DD13 tired ALL the time

[readthethread]

i don't know if she's just a teenager or if something is wrong.
she goes to bed quite early, 9ish, asleep by 10 (genuinely) but always up shortly after 6 and definitely by 7 even at weekends/holidays. she rarely sleeps in and is then tired all day.
it is SO infuriating.

she does have a 3 weekly menstrual cycle so off 2 weeks, on 1 week which could be contributing to her tiredness?
or she could just be lethargic and can't be arsed....

anyone else got a teen like this? I thought teenagers were meant to be awake all night and refuse to get up / sleep all day?

we've limited screen time
make sure she gets fresh air
now i'm trying to limit sugar (no more cheerios or biscuits in this house)

She may be anaemic especially with her cycle. It's worth a blood test.

thanks, i have a doctor's appt set up next week and will ask him.
are there any other symptoms to watch out for?

maybe the tiredness and early waking are two different issues...

I second the possible anemia, my DP had it at age 14, his mum had noticed the same - sleeping a good nights sleep, but still exhausted all day!

(A bit like me now - but that's laziness!)

i'm not sure she is getting a good night's sleep
she is a really light sleeper
and wakes so early. i can't understand why she gets up if she's tired

that reminds me last summer she wore a fitbit in bed for a while (when it was new and a novelty), she is SO restless. i think i'll get her to wear it again for a few nights.

Sometimes even when you're tired, you just can't sleep! I long for a long sleep in the morning, but something will always wake me up at 6/7am, once I'm awake that's it!

Hopefully your appointment next week should clear somethings up for you!

have been on dr google and now worried about her thyroid!

my sister has an underactive thyroid

so many common symptoms

I was going to second the thyroid part. I've recently been diagnosed and the tiredness is beyond words. Is she in any pain? Hair loss? If it's thyroid that could be causing her menstrual cycle to be the way it is. Hope she gets sorted. Horrible feeling for her at that age.

Have a good think about all the relevant things you might need to mention to the GP. Being exhausted all the time could be impacting her education an she's approaching the most important school years soon.

Write a wee list of what you want to say (I love a list ).

Anaemia? How heavy and long are her periods?

Diet - is she eating plenty of animal protein? If she is, but is still anaemic then she might have an absorption issue.

If she isn't eating much meat, or is veggie she may need supplements or to tweak her diet a bit, it might be something really simple like that.

What is her diet like, generally? Does she have any health issues which may be related to not being able to absorb nutrients efficiently? - gut problems, headaches, rashes etc?

You mention your Dsis has thyroid problems - that's also worth mentioning as would any (other) autoimmune diseases in close family members (t1 diabetes, coeliac, inflammatory bowel conditions).
Other family members having any autoimmune conditions would increase her risk of developing one- so flagging that up to the GP might make them consider some of these conditions sooner iykwim

I would ask for a blood test for thyroid, but also for vitamin d levels. DS had low levels of vitamin D despite playing a lot of sport outside. He felt very unwell until the levels were optimised.

thank you.
she is generally fairly well, no rashes etc... can get constipated fairly easily.

her diet is ok, she is a bit of a veg dodger but eats meat, fish, fruit, too much bread and dairy probably, but def not what you would call a bad diet.

she's partial to cups of tea, hmmm, might be stopping those. (only 1 or 2 and not every day)

no noticeable hair loss
but she has long hair so would be hard to notice.

can the GP do anything to extend her menstrual cycle?

toomuchtvandsocialmedia i have a vitD spray, must get more routine with that.

It could be thyroid don't worry yourself though is easily treated if it is.
But def worth a blood test.

Obviously, get the GP advice,

But I find with one of my dc I need to supplement a bit, partly because diet is a bit narrow, I use spatone iron supplement in orange juice (not obviously anaemic but I tend to run lowish on iron, and I reckon she does too), vitamin d3 which is widely recommended in the winter months for all of us now, some vitamin B12, and I am currently looking at magnesium spray. I know it sounds a bit ott, but it makes a big difference to her.

thanks so much all of you. sometimes you wonder if they have end-of-term-itis and just need to veg

but definitely worth a blood test and now can be very specific with my concerns / what i think could be worth checking for rather than a ramble...

Tea hinders iron absorption iirc

Taking an iron supplement with orange juice might be worth considering

Good luck, it does sound difficult for you both

toomuchtvandsocialmedia you were right! had a follow up GP appointment (finally) with her blood test results.

Just to update this thread:
Her vitamin D levels were VERY low.
Her iron levels were in the ok range but at the lower end. She had just got her period when we had the blood test so i think she probably dips too low during/after her period.

Follow up blood test in 3 months after taking supplements to see how she is. Considering the blood test was done right at the end of the Easter holidays when the weather had been nice and her vit D levels should have been ok, that is worrying. Shame we can't get a month in spain on prescription!

Her blood glucose, thyroid and anything else they checked are good. So that's a relief.

I had extremely low vit D a couple of years ago which left me exhausted too and worrying about thyroid. One month of the strong supplements and I was back to normal. I now take a maintenance dose (25mcg) every day and feel great.

BTW I have also taken iron supplements on and off all my life (I don't store it efficiently), and the only supplement that doesn't make me feel sick or wreck my digestion is https://www.vitabiotics.com/shop/feroglobin/original?gclid=CNX3zeSI-dMCFQeeGwod0lkISw this one] also comes in a liquid. Worth trying different things to see which suits your DD best.

Good luck

clicky link

thank you pinkpanda101
she is prone to constipation so i am a bit worried about the iron tablets, especially because she isn't in desperate need of iron.

the GP prescribed Coleclaciferol 20,000 unit capsules - she takes 3 tablets together once a week.