Is it possible to feel better? Energy/tiredness related!

[pooroldtiredmummy]

I'm 37, have a preschooler DD, work full time. Don't drink alcohol, and I have a PT at the gym once a week.

I feel constantly tired. I have dieted and lost a stone since April, am about 4lbs overweight still (I weigh 10 stone 4). Has anyone managed to increase their energy levels sustainably? OR been able to identify a cause? If so, I'd love you to share your tips to help others!

I don't think I can go to the GP as they are not doing face to face appointments. I don't know where to go to test for food allergies etc and Dr Google is baffling.

My symptoms:
Tired all the time
Itchy and sore vulva
Verrucas on one foot
Low level anxiety at work
Cravings for sugar when stressed

Has anyone felt similar and managed to feel more energetic?

Can you give a sample of a typical day's food for you? Also drinks?

So many things cause tiredness, under active thyroid, iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, peri menopause.... You’d need a blood test really. You can get home ones these days but it should really be possible to have an NHS one at the moment

Thanks @TableNiner. I should ask for an appointment, it just seems like a gauntlet!

@FortunesFave on Monday I ate:
Breakfast - 100g kefir yoghurt with 50g frozen fruit and a chopped up date
Lunch - homemade turmeric cauliflower soup and a piece of Grasmere gingerbread
Snack - Itsu seaweed thins
Dinner - homemade bolognese with courgetti, with strawberries for pudding

Yesterday was a bit more chaotic:
B: homemade granola with 75ml whole milk
L: Boots meal deal sushi with Hippeas crisps and an Alpro coffee drink, eaten in my car at traffic lights 😳
D: Haggis (random) with marmite Brussels sprouts

That doesn't seem like a lot of food. I know you want to lose a few pounds but I think you might just be lacking in calories.

I think you need to eat more carb. Try a higher carb day followed by a lower card day.

I read an interesting talk on cells- they have two purposes, growth and recovery. They can't do both at the same time.

The other thing I find helps is salt. I felt exhausted this morning and saw my sistolic blood pressure was a bit low so have just had some baked crisps and feel much better. Maybe not the healthiest solution, but has helped.

Also drinking more water as first port of call (but alongside salt as water lowers sodium).

Marmite sprouts sound amazing.

Your diet seems restricted OP...not enough of anything!

Those symptoms esp the vulva and verrucas suggest to me that your immunity is low. Vitamins C and D and zinc would be helpful here (either as supplements or in foods).

What is your actual sleep like? Do you get the amount you need? Do you have good sleep hygiene?

Try more low GI foods for sustained energy release, such as porridge for breakfast.

@ghislaine

Those symptoms esp the vulva and verrucas suggest to me that your immunity is low. Vitamins C and D and zinc would be helpful here (either as supplements or in foods).

What is your actual sleep like? Do you get the amount you need? Do you have good sleep hygiene?

Try more low GI foods for sustained energy release, such as porridge for breakfast.

Not surprising since she appears from that snapshot to be eating hardly any protein, fat or fruit.

You can definitely get your GP to test your blood at the moment
Ferritin
Thyroid
Vit D
B vits
The verrucas are a bit worrying in an adult, how many do you have? This really needs investigation
Itchy vulva can be a sign of diabetes I think
I'm not massively concerned about your diet, I don't need much food either but don't accept feeling tired all the time, it could be something quite simple

Haven't read the full thread but my first thought was iron deficiency.
Get a blood test from GP ( if you describe your symptoms they will probably get iron checked )
Request a copy of your results - don't rely on being told that they are 'fine'
Anything under 30 ferritin is an iron deficiency and needs to be raised
Many many premenopausal women are iron deficient . It's very treatable.

The verrucas are a bit worrying in an adult, how many do you have? This really needs investigation

Worrying? Why? Verrucas are commonplace, especially in adults who visit gyms and pools.

I would definitely get a blood test op , exhaustion can well be iron related , do you take vitamins like b1 or vit D? How is your sleep?
Tbh though I often feel tired but have two pt jobs and three dcs (youngest is just 4 so young kids) so I can't work out whether what I'm feeling is normal or not as I think it is normal to feel tired a lot as a parent!
I've been deficient in iron but even though the levels have improved I still feel tired a lot ..
Verrucas aren't nessesarily that worrying and can often have one root so if you get even a few burnt off you might find they all fall off, I have had direct experience off this!
I don't know, it's been a hard year and I really hear you. Me and my dh often say we could sleep for a week and genuinely need it....

Could be a yeast overgrowth and high levels of bad bacteria in your gut. That could explain vulva itching, sugar cravings (yeast loves sugar) and tiredness. It could be other things too but worth trying a good probiotic and booking in for either a check up of a gut microbiome test if you can find one.

The high salt food sound all like they also include B bits/iron which you could be deficient in (marmots etc)-interestingly iron deficient people often crave salt.

Omg marmite, not marmots

How much sleep do you get? Is it still broken?

I’ve recently had a full blood work at the doctors as felt tired all the time plus a few other symptoms. Depressingly she concluded it was due to lack of good quality sleep - I always hoping for a magic wand.

Definitely try drinking more water, multivitamins, exercise and getting more sleep.

Verucca freeze, vagisil, probiotics, healthy fats and have some more fun

Thanks all! Genuinely, usually I eat loads. I'm trying to eat better/more nutritious foods rather than snacking etc as I crave sugar when stressed.

Eg today I had:
B: Granola and milk with nuts
L: Kimchee pancakes with salad and spring onions, tangerine
D: roast salmon fillet, more sprouts with marmite, roasted tomatoes, asparagus, fresh peas, sesame seeds, olive oil. Then a few mouthfuls of DD's leftover pasta. And a beetroot brownie.

I sadly do wonder if lack of decent sleep is the root of much of it. I have had immune issues in the past (glandular fever, diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome) but they were in my late teens so I don't know if my immune system is still poor.

When I remember (a couple of times a week) I take vitamin D, vitamin B and a multivitamin to try to up my nutrition.

@Polkadots2021 whereabouts could I get a gut microbiome test?

Instead of the brownie if you had brown rice that would up your B vitamins and keep blood sugar stable. Puy lentils, red lentils are also incredibly filling and good source of iron.