Exhaustion, tireness

Angeles

Hey all, not sure if this is the right sections but i have a question i'm looking for some insight too, and its basic exhaustion.
I'm 29 years old and seem to have this problem with being tired ALL of the time for as long as i can remember.
I can't seem to get my head around it and have tried everything i can think off.
on average i get about 6-8 hours sleep, this is entirely enforced by myself to try keep because i was told years ago its *right* and by enforced i mean i have 4 alarms going off a different times and a gf to kick me out of bed to make it into work on time.

Alot of the time this might deviate though, some nights i'll get 3-4 hours and weekends i can easily sleep up to 16hours, but the problem is with more or less sleep i'm always always tired, like tired to the point my body is often sore from straining and need to stretch alot and/or i'll be struggling to keep my eye's open and at least 4 times a week i'll have that *SNAP* effect in work from my mind forcing myself not to fall asleep at the desk.

I wondering if anyone has ever has similer symptoms in their life, or found out possible cause to it as this for me has been going on as long as i can remember and tbh, i'm tired of being tired, I want to know what its like to have a lot energy.

Princess Peach

Think your best bet is to go to your doctor about it! I have this sometimes and for me its a mix of depression, bad diet, lack of exercise, stress.

But my doctor did blood tests to see what else it could be, many things can cause it. Don't think anyone here can tell you, your doctor will have a chat about your lifestyle and all that.

Angeles

Thanks Peach but I've already done this, I'm the picture of health according to tests, so i'm hoping for something I've not considered, its a long shot tbh.

Princess Peach

Did your doctor talk to you about diet and exercise so?

I know right now I am very unfit, and don't eat as well as I should every day. Most afternoons I need a nap. I don't take caffeine either.

I don't really have an answer, maybe just look at the bigger picture of your lifestyle, sleep isn't the only factor here, which is all you have mentioned in your post.

Oryx

I hope this isnt construed as medical advice, its not meant to be -Im not diagnosing you, just mentioning the following. A lady was interviewed on the radio this week who suffered from iron overload, its genetically common among the irish, though not well known. Tiredness is a symptom, apparently. She reckoned you have to ask to be tested for it, its not a blood test thats automatically done. Might be worth saying to your doc? Wouldnt have occurred to me but for hearing the interview, they were trying to raise awareness.

I used to suffer from chronic tiredness, there was nothing wrong other than not resting enough, and being stressed most of the time. And even though it is counter intuitive, exercise is something I have used to counteract that kind of stress related tiredness. But make sure your GP has cleared you for exercise before trying it. You dont want to make things worse.

Kevo

I need 8 hours sleep minimum or I'll be exhausted. I also need regular sleeping patterns.

I'm sure you are well aware of your own sleeping patterns but there seems to be a huge variation between your weekday and weekend sleep. As though your body is catching up on missed sleep at the weekend.

Have you thought about going to a sleep clinic?

Randy Shafter

Oryx wrote: »

I hope this isnt construed as medical advice, its not meant to be -Im not diagnosing you, just mentioning the following. A lady was interviewed on the radio this week who suffered from iron overload, its genetically common among the irish, though not well known. Tiredness is a symptom, apparently. She reckoned you have to ask to be tested for it, its not a blood test thats automatically done. Might be worth saying to your doc? Wouldnt have occurred to me but for hearing the interview, they were trying to raise awareness.

What you describe Oryx is called Haemochromatosis. My mam has it and constant tiredness was one of the sympthoms. But OP, maybe you should ask your doc to do the blood test for Haemochromatosis just in case.

Angeles

Kevo wrote: »

Have you thought about going to a sleep clinic?

Hmm, no, I honestly had no idea what this even was,
this might be something worth looking into, thank you.

As for the diet stuff and exorcise, all is well in that area,
I've had hundreds of blood tests over the years.

My own research has also lead me to something called Rapid leg syndrome, but i have a horrible sense about bring that up to the doc without getting a *lost and confused* look.

Maybe the sleep clinic thing could see this though.

