Why am I always tired?

[wickedfairy]

Looking for advice here please and posting here for hopefully more traffic.

I'm always tired. I don't drink alcohol and try to eat well, haven't exercised much in lockdown and I know that can have some effect, so I need to rectify that.

Everything time I get bloods done, they come back fine. Yet I'm still tired. I do have a multi-vitamin which I try to take every day, but sometimes forget. Also a vitD3 supplement.

Any ideas as to what else I could try please? I'm early 40s, kids, work full time - the usual.

I don't want to be tired but it doesn't seem like anything obvious is wrong.... thanks in advance for any advice!

Do you have any other symptoms? A lot of auto immune diseases cause fatigue, or peri menopausal?

Hi, thanks for your reply. Not peri, well - I don't think I am.

I had major surgery a couple of years ago but doctors say I'm in good health now. Stopped the medication (they know) as I felt extremely tired but that was a long while ago. Still tired, so maybe not medication after all.

Bloods keep coming back ok, so maybe this is just how it is? Maybe exercise more frequently would help. I'd just like not to feel knackered all the time...

Shamelessly joining because I'm the same, OP. I literally can't sit down during the day because I'll fall asleep.

What's your diet like? What is a typical day's food for you?

How much caffeine do you drink (including caffeine in things like Coke/Pepsi)? And how much water?

Do you get enough sleep?

Iron deficiency? Magnesium?

I've been like this in the past. Honestly, so so tired and felt like I had no energy. Bloods came back fine.

I think a lot of it was down to my diet, I wasn't fat but I didn't eat healthily and look after myself. Once I started introducing more leafy greens and grilled meat it got better, but I also took iron and vitamin c supplements from Boots so maybe it was a combination of the two? Have you tried exercising too?

How much sleep do you get?
I'm always surprised how little sleep some of my friends get.

Also, what is the quality of your sleep like?

I'm the exact same just got some bloods done yet again and they've more or less checked everything they could. All fine.
I eat healthily and exercise eveyday, sometimes intense exercise.
I work only part time but I have dc.
I sleep 8 hours but I dont have much deep sleep according to my Fitbit
I hate feeling this way, I have no idea what it could be.

I agree with pp iron and magnesium. If you buy Viridian Iron it has magnesium in it. It is super hard to get magnesium through diet alone and most of us don't eat enough iron.

Do you get enough sleep? Uniterupted sleep? If you don't get at least 4 hours consecutive at some point, being in bed for 8 hours is not that helpful.

It's worth trying an iron supplement. You can be slightly low, not enough to pop up on a blood test but noticeable. I recommend spa tone - expensive but works well for minor iron deficiency.

I totted up how much iron I was getting, from my pretty healthy diet, and it was about half what I supposedly need. Same with magnesium.

I used to do very long, physically active days with work about once a week, and I always craved meat at the end of them. I take a supplement now.

I am often tired, but that’s because I sleep very badly most nights.

B12 deficiency made me feel like this. You'll need to ask your GP for the specific blood test.

I'd also suggest iron and b bits. Have you tried Floradix?

Mental exhaustion? Sometimes the daily juggling act and having to think for everyone is exhausting.

b vits

Do you sleep enough in the first instance?

Sounds like a hormone drop, lack of testosterone can cause interruption to your sleep?

Also maybe be worth trying something like acupuncture, physic or a massage. Just to get some blood flowing and some self care as well. Sound like you need a reboot.

Yes get a B12 test, although the NHS ones aren't that accurate apparently. If you have low B12 you feel tired all the time and foggy - forgetting words or regularly walking into rooms and forgetting what you were there for.

What's your quality of sleep like? Do you wake up often? Can you breathe easily?

I go to drop the lids off at 9am to school..come back and fall askeep again for 2 or 3 hrs..every day ! Im also early 40's and a busy mum..god knows whats going on.

I’ve always been a very tired person and needed a lot of sleep - right from being a baby. I’m suffering from mental exhaustion at the mo and it’s giving me insomnia for the first time ever and I’m struggling.

If you have an underactive Thyroid it won't be picked up in a standard Full Blood Count and can lead to tiredness. Also a B12 deficiency.

Is tiredness the only thing that bothers you?

I have been like this for the last few years, ended up going backwards and forwards to the GP sporadically. Sorted menopause and vit D levels but bloods always clear beyond that.

Did loads of research and finally got a sympathetic GP instead of a shoulder shrug. I had a bit of a meltdown on the phone after yet another ‘clear’ set of bloods. She referred me to a rheumatologist who confirmed my fibromyalgia suspicions.
There’s no magic fix and it’s a gutting diagnosis but also a relief that I’m not going mad and it’s real if that makes sense. The consultant told me it was common for diagnosis to take many frustrating years of ruling out other things.

Interesting that you said you’d had major surgery, fibromyalgia is often triggered by significant physical or mental trauma.

If you want to, look up the common symptoms. I was shocked to realise I had 95% of them as they’d been creeping up slowly and I’d not connected them. It’s only been a few months since I’ve known and it’s a double edged sword- there’s virtually no chance of it going away which can be depressing, but at least I know why I feel rubbish!

I found exercise helps so much. I started running during lockdown and I now do 5k every other day. The change to how I feel has been amazing! I started from scratch, could not run for more than a minute without having to stop.

OP I felt like this for years and had so many tests, all of which came back normal. I did loads of my own research into it. Sharing in case any of this helps you.

1. Iron levels. Try a liquid iron supplement like Floradix or Feroglobin (Boots own). Spatone is too weak to boost levels if low. Tablets cause constipation. 2.) Hypothyroid. UK 'normal' levels by NHS standards are ridiculous. In much of the Western world they extreme end of the scale would be seen as hypothyroid. If this is a possibility get levels tested privately.
2. Depression. It's a really physical and shattering illness. I use L-Tyrosine supplements to help dopamine levels. Also some antidepressants make you tired all the time. I slept 16-18 hours a day on Citalopram. Now I sleep 6-8 hours a day (off medication) 4.) Excess weight. I am lugging around 2 stone of excess weight. That is very tiring. I'm finally trying to do something about it. If you are medically over or underweight, this could be a big reason. 5.) Post viral fatigue. I had a really nasty flu about 7 years ago and it took me three years to get my energy levels back to normal. I know this was the problem as my friend and her son also caught it and had similar post viral symptoms for the same length of time. Fresh air, iron, vitamin and amino supplements, regular gentle exercise (yoga or pilates and walking or swimming) help.
3. Perimenopause (which I'd never even heard of until I was through it!) This is the pre menopause state and it really exhausts a lot of women. 7.) Vitamin D. Best supplement is in spray form, taken under the tongue. Tablets are far less effective. Sunlight without sunscreen is important. No danger of burning if you cover up after about 20 minutes.