Why Am I So Tired All the Time?

I was experiencing the same exhausted, tired feelling you are describing and my dr. did a blood test and it came back that I have high blood sugar. I cut way back on carbs and the tiredness disappeared. Best of luck to you.

Many good suggestions -- but also, perhaps go to a GNC or similar and get an adrenal supplement. I'm gathering information now on that, and seems to be a root cause of several of my own troubles.

This was a good website for info and more www.womentowomen.com

Good luck:)

First of all - kudos to you for stopping smoking. I am not a smoker, but I do recognize the addiction and its difficulties. I am proud!

Several things come to mind when you talk....

- you don't sound depressed, but there may be another medical issue going on (chronic fatigue syndrome, sleep apnea, etc). I would see a doc and be evaluated.

When I am super tired, here are the things that work for me:

- Running
- Coffee - strong coffee - I often have to drink a cup before I run to get me going....once I get past that first mile I am good to go!
- "Green smoothies" You can google for recipes. I use avocado, spinach, strawberries, bananas and OJ - so yummy, and it helps with regularity and I can tell a huge difference in my alterness/tiredness when I haven't had one in a while
- Vit B complex supplements - I got some at our local health food store that are liquid, you put a dropper full under your tongue once per day. I can honestly tell a tremendous difference in my energy levels when I take this regularly. (contains all the B vitamins).
- Eliminating fried and heavy foods and enriched white products from my diet.
- Drink plenty of water. I notice in the afternoon I am sooo tired - I down a glass or two of water (pref w lemon - healthy!) and I feel energized.

I wish you luck!

The poster that suggested getting your thyroid checked was good advice. Exercise, too. When you get home from work, drink a strong cup of coffee (drink coffee in the morning, too), and then 1 large glass of water, and try dragging yourself to the gym (or go out for a run or a fast walk). If you do this several times a week, hopefully your energy will start to pick up. My only other thought - are you on hormonal birth control? I have no idea if this is true, but could your hormonal birth control be causing you fatigue? I recently got off the pill and am hoping I will be less tired (I am always very tired myself). Also, about the pill - since you have a history of depression, progestin-only birth control is not recommended, so hopefully you are not taking that. This type of hormonal birth control has been shown to worsen depression in those already afflicted.

Get a good physical, have them take your blood, check your thyroid, drink coffee and plenty of water, exercise, stay smoke-free, and eat healthy. Also, could you have mono? Best of luck to you!

Have you had your vitamin D levels checked? One of my twin mommy friends complained of the same problem and I told her to get it checked and that was the problem....Good luck!

Have you had your thryroid checked? That can make you exhausted. My mom always knows when her thyroid med is wrong because she is exhuausted and sounds a lot like you described.

Schedule a visit with your primary care physician. I am currently in the midst of this situation as well. I'm freaking exhausted!

The good: I exercise daily (cardio and strength training), I eat a healthy, balanced diet of clean food, I am properly hydrated, I get at least 7 hours of continuous, uninterrupted sleep nightly, I'm not experiencing symptoms of depression, my thyroid was checked and is fine, my blood iron is fine. I should be firing on all cylinders, right? I'm not...

So...why do I want to fall asleep every day at about 12:30? And, again at 3:30 - when I am driving home? And, when I get home I am so wiped out I take a nap at 6:00ish? To me, it feels like a wall of exhaustion just overcomes me and smacks me down. Of course I teach a class at 12:30 and at times I have a hard time getting the words out to speak to the kids. At 3:30, when I am driving home I know I have fallen asleep on the highway. It is so unbelievably scary! Now, I actually have 3 scheduled stops so I force myself to get out of my car to try and perk up a bit. So...when you say "tired", trust me I know how you feel! It is like you're walking through mud all day long and it just wears you out completely - I bet your limbs feel warm and heavy at times, you yawn a lot, your eyes water and are tired, your muscles just feel like you've done a really hard workout, etc. Sound familiar?