Miss Fluff

How often do you exercise and what type of exercise do you do?

WhyGoBald

There are many conditions that can cause chronic fatigue, from depression to lifestyle to diet to sleep abnormalities to medical conditions (some of which are diagnosed through a process of elimination or require specific/wideranging tests). You need to work with your doctor to go through all the possibilities. which will probably involve seeing one or more specialists. I hope it goes well for you, chronic exhaustion is a difficult thing to live with.

Mr. Loverman

If I eat well (a clean balanced diet), exercise regularly, completely avoid stimulants (alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, etc.) and get a good nights sleep... I feel absolutely great. (Note in my experience it takes about two weeks of living according to the previous sentence until the full benefits become noticeable).

When I start messing around with any of the above my energy levels dip.

OP could you please list your daily diet and exercise routine. Cheers.

Wompa1

Oryx wrote: »

I hope this isnt construed as medical advice, its not meant to be -Im not diagnosing you, just mentioning the following. A lady was interviewed on the radio this week who suffered from iron overload, its genetically common among the irish, though not well known. Tiredness is a symptom, apparently. She reckoned you have to ask to be tested for it, its not a blood test thats automatically done. Might be worth saying to your doc? Wouldnt have occurred to me but for hearing the interview, they were trying to raise awareness.

I used to suffer from chronic tiredness, there was nothing wrong other than not resting enough, and being stressed most of the time. And even though it is counter intuitive, exercise is something I have used to counteract that kind of stress related tiredness. But make sure your GP has cleared you for exercise before trying it. You dont want to make things worse.

It's worth asking. I had the same problem and turned out to have high iron. But mine manifested itself with joint pains.

shangri la

1. Try to wake up at the same time every day for 2 weeks. Dont hit the snooze button. Try to make it the same time you get up for work during working days as you do on your day off. Dont sleep more than 8 hours, too much sleep is as bad as too little so dont try to catch up all in the one night.

2. Drink at least 3 litres of water a day, distilled is far better than tap. Dehydration, even mild, can slow down a lot of body functions and put organs under pressure which uses up a lot of energy.

do it every day for 2 weeks and you will notice a huge difference. Exercise is a more long term solution and just as important. To sustain it long term eat more fruit and veg to help release energy from the foods you already eat. If your very pale and have dark circles this could be a sign of anemia, nothing major just need an iron supplement. Do you eat a healthy breakfast? Its very true when the say its the most important meal of the day.

Angeles

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

OP could you please list your daily diet and exercise routine. Cheers.

Died is very mixed throughout the week
Generally I don't have breakfast because i go to lunch with work at 11am mon-fri which Consists of soup daily + main dish and is very varied as its a local restaurant, chicken, rice, potatoes, veg, roast, fish, cheese, pizza, something different each day.

Drinks consist of about 1-3 pints of water, a coffee/tea and couple of glasses of soda/coke or juice daily

Evening food varies also, usually some fruit, salad, sandwich, leftovers and occasionally pick up a burger from mc's.

Daily exorcise is about 30mins total walk to and from work, so 1hours worth, and maybe 2-3 days of the week i'll do about 20 mins or so workout.

height 6.2ft
weight 13st
Dark, mysterious and big blue eyes, but taken, sorry ladies. (ps. intended as as light humor... quite..)

Anyway I hope this helps, if my diet is a problem from this I'll look into it, in general when writing this I notice i really don't consume any dairy products at all bar a splash of milk in tea.. but i really can't see this being a factor as this fatigue is not at all recent and has been a life long issue, its main side effect is everything is just harder, like the ability to concentrate, get up in the morning and so on..

That being said i'm trying to jog my own memory as to when i actually have ever felt rested from a nights sleep and oddly enough this has only every happens after a few pints, and that's rare because i'm not much of a drinker, only on occasions like a bday or xmas but makes me wonder if there could be a link there? alcohol allowing me to sleep normally?

All this boils down to this sleep clinic option presented, granted it might take a year or so to get it done but its definitely something.

