Is this just how middle age feels?

[justsotiredtired]

I'm a 35 year old mother of a two year old. I also work four days per week in an office (well right now I'm working from home)!

For the past few years I have simply been tired. I wake up feeling heavy and have a full ache everywhere. I used to feel like this after a long run or a long haul flight.

Sometimes this is accompanied by brain fog- I have always had a terrible memory but i definitely have trouble thinking clearly when I'm at my most tired. I often get headaches which can range from dull aches that last a few days, to migraines with aura.

I am now getting 8 hrs sleep a night thanks to the lockdown, and I'm loving not have an hour commute each way or having to bother about hair and makeup. Yet I'm still tired.

My two year old sleeps well. He is not at nursery now but my husband and I work in shifts so we each get time to work and time to childcare. It was a shock having to occupy him as well as work, but he's much less grumpy now he's not doing long days at nursery.

I have hypothyroidism and have had my dose increased gradually over the last few months, but my endo thinks that I should not be having problems with my current tsh readings.

I take supplements for iron, b12, methyl folate, vitamin d (separate time to the thyroxine). I've been low in these items before but they have been fine in recent tests.

I was tested for coeliac disease but that was negative. I have no digestive problems anyway.

I exercise for 30-60 mins most days but nothing compared to what I used to do - run marathons and triathlons.

I am at the point where I'm thinking maybe this is just how you feel in middle age? Am I going to be exhausted every day for the rest of my life?

You aren’t middle aged

2 year olds are draining but you shouldn’t feel tired all the time.

Do you drink alcohol? That makes me tired and useless for the whole of the rest of the next day. Even small quantities.

No, you’re not middle aged. I can’t imagine not feeling tired when you have a two year old!

Magnesium supplements can help with tiredness.

This might be a good time to look at simplifying your normal routine - especially if hair & makeup are a faff you could avoid.

Thank you @HereDefenders I definitely feel Middle Ages! Haha.

I do drink alcohol but we only drink 3x nights a week. And not much, I have two 100ml glasses. But maybe it's something I should try stopping altogether? I've always been quite lucky in that back before I was a mum, and I didn't have any responsibilities, I could drink ridiculous amounts and not have a hint of a hangover. That makes me sound like an alcoholic- but I'm not and I've had my liver function tested - all fine!

Thanks nite flights, I'll try magnesium! Yep two year olds are tiring- but although mine has a big personality, he does love his sleep. I can't imagine how I'd feel if he didn't sleep :(

The thyroid issue could be a big part of it.

I often felt like this, although sleep was my main problem. It changed when I started exercising regularly.

No you shouldnt feel like that. There are folk on here knowledgeable about hypothyroidism so maybe post asking for advice about that? I read your symptoms and thought thyroid before I read that you already had that diagnosis. Also how is mood? Depression can also manifest with these symptoms.

You should not feel exhausted every day and you are definitely not middle aged.

I see you are taking B12 supplements, have you had your level checked recently?

Do you snore? You may not be getting good quality sleep

You’re not middle aged!

I can’t help though as I feel much the same & have done for ages - now that I am middle aged (51) it’s even harder to get any investigation /answers.

Do you properly convert t4 to t3? Do you have your test results to check?

It’s probably your thyroid, I personally think drs underestimate how much thyroxine you need.

Dh started on 50mg and it was life changing but his dr was surprised he felt better.

I felt exhausted my entire life until i got a weighted blaket last year. Could you borrow one from somewhere to try it out?

I am 54. I don't feel like that at all. I think you have an underlying health issue.

When this craziness is over, go to the dr and ask for a blood test. You may need a B12 top up x

You have to 'work' harder at not feeling achey (less alcohol, less sugar, more exercise) and this stage of life is a huge challenge for women's bodies and health imho. But it doesn't sound right.

Thyroid care is crap in the UK. Even endos don't really understand it IME. It sounds as though you are not converting T4 to T3, but NHS labs often won't do the necessary tests, so you might have to pay to go private to see. I feel like you do and also have the menopause to contend with, which exacerbates the symptoms. My GP is constantly trying to lower my dosage, as they now want everyone to be on a low dose for reasons that I have never been able to get them to explain.

It would be worth saying to your GP that you are struggling and ask for across the board blood tests to rule out B12 and vit D deficiencies and ask for a test at a higher dose of thyroxine to see if that helps.

You have my sympathies, because I had my thyroid removed on DD2's first birthday, and had to deal with the toddler years feeling like a half-shut knife. It isn't fun!

I find swimming loads helps.
And yoga.

I was exhausted when my DC were young, but I was older than you and tbh there doesn't seem to be anything about your life that means you should feel exhausted all the time - certainly not like you've just done a long run or a long haul flight. So I'm going to guess this is something to do with your thyroid. You're really too young to be experiencing mid-life/peri-menopausal fatigue. If you said you were 45, rather than 35 I'd think 'Yup - you can definitely feel like that', but you're too young!

Not normal to feel that way.

My DH (hyperthyroidal, then hypo after radioactive iodine treatment) found that he still didn't feel right even within the "normal" TSH range, until a brilliant GP pointed out to him that his normal might sit elsewhere in the range, and it was fine to play around with higher/lower doses to find where HIS TSH felt comfortable (the endo had never said this!). I think a lot of people are just told the dosage is fine once they're somewhere within the normal range.

Agree that it's also worth thinking about conversion.

I echo what others have said about your thyroid-the brain fog is what’s shouting out to me. I think it’s a very misunderstood condition, and some GPs can be too quick to fob you off once you’re within normal range. What’s normal for you may be out with those numbers. I showed as within normal on 150mcg, but needed 175mcg to feel well

Thank you all for your ideas and comments. I do occasionally snore at night and I've considered a weighted blanket.

I'm on sertraline to help quell some mild anxiety, but only 50mg because 100mg gave me terrible tinnitus. I don't feel particulary anxious these days.

My t4 level is 15.3 so not too bad at the moment. Tsh is 2.87 but the endocrinologist thinks I shouldn't feel too bad at that level.

I'm about to go up to 175mg but the endo said it
Probably wouldn't make any difference to how I feel on 150mg.

It's so bizarre, I'm a healthy and fit person but I'm finding this debilitating.

Your TSH is still too high. It needs to be 1 or below. That is partly what is making you so tired. And really, your endo sounds like mine - absolutely useless! I was told that reducing my dose to 100mg wouldn't make any difference to me, but I can barely function on it. Even the 125mg is not brilliant, but I can function. I would give the 175mg a goood try - 8 weeks minimum - and you may find it makes a huge difference. Thyroid disease is debilitating and because it is invisible, people don't realise what is wrong with you.