Extreme tiredness don’t know what to do.

[Julzmc]

Hi all,

I am suffering from extreme tiredness. I’m 18 plus 6 weeks pregnant and for the last 4 or 5 weeks I have been off my work, not pregnancy related, but just aswell as I am too tired to function. I sleep for around 9-10 hours at night. I wake up for a couple of hours and then I fall asleep for 4 or 5 hours again. I am hardly functioning and tired all the time. I have an under active thyroid which is treated with levothryoxine. Doctors and midwife don’t seem concerned and tell me it’s normal to be tired during pregnancy. I was such an active on the go person before I became pregnant. I just feel like no one is listening to me and this can’t be normal. Please help. Has anyone else experienced This over powering tiredness.

Ask your doctor to check your iron levels, I was the same in early pregnancy, and a lack of iron was the reason. Once my iron supplement started to work I felt heaps better.

Iron deficiency perhaps. Ask to have your bloods done

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and hypothyroid, oddly my thyroid has gone overactive since being pregnant so not had the tiredness but when I was anaemic I was exhausted the way you are describing.
I doubt it's your thyroid as they wouldn't let your levels drop low enough to cause such exhaustion surely?

Is ask for a full set of bloods - iron but also your thyroid. Your levels can go bonkers with a pregnancy as well. It could just be pregnancy but best to be sure.

Again I echo the others, get a full blood court especially your iron and feritin levels. My knees was buckling and I couldn't keep my eyes open, then when they finally did my irons they were horribly low

Thank you all so much for your replies. It’s completely ruining pregnancy for me to be honest and I go back to work on the 20th and have no idea how I am going to function if this continues. I basically sleep all day and if I dare leave the house then I fall asleep as soon as I come in and the rest of the day and night and written off. I will get back to doctors on Monday and ask for my levels to be checked. I see a specialist for my thyroid and they said my level is showing as slightly over medicated but it is within the range they would be happy with, especially while pregnant, so I’m not concerned about that. I’m normal very good at knowing when my thyroid levels are off, for one my hair just sheds out 😂😂.. hopefully it’s just iron that’s an issue and an easy fix. Thanks again for all the replies x

Get your iron levels checks and also in the mean time try to get yourself pregacare I've been taking that this time round and my iron levels have been great on my other 2 pregnancy I didn't take pregacare and my iron levels were low and I was on high iron tablets boots even do there own version and are a little cheaper in price there then ones I'm currently taking they are big to swallow but I'm ok with them

Go to day assessment unit, and tell them what you’ve told us. Get them to do a full set of bloods and go from there.

I had pregnacare at the start, they told me at my booking appointment not to bother with them and just to take the NHS free ones they give you. I’ve only just noticed they don’t include iron in them. That would explain why my levels were ok at the start when checked but may have dropped. I haven’t had meat since about 8 weeks pregnant. I’ve totally went off all white and red meat. It’s crazy what pregnancy does to people.

Hi lovely, just a little wave of solidarity! 20 weeks at the moment and I'm feeling very blessed to be almost symptom free compared to my last pregnancy which was awful, but the tiredness is just horrendous. I also have thyroid issues and also very low iron. I'm being treated for both but the latter seems to be taking a while to improve.

I'm self employed so can't take time off work, but at the weekend I can literally sleep the entire day. I'll wake up from a 3/4 hour nap mid morning, come downstairs and fall asleep on the sofa whilst watching my daughter play! Thankfully DP is being amazing and very supportive.

Whilst I'm working I seem to be able to get on with it though, so try not to worry about going back.

I hope things improve soon for us both.

As per PPs, I also recommend an iron supplement in the first instance.

I had dreadful fatigue with my first pregnancy, which turned out to be related to preeclampsia. I also had low cortisol levels (which then required steroids to get me up and running again). If the iron tablets don't work, it might be worth getting these things looked at too, just to rule them out.

Hope you feel better soon 💐