Mr. Loverman

Would you consider experimenting for a few weeks where you eat really well (5 smallish healthy meals per day - including no breakfast skipping - and more water), no stimulants, and a decent sleep every night?

Having your diet all over the place will be messing with your energy levels.

Angeles

yeah absolutely, i'll try following a food program for the next couple of weeks starting today and see if it really is that.. my only issue is *been there done that attitude* but for the sake of argument i'll focus on it again.
granted if i can find one!

dellas1979

I went to the doctor about a year ago-terrible terrible tiredness all the time-did tests-came back as healthy as a horse. Muddled on for a few more months. I didnt have a terrible diet by any standards-prob needed to eat more fruit and veg, but anyways I stopped eating sugar i.e. for about 10 days all I ate was protein and veg/fruit (only certain fruit and veg though-for example, couldnt eat apples), cut out all carbs (potatoes/rice etc) I was desperate at this stage to find out what was going on. Anyways, after about 5 days, I never felt so good/so much energy.

Couldnt chew gum or drink fizzy drinks either. But anyways, I continued like this for few months, felt fantastic, long story short, I still try avoid most of the food stuffs you mention in your diet (all laden with sugar-either processed or the natural kind), and I dont feel as energised these days as I had been when I ate like the above, but I dont feel as bad. I must start doing it again soon (life takes over huh). I found you have to be very organised and disciplined to eat a diet like that, but you do feel better for it.

Edit: I forgot to say why it worked...well, am very sensitive to insulin. This is produced esp when you eat sugar (and again I dont just mean the sugar in sweets-could be natural sugar in fruit for example or the carbs in your spuds) and was playing absolute havock with my body/system. It kind of in a way is an opposite to a diabetic who cant produce it. Blood sugars were spiking up and down all over the place as food i thought was normal to eat i.e. a spud was actually making it worse. Also, in addition to being extremely tired, I also felt sick sometimes after eating and also if I ate a big dinner, an hour later Id be starving again.

Jesus Nut

Angeles wrote: »

Hey all, not sure if this is the right sections but i have a question i'm looking for some insight too, and its basic exhaustion.
I'm 29 years old and seem to have this problem with being tired ALL of the time for as long as i can remember.
I can't seem to get my head around it and have tried everything i can think off.
on average i get about 6-8 hours sleep, this is entirely enforced by myself to try keep because i was told years ago its *right* and by enforced i mean i have 4 alarms going off a different times and a gf to kick me out of bed to make it into work on time.

Alot of the time this might deviate though, some nights i'll get 3-4 hours and weekends i can easily sleep up to 16hours, but the problem is with more or less sleep i'm always always tired, like tired to the point my body is often sore from straining and need to stretch alot and/or i'll be struggling to keep my eye's open and at least 4 times a week i'll have that *SNAP* effect in work from my mind forcing myself not to fall asleep at the desk.

I wondering if anyone has ever has similer symptoms in their life, or found out possible cause to it as this for me has been going on as long as i can remember and tbh, i'm tired of being tired, I want to know what its like to have a lot energy.

give up flour and spuds type foods. will take 21 days at least. sounds like your starch intake is the root cause. look up david getoff and stone age diet dr sarsh myhill

looksee

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea/

Angeles

dellas1979 wrote: »

I went to the doctor about a year ago-terrible terrible tiredness all the time-did tests-came back as healthy as a horse. Muddled on for a few more months.

This is a key issue, muddling on, except in my case its years.
I see a lot of people have focused on the diet routeen and I'm very grateful, its caused me to look at it but "only" for health benefits.

I know i can raise my energy slightly through foods and routeen diet, but it stops there.
I just want to point out this is once again a life long issue as in 15+ years.
I've been to diet people and done that and I've had a lot of blood work, x-rays and scans done, even spent 1 year with a councilor (granted for separate issues) but all in all its lead me to believe its purely "sleeping" related.
I'll do what i can to try get into a sleep clinic for a night to monitor this and hopefully bring it to a close in the near future and thanks guys for all the replies.

