To think it’s not normal and ‘just my age’ to be this tired?

[Pompomfloofball]

I’m 42.
I have to children - 16 and 9 and I work four days a week. I’m also a t1 diabetic which does possibly not help and my diet isn’t good. I take a multivitamin and B12.
I am absolutely exhausted - like all the time. I am now turning down things with friends and family because I am just simply too tired. On my non working day the kids say, ‘what are we doing?’and even though it’s the holiday I have to say - nothing. I need to sleep.
in the term time I have been spending my non working day asleep after the school run.

Overnight I get 7 hours sleep and I wake up just thinking about when I can go back to sleep. I’ve just been asleep for three hours despite not getting up took 9am today. When I’m working from home it is inevitable that I’ll fall asleep - even if I don’t mean to.
Im exhausted after a short walk.

I saw the GP and he basically said you aren’t 20 anymore and you’re in peri so what do you expect. He grudgingly booked bloods for this week for me.

I’m not overweight - bmi is around 19/20. I don’t smoke / vape or drink. My diet is sketchy - I am not interested in food because of being t1 possibly and I know I don’t have much iron or really any fresh food.

Essentially is it normal to be so exhausted at 42 that I cannot do everyday stuff and what I actually want is to spend all day, every day asleep. Even getting up and dressed some days is a huge effort and I’m exhausted again afterwards.

Am I just lazy??

Your diet isnt poor its atrocious and definitely, along with being sleep deficient, the cause of your issues.

You can't expect to put hardly any fuel into your body and certainly nothing that sounds overly healthy and wonder why your body is giving up a bit. It's fine maybe in your 20s or even 30s but you wont get away with it as you age.

Perimenopause and its dipping oestrogen and progesterone levels cause stress on their own. Add in poor nutrition and t1 diabetes and it could all be too much. I really struggled at 42 with peri, young children and getting repeat infections. It really made me concentrate on my health.

I agree, it's a shocking diet. As you age, the body shows its toll of what you've done before. What you could get away at 20, your body can't at 40. If you're short of iron, take some for 6 months at least and then see how you feel. Get more sleep.

I don't know but i am the same, 42, bmi of 19.5, try to do a couple of classes at the gym over the weekend but i am so shattered afterwards i spent the rest of the day on the sofa, work 4 days a week, no kids . My evening looks like this
get home, shower eat,bed. Doctors not interested. I think that is definitely not normal and i just got covid for the 6th time. Went to gp for something else and she asked me why do i get covid so often??? Eh how do i know your the doctor!
I never go out or if i do at the weekend i need to be home by 10/11 otherwise there is no way i could go to work on Monday.

I imagine this is years of malnourishment finally taking their toll. Youth not on your side to push through it any more. You’re likely vitamin deficient.

You can change your diet without having to exhaust yourself further, the question is whether you are willing to? As you sound defeated and not particularly interested in anything that requires you to do anything, so what do you ideally want? You can’t eat a diet like that and be healthy, you have to compromise somewhere. Have you considered you might be depressed too? There’s a sense of apathy about this whole thing which makes me wonder. The two things can both cause and be the result of each other.

@Pompomfloofball I’m Type 1 - I also have Hasimotos and I’m Coeliac so am well aware of the importance of eating healthy and well!! My HBA1C is 42 and has been for the last few years.

Your diet isn’t great at all, which you probably know. You need to eat better because it will really help in the long run. I used to have a bad diet and felt like shite all the time but since eating better and looking after myself I have noticed a huge difference.

If you are low in iron you will definitely feel tired! I had low iron as well so I take an iron supplement daily.

Definitely get you Thyroid checked - you need to do an antibody test but GPs really don’t like doing them so you will need to push them probably!

hi @Pompomfloofball you sound exhausted in your posts.

The bloods will help to clarify if you need to be on iron - but yes low iron can make you feel that tired.

Loads of people have commented on your diet already, but it’s got to have an impact on you. You aren’t fueling your body. Food is fuel, it equals energy. So even if you do even up being anaemic or have any other issues, you need to address this as a matter of urgency. Literally today.

