Trouble in Paradise
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
So, I'm always tired
I am always tired. I feel like at any moment during the day I could lie (lay?) down and take a nap. Even after taking a nap I feel like that.
I've been to the doctor and had blood work done. I do have hypothyroidism and take meds for it. I'm getting tested again in a couple of weeks to make sure my dosage is correct since it was slightly off in January when I got tested.
I feel like most of my life I've felt this way but it's gotten worse the last few months. I'm really tired (haha pun intended) of it. I never feel like I have energy. I don't think it's depression. Mostly I've just accepted that this is how I am.
Anyone else ever feel like this? Did you figure out why? How did you go about it?
Re: So, I'm always tired
Sounds like what FI is going through and it's extremely frustrating trying to find an answer. Have you suspected a food allergy? Maybe wheat/gluten? You can cut that out of your diet for a week or two and see if it improves. He has seen some improvements since cutting those things out, but I think he also might have possible thyroid issues as well.
Do you sleep well through the night?
Otherwise, I wish I had answers - especially because I go home to this every night and I know how frustrating and exhausting it is to go through and I just witness it.
Hmmm. POAS?
FWIW I'm hypothyroid too and I don't think I ever felt quite that bad WRT crippling fatigue. For me the other symptoms of hypothyroidism besides fatigue were far more prevalent/uncomfortable/disruptive.
ETA - also on the endocrinological front, could you have something perimenopausal going on?
I know for sure I'm not pregnant.
Could be perimenopause. With my Mirena it's hard to tell since I am getting a low dose of hormones. My doctor didn't seem to think it was necessary to check that when I saw him in January.
Like I said, I've felt like this most of my life and I've been treated for hypo since I was 9yrs old...so my assumption is it's probably thyroid related. My mom has had thyroid issues since she was 25 and she says that she often feels like she's in a daze.
DL...I never thought about a food allergy being the issue for no energy. Although, I've thought maybe I might have some kind of allergy since my stomach acts up often (Dr. told me I probably have IBS).
This was my first thought. This was my first sign of pregnancy.
Otherwise, like DL says, how are you sleeping at night? Do you feel rested in the mornings? Do you drink a lot of caffeine? I started sleeping better at night when I cut caffeine after 4 p.m., before that I had a horrible time falling/staying asleep at night. That and now that I'm exercising a lot and have cut out a lot of crap from my diet, I'm sleeping even better, and feel more rested during the days.
Definitely consider seeing an endocrinologist if you don't already. The whole endocrine system is one big ole stew, so something perimenopausal happening will definitely disrupt your thyroid and probably your need for different medication levels.
When I was PG my OB basically told me to double up my meds 3x a week. Female hormones have a huge impact on thyroid and vice versa. Even then, my levels were running on the lower side by the end of my pregnancy. So it's definitely something to stay on top of, as everyone's hormone balance changes naturally with age (though "naturally" can still mean "suddenly"!).
Food allergy could make you feel lethargic and sleepy, especially a gluten/wheat allergy. Maybe also nuts or dairy.
I sleep okay. I don't usually have an issue with falling right to sleep. FI snores most nights and the puppy starts barking somewhere between 4 and 5:30 a.m. On weekdays I get up with him at 4:30 regardless because I have to leave for work by 6:00. I get anywhere from 5 1/2 to 7 hrs of sleep a night depending on when I get to bed. It's usually before 10:00 p.m. I never feel rested when I get up and I'm sure I need more sleep but I'd never get anything accomplished if I went to bed much earlier.
I drink about 12 ozs of coffee in the a.m. and a few days a week I have a cup after dinner. I do not drink soda or tea, so no other caffeine except some chocolate here and there but not excessive.
I know that I have some level of allergy to nuts. Walnuts, pecans and cashews make the inside of my mouth feel raw. Maybe they are affecting other things.
ESD... I do not work out. That's one of the things I know I should do, but don't. My DS has been getting on me to exercise more. Maybe I should take him up on helping me get into a routine.
Thyroid levels off, maybe?
Ditto this.
Hopefully you can figure something out!
http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi#general
Do you get cardio exercise regularly? I get lethargic when I'm sedentary for a few days.
Also, try to remember that this is a society that holds needing caffeine to get through a day as its norm. We're ALL tired. That's why products like 5 Hour Energy exist. Most of us are working too much, sleeping too little, and getting up much earlier than our circadian rhythms dictate.
Mort! No wonder you are tired - you get 5-7 hours of sleep? I think you should aim for 7-8 hours. Lose the coffee before bed as well and definitely add in some cardio.
If those changes don't help, I would consider eliminating some food groups for a week or two at a time to see if you feel better.
I relate to everything you have said. I have also felt tired almost all of the time since I was a child.
I know that things like cutting down on coffee or losing some weight would all help with my sleep issues but, on the other hand, I was tired all the time for 10 years before I drank caffeine. So I feel that there is a different underlying cause.
I had a sleep study and it didn't show anything. I then tried Ambien, once or twice a week. I have heard for some people it can help them sleep better all of the time, even when not taking it. It's like it can reset the brain so that a person's sleeping is a better quality.
I have been thinking of cutting out the gluten and seeing if that yielded any results. It's tough to figure it out. But I can sympathize with your situation!
Yep, totally.
I spent thousands of dollars last year trying to get to the bottom of it, had every test possible, the endocrinologist thought it was a few different things, turned out to be none of them.
At my last visit, she said the only thing she could come up with was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and she'd recommend that I see a specialist at the Mayo Clinic.
Right. Who's gonna pay for that?
That would mean I would have to go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 each night! Most nights I don't even sit down until 7:30-8:00. I don't know if I can cut my night that short. It's just one of those things...we need the sleep but we don't have the time to get it in.
I think getting more cardio in and playing around with eliminating food groups might be where I start.
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I hesitate to bring this kind of thing up with my doctor because doctors seem so quick to either do a bunch of expensive tests or put you on medication without really sitting down and asking questions first.
I'm sorry you didn't get any answers. That has to be really frustrating. What you described is what I'm afraid will happen when if I mention it to my doctor.
I hope you figure it out.
Not that I'm glad that other people have this issue, but I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one having this issue.