Extreme fatigue - any ideas?

[Ossoduro2]

I’m so totally wiped out at the end of my work day that I can’t function between about 5.30 and 7pm. I seem to perk up a bit after dinner. Any ideas as to what’s causing this?

For background, I have 4 kids, up at 6.30, drop 3 eldest at breakfast club, go to work (desk job) get outside for a walk over lunch, leave work at 4.30 and fetch kids from after school club. I’m practically falling asleep on the drive home and then I’m totally exhausted by the time I get there. I usually find the tiredness hits me at about 4pm and lasts till about 7.30.

I get the younger kids into bed by 7, and then I eat dinner. I can’t eat with them before that because I’m too busy to sit down.

This evening I’ve left dinner prep for the kids to my husband and I’m lying down but i’ll try and drag myself out of bed in a minute to help with bathtime.

Any ideas to give me a bit of an energy boost would be appreciated!

If I had four kids and worked I'd be wiped out. No wonder you're exhausted! Have you had your bloods done...I was exhausted and found out my b12 levels were low.

For me it was also deficiencies - B, D and also magnesium.

Secondly look at your sugars and intake of water thru the day. Dont overdo carbs at lunch but eat well. Dehydration is a very common cause of fatigue.

@LollyLol how did you get tested to find out you had deficiencies? I must have some, it’s not normal to feel this tired!

If I had four kids and worked I'd be wiped out
Agreed - I salute the fact you even make it through the day!

But I was going to post similar to @LollyLol as well. I find it makes a huge difference if I avoid sugary things during the earlier part of the day and make sure that I have regular snacks and water.

Get your thyroid function tested too.
Could be iron/ferritin, b12 deficiency.
Ask for the results with the scales included. Don’t just accept if they tell you it’s normal or within the normal range. Find out what that range is.

It took 2 years for my hypothyroidism to be diagnosed and nearly the same again to get the dosage right.
I also had low iron levels later on where the doc was convinced I had internal bleeding as he’d never seen such low levels in someone who was still a functioning human. Sent me for an urgent scan but never found anything bleeding.

Don't let them fob you off with antidepressants.

Low ferritin was causing my fatigue

This is interesting because I feel the exact same on a daily basis. By the time I get to early afternoon I'm totally exhausted and really need a nap or I'm a total zombie. I bought myself some iron tablets but think I going to have to get bloods done at the doctor because this level of exhaustion isn't normal and since I work 12 hours shifts it's really not ideal to be having naps in the middle of the day! Thankfully in my job I can sometimes get away with having a sneaky 20 min nap but it would be nice to feel like a normal human for the whole day!

I do have hypothyroidism but I take medication for that and my levels have been tested recently. I’m quite hot on that for obvious reasons so i think it must be something else.

Having 4 kids would wipe anyone out!

Get your bloods tested though. Also look at your sleep, do you snore? When you wake up are you still tired, have a headache, body feel sore? I got so bad with fatigue I was sleeping most of the day at my worse. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, although I was sleeping I wasn’t actually getting proper sleep. In the end my fatigue is due to a combination of Fibromyalgia and Sleep Apnea. My sleep apnea is under control with my cpap machine, it’s also improved my fibromyalgia and I don’t have as many flares as I use to.

Vitamin D supplements. Most people in the UK are deficient when it comes to vitamin D levels.

Mine was caused by having low iron and coeliacs disease. It felt like a combination of first trimester and newborn twins! I’d be getting the GP to do a whole range of bloods to investigate.