Even last night i went to bed at 11pm and struggled to get up at 8:45am after the 4th alarm to which i was once again late for work!!!
I don't want to lose yet another job over this.

Rosy Posy

I can sympathise, OP, I had sleep problems in my youth and now have young children. I find that when I'm tired I can get trapped in a sugar cycle- snacking on sweet things which give you an initial energy boost but then you crash, leading you to go back to the sugary snacks. Lately I have been on a mild detox diet and I have so much more energy, even when I'm not getting enough sleep. The key things are to cut out all processed food, and all refined sugar (including fizzy drinks), drink 8-12 glasses of water a day and make 40% of your diet raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. You get more energy from raw fresh foods which will help combat your tiredness. I would also suggest that you invest in a juicer and even if you don't feel hungry in the morning you can make yourself a fresh fruit and vegetable juice that will pick you up for the day.

On another note, if you are worried about losing your job due to lateness, why not invest in a push bike so you can get to work quicker than your half hour walk? Then you can go for cycles after work/at the weekends to get a bit more fresh air and exercise.

Best of Luck!

WhyGoBald

If you've had this for 15 years, I think while a healthy diet can only help you, there could well be an underlying health problem. If by any chance your visit to the sleep clinic isn't productive, I hope you'll ask your doctor to look seriously at other possibilities, as there are long-term conditions that have to be tested for specifically. You'll have to be persistent, though, because many still hold to the belief that if it can't be seen, it isn't there.

Tuesday_Girl

I suffered from chronic fatigue once and it was down to food allergies/intolerance, once those were identified and eliminated from my diet I felt a million times better.

Cheeky_gal

I'm the same OP.

I'm constantly lacking energy. I'm always tired. I wake up after a long sleep and I'm still wrecked. Not wrecked as in I can go back to sleep (because I actually wouldn't be able to go back asleep!) but wrecked as in I've no energy to do anything but sit down.

I have found that the longer I sleep the more tired I am. Sometimes I sleep up to 13 hours and I'm wrecked :eek:

But If I sleep a healthy 8 hours then I'm full of energy for the day.

Another thing is - do you smoke? I'm off the smokes a week now and I'm feeling less tired. Smoking makes people "always tired" - fact.

pencilsharp

You really need to have a breakfast, even if it is just fruit or a yoghurt, its gets your metabolism started.


Also looking into rapid leg syndrome with your GP is a good idea, your doctor won't look at you strangely, its more common than people think.

dellas1979

Angeles wrote: »

This is a key issue, muddling on, except in my case its years.
I see a lot of people have focused on the diet routeen and I'm very grateful, its caused me to look at it but "only" for health benefits.

Dont mean to be funny or anything, but you are definitely not looking at your diet closely enough, or what you think is close, because what you are eating at the moment is doing you zero favours and you dont seem to be accepting that it "could" be your diet (plus an exercise regime)

Have you actually ever stopped eating carbs/fruit sugars/refined sugars/coffee/fizzy drinks/gum (yes gum-who would have thought), everything literally made from scratch, all together for a few weeks to see what would happen (physically and mentally)?

Darkginger

This is not medical advice, it's pure anecdote - but I tend to agree with those who've mentioned cutting down on carbohydrates in your diet. For years I used to suffer from extreme tiredness, especially at work, after lunch. I'd sit there yawning to the extent that tears would be running down my face, and I probably dozed off a couple of times, and came close a lot more times! Most Christmases I'd have to go have a sleep after dinner, and if we ever went out for a meal, all I'd want to do was go straight to bed when we got home. Days off, I would have to go have a doze mid afternoon.

I went on a low carb diet for weightloss purposes, and found that my after-food slump vanished as a side-effect. Instead I suddenly had loads of energy, started sleeping a lot better (think indigestion was keeping me awake), could eat substantial meals and still move afterwards, and all in all felt like a new person.

