Over-tired Teen

[Cooroo]

My DD (16) has been tired for the last 2 weeks. No problem getting up at 7am, but increasingly tired after getting home (3.30) and today says she wants to go to bed now (6pm)!

I googled it but everything covers teenagers tired because they stay up late. This is quite the opposite, she's always been more lark than owl. She's usually asleep by 10, the other night it was 8!

How long before I get a doctor's opinion? Is this normal? She's slim and not a huge eater. Had a barrage of blood tests a year ago due to dizzy spells (now rare but still present) and no results. Is it all just teen stuff?

Well it could be teen stuff especially if she has a lot on a school. DS is 16 (year 11) and is exhausted but its because he's just been on a school residential trip and has been doing controlled assessments every lunchtime and after school every day. He can't wait for half term. If there is no particular reason though she does sound particularly tired and I would make a trip to the doctors.

Sounds very like dd1 (14). She's also quite slim and gets dizzy spells, especially when getting up after sitting or lying down. We've got her on extra iron and vitamin D, in the hope that it's a deficiency of one of those (well, we don't hope that's the case, but at least the problem would be easy to solve that way IYSWIM) - but it takes a while for enough to build up in the blood to take a real effect.

If iron (Floradix?) and vit D don't help, then you'd need to get her checked out for possible glandular fever. If you have the kind of surgery that takes weeks to get a routine appointment, then make the appt now and go on the vits anyway.

Well, I got in from work this evening to find that DD(17) was sound asleep on the sofa.

My DD gets the dizzy spells - in her it is low blood pressure - DH has high blood pressure so we have a monitor and DD checked hers.

It is a busy time at school. Lots of work building up to exams. Make sure that late evenings are kept to a minimum. Also do make sure that going to bed means going to sleep not texting etc. I have noticed that sometimes DD will be getting texts late into the night.

Thanks all - I'll have a look at iron/vit d. I know her diet isn't great. She's just not very interested in food - but will manage pizza and ice cream if on offer! Always has room in her 'pudding tummy'. So I'm not suspecting eating disorder.

I think she's asleep in good time, especially lately, and not tired in the mornings. Exam stress is probably a factor (though she seems worrying laid back about them to me!) - also new boyfriend (old friend, but new as a partner) may be churning up her mind still further. God, I hope not pregnant! AFAIK she still regards sex as an unnecessary and slightly distasteful obsession of the girls she calls 'plastics', so I don't think that's an option.

Get all the blood work done - it could be something like anaemia or hypothyroidism. If all the results are normal but your DD continues to have problems, push for a referral. If she is physically exhausted it could be CFS; if she's not physically fatigued but sleepy (important difference) it could be a sleep disorder which needs to be diagnosed and treated by a specialist. I have idiopathic hypersomnia which makes me very sleepy and has only just been properly diagnosed and treated after 7 years. It often begins in adolescence, as it did in my case. It is rare, but I wanted to flag up the possibility.

She's got half term now, so will monitor over the next week. She's lovely in the mornings, but gets ratty with me when she's tired - actually she was the same as a baby. As soon as she got crabby, I knew to start singing and she'd go off to sleep!