To think I can't be this tired for no reason

[Brieandcamembert]

I am 39. I have 2 children 1& 3. I work 4 days per week. I exercise, I'm a healthy weight. I eat relatively well.

I am permanently exhausted. I was before the children so it's not pure parenting.

I sleep 9:30pm -6 week days and 9:30 -6:30/ 7am weekends. I nap on the afternoons I'm not working and they sleep. I also have a lie down for 10 minutes after they go to bed before I start evening jobs.

I have a busy life, kids, work, gym, cleaning etc but this is insane. I started sertraline as I was snappy and irritable but it made no difference. I think I'm just so exhausted I'm irritable from it.

Bloods all came back normal. Surely something is being missed? It's ruining my life as I'm so exhausted I'm in a bad mood do often. My life is good, I'm not depressed.

Did they check thyroid function?

Sleep apnea?

Did they check ferritin? They often forget I learned. I felt similar and after bloods were “fine” I said I still wasn’t right and a different doctor did ferritin check. It was 6 which explained my symptoms.

I would also suggest low ferritin. What the NHS consider acceptable as well may not be a high level, just not low.

Find a pharmacy near you that does vitamin b12 injections. That, and ActivIron supplements have changed my life.

I will check if ferritin was done. I'm so miserable. I'm an active person. I love walking, bike riding, bring outdoors. I'm not someone who wants to "sit" for hours but like I say, I keep ending up asleep on the sofa or in bed 9 hours a night :-(

Ferritin for me too!

Check the levels and the range. Mine was exactly the lowest number so came back normal. Yet the range was huge!!!!

Turns out 2 weeks on 210mg makes you a new woman!

It was low ferritin for me too! Including once when they tested it, said it was within the normal limits but was actually still significantly below what the NICE guidelines say shout be treated as iron deficiency! 🙄 I'm still feeling exhausted and run down, but it has improved since taking iron supplements.

As previous, my ferritin was very low (4 or 5 I think) the lowest "normal" is 13 but apparently anything below about 70 can cause symptoms so it could well be that even if it came back within normal range

As above, ask for a copy of your results (I think you can check online if in England)
My Levels for ferritin and b12 were in the acceptable range but only just (and not acceptable by NICE guidelines)

I went through a phase of this then it just stopped. I didn't change anything but after a couple of weeks i went back to normal. I have noticed recently a few days before I am due on and when I am on I'm ridiculously tired.

Do you remember when it started? I have narcolepsy and this is how it feels. It's usually triggered in late teens, although not always

Also they don't routinely test for Vitamin D. Never slept so much as when I had deficiency.

Do you feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning or do you still feel tired? It's its the latter it could be an issue with your sleep. I always needed a lot of sleep and couldn't understand why I was always tired, turns out I had very poor sleep quality. I didn't realise it because I didn't struggle to stay asleep, and I didn't snore. I did however have a deviated septum and undiagnosed asthma that was causing me to almost-but-not-quite-wake-up very frequently. Was solved with an op and inhalers.

Thank you all. I will check my nhs app to see if I can see my actual score on my results.

I always wake up still tired and unrefreahed. I don't snore and don't struggle to drop off. I always seem to have been a tired person. Never went clubbing as a teen / early adult as I could stay up or cope the next day.

If ferritin and b12 all good - add vitamin d, add magnesium; if that's no good then consider perimenopuase. Can start ten years before menopause.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I could have written this OP. I had recent blood tests and I have just had another look at my results off the back of this thread. My ferritin count is 11, I presume this is low? Can anyone recommend iron tablets, would I need a prescription or can I buy over the counter, or from eg Amazon?

@Brieandcamembert ask the doctor to have a listen to your chest - could be undiagnosed / uncontrolled asthma? I had it, was very surprised to learn, at 39. The main symptom is fatigue my gp said as people who have it would have other things like post nasal drip etc but don’t put it together.

Cam get a box of them OTC in any pharmacy - I've always found ferrous fumarate the best, but it everyone is different.

I used to take Syton liquid which was amazing stuff and made me feel amazing but it's not being made anymore.

Take it every other day with bit C and avoid dairy, caffeine and tannins for a couple of hours after because they reduce how much you can absorb. I'd also take a b12 and vit D supp because UK women tend to be constantly low in general. You could also add in a good broad spec cot/min supplement, just take care you're not taking over the recommended amount.

Thank you, this is really helpful. I’ll go to Boots first thing in the morning.

I recommend looking up the range for blood tests which means a doctor will tell you you’re fine - eg for ferritin it’s 24-307 ng/ml, so you could come back as say, 30, and gp will say you’re fine, but what if your body needs, say, 230?! Also take vitamin D if you don’t, highly unlikely in winter you get enough (assuming you are living in the uk).

also, dust mite allergy? My husband has this and spent years exhausted for no apparent reason, but it was stopping him sleeping as deeply as he assumed he was because of the length…

I’m same lower end of scale for vitamin D, B12 and Ferritin low - I buy my own high dose supplements as the dose recommended by my GP was no use at all! I had to go private to get any help - my IBD means I don’t absorb things properly and when I’m fodmapping to help that I’m not getting enough through food
it’s a nightmare

Glad I could help! ☺️

I have no idea how accurate they are but you can buy ferritin finger prick tests on Amazon for a few quid. I've used this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deficiency-Anaemia-Anemia-Ferritin-Blood/dp/B07BGH3V5F which told me I was low (which fits with my symptoms)

Some food intolerances can cause tiredness too- I felt heaps better after giving up gluten.

Vit D test https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-Level-Insufficiency-Deficiency-Testing/dp/B07WP3LMBW