Now, I believe I have a sensitivity to insulin, because since realising the changes that came about with eating low carb, I've experimented, and it seems that quickly-absorbed carbs, like those found in sugar and wheat, set off the tiredness in me. I've noticed two other people in this thread suggesting similar causes for your problem - so it might be worth a look into?

I've long since fallen off the weightloss version of low carbing (sigh), but nowadays I find that I can manage my tiredness by avoiding trigger foods (ie those high in carbohydrates) when I want to remain alert and awake. I can't tell you what a huge difference this new-found knowledge has made to my energy levels.

Hope you find something that works for you!

Wompa1

A lot of it could be mental. I still feel very tired now but at least I'm waking up and getting to work on time or early every day. There was a time when I was late for work nearly every day. I just changed my hours at work and said I was working flexi-time. I was pretty unmotivated but more so it was down to having high iron.

It's very common in Ireland too. Something like 1 in 10. And they don't test you for it unless you ask it seems

Logical Fallacy

Angeles wrote: »

Died is very mixed throughout the week
Generally I don't have breakfast because i go to lunch with work at 11am mon-fri which Consists of soup daily + main dish and is very varied as its a local restaurant, chicken, rice, potatoes, veg, roast, fish, cheese, pizza, something different each day.

Drinks consist of about 1-3 pints of water, a coffee/tea and couple of glasses of soda/coke or juice daily

Evening food varies also, usually some fruit, salad, sandwich, leftovers and occasionally pick up a burger from mc's.

Daily exorcise is about 30mins total walk to and from work, so 1hours worth, and maybe 2-3 days of the week i'll do about 20 mins or so workout.

height 6.2ft
weight 13st
Dark, mysterious and big blue eyes, but taken, sorry ladies. (ps. intended as as light humor... quite..)

Anyway I hope this helps, if my diet is a problem from this I'll look into it, in general when writing this I notice i really don't consume any dairy products at all bar a splash of milk in tea.. but i really can't see this being a factor as this fatigue is not at all recent and has been a life long issue, its main side effect is everything is just harder, like the ability to concentrate, get up in the morning and so on..

That being said i'm trying to jog my own memory as to when i actually have ever felt rested from a nights sleep and oddly enough this has only every happens after a few pints, and that's rare because i'm not much of a drinker, only on occasions like a bday or xmas but makes me wonder if there could be a link there? alcohol allowing me to sleep normally?

All this boils down to this sleep clinic option presented, granted it might take a year or so to get it done but its definitely something.

Your diet is brutal, just...terrible. It's made worse by the fact that you think it is okay. Walking to work is not excercise and a 20 minute workout is nothing.

You need to be realistic with regard to what you are experiencing and why and sitting there and telling yourself your diet and excercise levels are fine when they are not is just silly.

If I was you i would completely overhaul my diet, ramped up the excercise to levels that genuinely physically tested me and then see how my sleeping pattern is.

For what it's worth, i'm a former Trainer and insomniac...so i have a degree of experience with whacked sleeping patterns.

Angeles

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

Your diet is brutal, just...terrible. It's made worse by the fact that you think it is okay. Walking to work is not excercise and a 20 minute workout is nothing.

Okay then, please feel free to enlighten.
I generally eat very healthy on average or to put what i wrote into a simple context all i do actually eat is fruit, veg and meat and occasionally treat myself once every 1-2 weeks.

In fact i'd be more inclined to say i eat healthier then most, I've spent more then enough time in my life at the gym, more so as a swimmer, my body fat when last tested was 16% a few weeks ago..

So please, tell me exactly how i am brutal to my own body and how i don't exorcise, or more to the point, how previous info I've given was even remotely enough to be so detrimental in your eyes?

To me this is not the issue and i've given more then enough info to state that.. and apologies if over defensive.. yes i'm tired and fairly cranky in work.

Logical Fallacy

Angeles wrote: »

Okay then, please feel free to enlighten.
I generally eat very healthy on average or to put what i wrote into a simple context all i do actually eat is fruit, veg and meat and occasionally treat myself once every 1-2 weeks.

