is it normal to be this tired? any tips?

[time4tea]

I'm 37, two DS (4 and 18 months); work two days a week in a job I love; am not usually woken during the nights anymore but have early starts (6am or just before most mornings).

am also learning to drive, for the past year, one lesson a week.

I do have a thyroid problem but this is under control, plus I'm not anaemic. I eat healthily (doing GI Diet to lose weight - am about 3 stone overweight, but GP says this wouldn't cause my tiredness), and go to bed by 10pm at the latest, often by 9pm.

but I am f knackered!

is this normal? what else can I do? GP (very sympathetic and sensible) says it is normal for mothers of pre-school children. but I'm finding it very debilitating, hardly any time for myself, plus DH is often disappointed that we are not spending more time together in the evenings...

thanks for any tips - or reassurance that I'm not some Woss-girl...

Do you sleep well? Do you or your partner snore? Do you feel like napping in the day?

Me too. I only have one child (4.5) and work four days a week at a job I don't actively dislike. Am woken before six most mornings. Am so tired I can scarcely bear it. Haven't been to GP. Any advice gratefully received.

Is normal I'm afraid, you're still only actually getting 8 ish hours of sleep. Exercise really helps..if you can find the time!

8 hrs unbroken sleep should be enough- can you have a lie-in at weekends though?

Take turns to see to DCs?

Exercise is the answer- try gentle jogging or fast walking for half an hour every day if you can manage it. Since I started exercising I have loads more energy and I am in my 50s. I also goto bed later and don't need quite as much sleep as I used to.

I do think your weight could be at the root of it- I know you are doing something about it, so don't take this the wrong way, but carrying 3 st is going to make you more tired anyway.

Are you sure your thyroid is really under control?

Metatone. Brilliant stuff for a bit of a pick-me-up!

Exercise too. It will increase your energy levels, and help with the weightloss.

metatone?

Its a tonic. A good old fashioned 'tonic'. Full of B vitamins and minerals I think. I have it when I'm feeling knackered and run down and really notice a different.

In an orange box with the vitamins and supplements. Not a long-term solution admittedly, but a bit of a boost.

do you feel tired, or fatigued ?(draining feeling of almost achy pain)

thanks for the tips - my mum recommends Metatone. Girl-next-door, you are right, the weight/lack of exercise/tiredness is a bit of a vicious circle. weight is coming off though, I lost 3 lbs (!) over one weekend of hard-child-care - lugging baby in buggy plus four-year-old on buggy board up and down hills! it is also a question of finding time for the exercise.

maybe metatone for the kickstart, then increasing the healthy life-style thanks for the tips

Bluestocking, might be worth going to the GP. my SIL (no kids) was in quite a bad way with tiredness, turned out to be anaemia (partly why I went to the GP, to discount this...)

thanks again ladies, and if anyone else has tips for me and bluestocking...

Finding time to exercise- it's all about what is important to you- if your dr said you had 6 months to live unless you exercised, you would do it !

I am not saying that is so, but to try to make the point.

You need to find a routine and do something you enjoy.

I work from home and find that I need to timetable my exercise otherwise I just don't do any. I look at my day the night before and decide what time to do it-either a walk or a work out at home.

You only need to do 30 mins 3 times a week- when could you fit it in?

i used to walk to work (quick bus journey vs 45 min walk) but needed to be up and out fast to do this. will try to get DH to support this in practical terms.

Time4tea, might be worth asking your gp to refer you to an endocrinologist to look at your thyroid... after many years struggling with my thyroid and being told all sorts of different things by different gps it became apparent that there are differing opinions on what is considered a "normal" thyroid level, and gps will often leave you on a dose of thyroxine that is taking you only just within the "normal" range whereas a specialist might recommend upping your dose to take you further into the range, if that makes any sense! Worth looking into anyway. It helped me.

From just reading your op I would say it's perfectly normal. Have no real advice either as I'm in the same boat. Just try to catch up on chilling/sleep whenever you can and make a date each week where you can have lie-in or time to yourself.
Def do more exercise, forcing myself to get up at 6 when I'm knackered and having quick run/walk makes all the difference to energy levels. I'm so amazed at change in my mood I wonder why I don't force myself to do it more! Hmm....