Oh, OP. You have frequent periods and seem to get no dietary iron. I’d imagine your ferritin levels are in your boots, as well as your folate. It is not possible to feel well with this kind of lifestyle. I’m glad your GP is doing bloods; can you ask for a referral to a dietician also?

7 hours sleep, though, is fine. I’d kill for 7 hours sleep a night!

Have your had your thyroid checked?

I felt exactly the same at 43. On HRT now and fully back to normal

Long covid? Can take a while to join up the dots

I’m not saying it’s completely unrelated to perimenopause but I find it a bit depressing that the doctor (and a couple of posters on this thread!) just immediately jumped to that conclusion because of the OP’s age.

Women in their 40s can also have health concerns unrelated to menopause! It doesn’t automatically explain literally any symptoms they experience…!

Your diet is appalling. Don't you eat any protein, fruit and veg?? That's why you're so tired.

I'm 66. I eat -
B - cereal or a protein shake, a banana.
L - wholemeal toast with eggs and baked beans, then a few grapes, and an apple
D - grilled fish or chicken, lots of oven-roasted veg, or a big salad.

Snacks - a couple of biscuits or a couple of squares of chocolate.

Are you sure? I would be delighted to get 7 hours every night. I thought 7 hours is what we were supposed to be aiming for.

I know my diet is poor. Unfortunately the hassle of keeping myself alive every day makes me inclined to not bother much beyond that 🤣

You're a T1 diabetic, and your diet is absolutely shit for anyone, let alone a diabetic, and this is your attitude?

It's your diet.

You're going to be deficient in everything, not just iron, and your diabetes will be impossible to control with short burst carbs as your main source of food.

If you want easy meals that will help diabetic control start your day with high protein yoghurt like Greek yogurt or skyr with lower sugar fruit like berries, for lunch have protein, veg, fruit and a whole grain so a ham, salad, wholemeal sandwich or wrap and don't be afraid of fat so adding avocado or cheese would be great. Dinner you want protein so meat, eggs, fish with a carb like pasta, potatoes, rice, and at least 2 veg. You'll feel infinitely better. Snack on nuts, seeds, fruit, veg

Firstly though go to GP for bloods to work out deficiencies and get your iron sorted, anaemia makes me feel like a walking corpse!

It's not normal to feel that tired, but it's also not normal to only eat toast, chocolate and crisps. That's why you're tired. You need to eat properly, if you don't want to to it for yourself, do it for your children so that you can go out and do things with them. Fruit, vegetables eggs, some meat.

Seven hours isn't enough sleep for me, I need eight or nine.

Omg this is also me! Constantly planning my next nap. Is it a menopause thing?!
I went to a gig last night and I was obsessed by it starting at 9pm, seemed soooooo late. Loads of 60 somethings dancing away and me at 41 knackered

OP is type 1 diabetic so isn't going to be having any insulin spikes. I agree her diet could be better and I personally find my type 1 better to manage when I eat less carbs and need to inject less, but type 1 isn't diet controlled.

No one with type 1 diabetes is having insulin spikes, that's what type 1 diabetes is , an inability to make insulin

@Gingerbreadman1972 ok sorry wrongly worded , I meant a glucose spike which then has to be matched with the appropriate amount of insulin, when my mum was taking insulin, if she ate simple carbs it was difficult, as her blood sugar was all over the place, sometimes leading to extreme fatigue., that's what I meant.

I think the fact the OP left as soon as ousters began to enquire that maybe the main problem was her diet, and raised the possibility of an eating disorder - indicates that this is indeed the issue and the OP probably knows this.

If you’re still reading op, the fact that your kids thinks it’s “normal” that you never eat with them and all they see you eat is crisps, chocolate and toast - is probably the most concerning fact about this scenario.

Your thought process is really odd here. You give and give and give in terms of keeping yourself alive. But you aren’t. You are the one sabotaging your own body, not the other way round.

your diet is appalling. It’s not just about upping the vitamin content. It’s about proper nutrition.

I agree.

Your diet is terrible. It's all carbohydrates and nothing else. Who cooks for your children, and why aren't you eating with them?

Why are you self sabotaging your health?