In fact i'd be more inclined to say i eat healthier then most, I've spent more then enough time in my life at the gym, more so as a swimmer, my body fat when last tested was 16% a few weeks ago..

So please, tell me exactly how i am brutal to my own body and how i don't exorcise, or more to the point, how previous info I've given was even remotely enough to be so detrimental in your eyes?

To me this is not the issue and i've given more then enough info to state that.. and apologies if over defensive.. yes i'm tired and fairly cranky in work.

As others have said you are probably eating way too many carbs, you are eating daily in a restaurant where the levels of salt, fat and sugar will be higher than anything you might make yourself, you are not drinking enough water daily, soda and juice are both just filled with things that are bad for you, the cuts of meat used in most restaurants will be of reasonably poor quality when compared to what you can get yourself from a decent butchers and it goes on and on.

The truth of it is that i would have had countless clients come to me with a presumed healthy diet when their diet is far from it. Things sneak into what we eat when we don't control it.

What do you do for your 20 minutes in the gym?

Oryx

Do you snore?

Angeles

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

As others have said you are probably eating way too many carbs, you are eating daily in a restaurant where the levels of salt, fat and sugar will be higher than anything you might make yourself, you are not drinking enough water daily, soda and juice are both just filled with things that are bad for you, the cuts of meat used in most restaurants will be of reasonably poor quality when compared to what you can get yourself from a decent butchers and it goes on and on.

The truth of it is that i would have had countless clients come to me with a presumed healthy diet when their diet is far from it. Things sneak into what we eat when we don't control it.

What do you do for your 20 minutes in the gym?

I've not been to the gym in well over a 2 years now, those exorcises i do are at home and consist of pushups, situps, leg lifts, stretches and several variations of each and i said 20 min but i don't actually time it, usually stop when i break a sweat or can't do anymore.

Prior to that as i said i used to swim a lot, 3-4 times a week for 1 hour with gym time mixed in for roughly the same time with the trainers advise. The problem was that the primary reason i had started this and even pushed myself was to once again try reduce exhaustion and while the effects were amazing usually for a few hours after a session, i was reduced to the same effects the following day/morning.
Even after persisting this for 2 years and monitoring my diet quite carefully i still encountered the same problems, eventually i gave up even though i was a hell of a lot more confident in a mirror.

I would be more concerned with my diet if for example i was gaining weight, had a wrong blood pressure, high cholesterol..etc but i had a full physical back in Feb and got the all green.

Oryx wrote: »

Do you snore?

Yep, according to my OH - "sometimes you snore barely audible, like a cat purring" and "some other times you can be loud."

Nothingbetter2d

Angeles wrote: »

Hey all, not sure if this is the right sections but i have a question i'm looking for some insight too, and its basic exhaustion.
I'm 29 years old and seem to have this problem with being tired ALL of the time for as long as i can remember.
I can't seem to get my head around it and have tried everything i can think off.
on average i get about 6-8 hours sleep, this is entirely enforced by myself to try keep because i was told years ago its *right* and by enforced i mean i have 4 alarms going off a different times and a gf to kick me out of bed to make it into work on time.

Alot of the time this might deviate though, some nights i'll get 3-4 hours and weekends i can easily sleep up to 16hours, but the problem is with more or less sleep i'm always always tired, like tired to the point my body is often sore from straining and need to stretch alot and/or i'll be struggling to keep my eye's open and at least 4 times a week i'll have that *SNAP* effect in work from my mind forcing myself not to fall asleep at the desk.

I wondering if anyone has ever has similer symptoms in their life, or found out possible cause to it as this for me has been going on as long as i can remember and tbh, i'm tired of being tired, I want to know what its like to have a lot energy.

go get tested for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME, anemia, thyroid problems & diabetes by your GP

Oryx

Another thing to get checked then. Snoring and sleep apnea can cause tiredness as you, as well as your oh are not getting proper rest.