I took my concerns to my physician and I will be doing a sleep study soon (hopefully, darn insurance issues). I don't snore so I don't think it is sleep apnea. I am really hoping it isn't narcolepsy!

Definitely go see your doctor and express your concerns to him/her. Wanting to nap is one thing but when you feel the need to nap constantly it is time to get checked out.

I hope you get some good news or relief because going through this level of exhaustion is, well, exhausting! Best of luck and feel free to PM if you have questions or just need some support or an "oh my gosh I feel the same way!"

I'm now 51 an always exhausted - but when I'm able to excercise I've got MUCH more energy. the more you do, the more energy you have to do more. counterintuitive - but true.

BUT - you should get your thyroid checked. If this loss of energy kind of came out of no where your thyroid could be acting up (or down). You mentioned that you've dealt with depression - it could also be that. You don't have to "feel sad" to be dealing with depression.

So - yes go to your doctor and get a good thorough check up. When the weather is good take your kids and go for walks.

Two things come to mind. Exercise will definitely help tremendously and the other would be to have your thyroid checked and blood sugar levels checked. Continue to not smoke but I believe you are on the right track to getting this taken care of. You may also be dehydrated so drink more water.

Yes have your thyroid checked. It is a simple blood test. Request it at the dr's office just to make sure. If you ask for it then they have to do it. I have hasimoto's and some days I am so tired I can't keep my eyes open and other days I have so much energy I don't know what to do with it.
But find out as soon as you can. And if you do have a thyroid problem don't panic. It will not take from your everyday life. They will put you on meds and you take one tiny pill everyday. Not a big deal. But if you wait and that is your problem then that is a big problem. Do it now just to be safe. Good Luck and hope you feel better soon!

I agree with the other posters. You should make an appointment with your primary care doctor and explain you symptoms.

Extreme fatigue is a sign of anemia. So is weakness, restless leg syndrome.....

I was recently diagnosed with severe iron-deficiency anemia and am now in the process of finding out the source of the problem with my doctor.

Blood work will help answer many questions. It can't hurt.

Good luck.

I too was tired all of the time. I have begun to do the process of elimination thing. I started with my eating habits, I am trying to get in some form of exercise a day even if it is doing the stairs at work. I am confident that one of my issues was me not having a bowel movement on a regular, so I tried pills, apple juice ect and just recently started doing the smoothie thing with spinach in the morning and that has made a big difference. Track your eating habits at Livestrong.com and start there.

Go to the doctor, and if the doctor doesn't take you seriously, get a new one.
Ask friends for recommendations. If any of your friends are nurses, start there- they usually know who the best doctors are :)
It is definately not normal to be that tired. I'm not saying it's anything serious- could be thyroid, low vitamin d, maybe you're anemic or depressed. If you are persistant, you'll find the problem :)

Tell your doctor, he may order some bloodwork to check various levels.

Other than that, try to be sure you are eating healthy, a good multi-vitamin, exercise, and maybe try going to be a bit earlier at night.

go to your doctor. thyroid is definitely a possibility. I was diagnosed with mono at age 30 (thought i was long past that one).

I would go to your dr. and ask for a physical. You could have low iron. Also ask for a sleep study. Its possible that you have some form of sleep apnea. In which case laying in bed all day won't help.

M.

I found that when I started taking the right mix of vitamins I have so much more energy. It took me awhile to figure it out but what a difference it made. Go to www.coliryan.com and on the bottom right hand corner there is something called a nutraphysical. It was created by doctors and scientists and it will tell you based on your diet and life style what it reccommneds for vitamins. It's really cool. That is where I started and then I tweeked from there. I found that iron made a huge difference in how I felt. Check it out.....it's free.

Sounds just like me!! Get checked out for sleep apnea. I have to wear a mask at night, for sleep apnea. Not the sexiest thing, but my tiredness has decreased SO much! Good luck!