terrible. She and her docs really had to tweak it and learn to accept that for her, it's okay for her levels to be out of range.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

wowzah! i come back adn you guys have been busy! lol

it coudl be you ibs as well. like i said i have colitis and esp when i have a flare it drains me and i need extra rest. and if i dont get enough i get worn down and end up with another flare. vicious cycle!!! often times to me before i became a sahm i was the same when id get home from work id sleep for hrs, then get up doa few before bed things and then go back and sleep as long as i could without making myself late for work.

 

[Christine]

Have your iron looked at in further depth.

I was exhausted for YEARS. All I could do was show up for work, come home, and lay around. I could do about one thing on the weekend and I was exhausted. I had to stop taking my walks because I could no longer get through was used to be an easy, 3 mile walk.

My "iron" was always normal. What test they were really doing was a CBC. I never came up "anemic" but over the years, my number (which was a steady 14.5) had gradually dropped to 13, then to 12, and finally 11.9. I still wasn't anemic so they pursued nothing. Then, I had to go to a dermatologist because I was getting a lot of itching and some rashes. They tested me for a multitude of things and everything was supposedly normal. I asked for a copy of the lab results for my records and there was the first time that my CBC number had dipped just below normal. I was now 11.2. The doctors didn't care.

Someone told me to ask to have a ferritin test run which is a blood test that shows what your iron stores in your body should be. A normal number is around 70 for a menstruating woman. My doctor doesn't like to see anyone below a 50. Mine was 5!! So, while not truly anemic my iron was very low. I immediately began supplements and got so much better. Much more energy.

My friend was feeling horrible too and her CBC was also normal but her ferritin was 3. She is also on iron now and doing better.

You don't say what iron tests you've had but I think it warrants further checking.