To ask if anyone has any ideas why I am feeling like this? Getting desperate now

[Ubis]

7 weeks ago I finished my job and I am due to start another one in October. I purposely took a few months off off as I had been practically a lone parent since my Dd was born 2 years ago as DH works overseas regularly.

We are comfortable financially and I had planned to do more exercise and just have time to myself while dd is at nursery.

So far, I’ve been feeling worse as the last seven weeks have gone on!

I feel exhausted, headaches, fuzziness, weak, been napping a lot, no energy at all. I went to the GP and had bloods done for iron, b12, you name it it was tested… all came back normal.

I can’t understand it. I took the first couple of weeks to watch films and read books and I generally was lying around on the sofa or going to the shops at leisure. I probably haven’t been eating as much as usual due to lounging around so much but surely that’s not why I have begun to feel like this?!

I can’t seem to summon up the energy to do anything. It’s miserable.

The heat?

Maybe you were so looking forward to finishing it's been a disappointment so far?

Leaving a job can be almost a kind of bereavement. That could make you feel low ?

Just a few suggestions above.

What were the actual results? Nhs normal isn't necessarily optimal. Ferritin for example needs to be much higher. Did you have a full thyroid panel?

@Mosaic123 yeah I do feel a bit weird having left! Sort of like I have no direction, could that be it?!

@HowsaboutChocolate ferritin was 48. I am in iron supplements anyway though

What age are you?

36

Have you considered perimenopause?

I was going to say this OP
My ferritin was 35 I although the GP said it was normal, I felt like crap. Supplemented myself with ferrous sulfate (if you’re only taking 14mg a day it won’t improve it, it needs to be higher) and felt like a new person a few weeks later.

Also check the levels on your B12 for the same reason - they won’t tell you if it’s optimal or not. I got B12 injections at a local pharmacy for £30 a time which made a huge difference

How is your mood?

Maybe you do just really need a good long rest. Go with it while you have the opportunity. Take extra care of yourself and rest and read and be still. Life will kick back into the supercharged mode soon enough.

I’m genuinely quite worried about my ability to enjoy retirement in ten years or so, because without a structure I have a strong tendency to do NOTHING and end up literally lying in my own filth in bed alternating between MN and Squardle, while vaguely thinking I should listen to a podcast or something.

Force yourself to book a few things in - a walk with a friend, trip to the movies, exercise class. You will hate yourself but you’ll feel better.

I suppose the GP did do a Covid test…?

My experience is with this that I have much more get up and go when I have a sense of purpose. If I have very little to do, I won’t do hardly anything. I need to have a healthy amount of pressure on me at all times!

Did they test your Vit D as well?

Chronic fatigue? Can come on out of nowhere or following a virus like Covid. Even if you weren’t that ill.

OP were you feeling exhausted at the point when you decided to take the extra time off in the first place? If so, it's highly likely that you DO need proper rest for a while. Are you eating properly? MAKE yourself go out for a walk when the weather cools down in the evening, or get up and go first thing, before it gets too hot. Are you sleeping well? If not, try and make sure you still go to bed, and get up at the same time you did when you were working. Although if you don't normally get enough sleep while working, try going to bed a bit earlier, but always at around the same time, so that it becomes routine. Have you asked the doctor if it could be ME/CFS - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? I suffered from this for about a year, felt constantly exhausted, and would fall asleep if I even sat on the arm of a chair for a few seconds, is it anything like that?

Boredom and depression will do that.

Working and (almost) single parenthood have taken up your every spare moment until now. I bet you're just knackered and processing stuff because this is the first time you've had chance to do so.

Can you just really listen to your needs, look after yourself, get rest, sleep, good food, fresh air, spend time with upbeat people you love and read, knit, write down your thoughts or do whatever makes you happy for a while. Treat this month as therapy, a spa or a holiday from life. It'll all come good and you'll be more yourself, have ditched a load of mental baggage and physical exhaustion and be stronger at the end of it.