To want to know why I feel so tired/ill all the time!!

[Bamboozle30001]

I'm 41, 5ft 7in 12 stone and I strength train for half an hour 4 days a week. I do under 20k steps due to being a cleaner 5 days a week. I eat very well and log my food on myfitnesspal.

Last week doctors thought my gallbladder was inflamed but, bloods, urine and a further physical exam all came back fine. Then why for the love of God am I am ALWAYS tired?Energy drinks or black coffee do nothing. I sleep for 8 hours.

I'd had a previous blood test a few weeks back as I suspected perimenopause but apart from high reading of b12...which I have no idea where that came from as I don't eat much in the way of the foods mentioned that are fortified, or take vitamin supplements either. I do have fibroids, but still I constantly feel tired and just generally unwell. Like the feeling that you're coming down with a cold, just run down all the bastard time.

Would it be worth getting a private doctor and see if there's any other tests or something because I am fed up of feeling like this.

Firstly OP you're overweight and your BMI is showing that. Sugary energy drinks spike insulin. 4 litres of water a day seems excessive too. Kidneys could be overworking.
So there's 2 things that can be changed without too much disruption. To reduce weight you could think about a cal deficit diet. Cal vs protein will give you energy and protect muscle mass. Also eating in a 6 hour window would also help the body use up any visceral fat stored in the liver and stomach cavity and eventually target subcutaneous fat.

Sorry I pressed too soon,
I think you may have overloaded and over stimulated your self and have kidney strain as well as caffeine overload with the energy drinks and coffee. Not forgetting the insulin spikes. Cut everything out and drink 2.5 litres a day 3 if you're active and see if there's a difference in a week. I'd also check out the protein content in your diet.

if it is something physical e.g. gallbladder the GP will find it eventually. I’d cut back on the amount of water as that must be literally washing away all the goodness you are eating! Supplements may help - vitamin D and iron are the obvious ones for tiredness/fatigue. How on earth do you find the energy to weight train if you’re sleeping at 7pm?

Why are you drinking so much water? 4 litres a day is insane and really not good for you.

I weight train whilst son is at school. I am trying to lose the few pounds I have put on since being on mounjaro injections and wegovy tablets but I am fit and have a slight muscular frame but i guess am skinny/fat. I will drink less water. I'm not feeling hungry today but will try to eat some breakfast.
I clean for 2 hours in the mornings and 2 hours in the afternoon, so its not an all day thing like a real cleaner.

The nhs app allows you to see your actual levels from blood tests. Low vit d and iron can give symptoms long before the nhs will tell you to take supplements.

Ask for your ferritin levels, the NHS will tell you that you are fine when you are basically anaemic. I feel like shit when ferritin is under 30.

In answer to ferritin levels and t4
My results for ferritin was 19
My tsh was 2.19 and my t4 was 11.2

I was told liver and gallbladder was fine last week at hospital

Try taking some iron tablets, hemaplex gave me the least gastric distress.

Did they give you your pdf of results? The range for things like ferritin being ‘normal’ are wild. Women with ferritin under 75 can feel symptomatic but it only reads as abnormal under 15 (would have to double check). My ferritin came back as 23 and I felt terrible. Doctor said it was normal, I supplemented and got my ferritin up to 100 and felt so much better

Your ferritin is WAY too low. That is likely your answer. NHS are really lax with this. Start some iron supplements and take them with vit c

Do you have the NHS app? All my blood results are on there. Could be worth having a look at your levels for yourself - 100% agree with what others have said about NHS threaholds. I recently went to the doctor adamant my iron was low (it almost always is but I can tell when it gets into low double digits because I feel exactly how you did). Turns out it was inexplicably sky high but my B12 was really low. Guess what I'm saying is that things being too high can make you feel as rough as things being too low. Might be worth checking how high your B12 is and where your ferritin is sitting

Ferritin. They don't always check it

I have one energy drink with breakfast everyday. Thats my treat.
Im still have discomfort and pain in my right side by ribcage. The co dydramol doesnt really help unless I take it all day

It could be peri symptoms.

I don't poo much either. Recently it's been soft lumps not one big normal one if you get what i mean. Sometimes i can go a week without going. Which is why I was worried about gallbladder but the doctor did t seem concerned.

Seek a second opinion.
I would ask about bowel check, Helicobacter and thyroid issues, allergies, eye test, breast lumps.

I am not a medico.

Sleep for at least 8 hours consistantly each day.

My ferritin is currently 21 and I feel like shit.
Guarantee its that op.
You need high dose iron, not spatone

I'm considering a transfusion, but its £800

Start with an iron bisglycinate with vitamin c - take it every other day and take it an hour before or after caffeine (caffeine hinders iron absorption). Give it 6 weeks and see how you feel.

You need to take an iron supplement and stop drinking energy drinks - they are so bad for you.

I was recently diagnosed with ME and MCAS. I was immediately advised to treat the MCAS to reduce the stress on my body which was apparently worsening my fatigue. It’s been 3 months now and I’d say I have about 5% more energy occasionally 10% more. I was prescribed 2 different antihistamines and montelukast. It’s Not much but it has improved my quality of life in that I can now spend a bit more time with my dc during the day. Might be worth looking into MCAS as some of the symptoms are obscure and you may not realise it could be a possibility?

It is absolutely not true that low ferritin causes no symptoms. My ferritin was 7… serum iron normal. I was breathless, weird food cravings, hair falling out, no energy, very very pale skin / gums etc.

Your ferritin is far too low. You are iron defficient. From NICE guidance: "Serum ferritin level is the biochemical test that most reliably correlates with relative total body iron stores. In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency."

I had an iron infusion at a similar level at the Iron Clinic in London which is run by a top haematologist so is very reputable. I felt soooo much better for it.

You could try supplements to begin with. They are most effective taken every other day.

What iron and vitamin c tablets do you suggest I buy please?