I do not know what's wrong with me. I am tired all the time lately! I first realized it when I went to camp with our church youth group. I would get to bed around midnight, then be up around 7:00. I had a long stretch of free time in the afternoons. I would walk back to the dorm intending to read, knit, work on school stuff, etc. Instead, I'd crash. I'd say I was only going to lay down for 30 minutes, set my alarm, and then when it went off, I'd turn it off and sleep for a couple more hours. During that week, I was sleeping about seven hours a night and then another three hours every afternoon.
It hasn't gotten better since I got home. I was okay when I was in Chicago for the 4th of July weekend, but that's because we were pretty much runrunrun the whole time. At home, though, I'll go to be around 2 AM (I'm a night owl by nature) and sleep until close to 11 AM. But then I'm tired again around 5 or 6, but I force myself to stay up until I get my second wind.
On top of it, I'm completely lazy all day. I do NOTHING but watch TV, knit, play on the computer, and sometimes a few loads of laundry or a quick pick-up of the house. It's not like I'm working hard.
I don't think I have low iron or anything. I just went to the doctor a few weeks ago (thought I had gallstones - turned out to be a mild case of gastritis) and he said my bloodwork was fine. My blood pressure was good (110/70). I'm not on any medications that would make me sleepy, like antihistimines.
Perhaps I'm in a mild depression? (Although I have no idea what I would be depressed about!) Thoughts? Helpful hints?
It could be that you are not eating enough, or that you aren't eating the optimum percentages of carbs-fat-proteins for your body. Care to give details of your food plan?
It could be depression. Sleeping, excessively is one of the MAJOR symptoms of depression. Course it sounds like you may have at least one other: lack of interest. If daily activity that you found enjoyable no longer interests you this is another symptom. Look also for changes in appeitie, a change in sexual drive and moodswings are some other majors. I'd recommend you check out the American Pyschology Assoc.'s website for more symptoms and I think they even have a simple self test in there. http://www.apa.org/topics/topicdepress.html if not WebMD is a pretty good resource.
The term "depression" is misleading. You don't have to have bad things happen to you to be depressed. Most the time it can be the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain or a hormone inbalance in the body.
Sounds like your pretty sure its not your iron. None the less a multivitamin may be beneficial if your not currently taking one. If your on BCP's or hormones I'd talk to your doctor and see if they could maybe switch you to a low hormone choice. Otherwise I'd talk to your dr. A mild antidepressent can make a world of difference! If your hesitant on the Rx antidepressents, try St. John's Wart. Its OTC herbal suppliment that's been known to relieve those symptoms.
On a more personal experience note: I no longer take the anti-depressents I was prescribed (I had post-partum depression) since I've been excersising. I had to kick myself in the A#@ to get re-started but I feel a TON better the days I get my activity in. And I seriously thank the pills for this. Who knows how long or if I would've ever felt the motivation to move without them. When I wasn't on them I felt so BLAHHHH 24/7. About a week after I started exercising I noticed I really didn't feel so down and with my dr's approval, quit the anti-depressents.
Hope this helps and hope you feel TONS better soon!
other physical possibilities are viral, like mono, or a thyroid problem too. might want to rule those out...
Yikes, yeah good point! I'd call your dr and talk to them!
Also, after I reread your post... you say you were okay when you were constantly on the move? You could be oversleeping... I mean that sounds obvious I know but if I get too much sleep at night I'm dragging hind end through the next day. And its a compounding problem.
Night owls, I am one myself, often have elevated night time cortisol levels. Do you usually feel more awake and full of energy in the evening? Then likely you do. This elevated cortisol can throw off your circadian rhythm and lead to exhausted adrenals. The best solution is adequate rest, so your body may be trying to tell you something on that front. Try getting to bed by 10 pm for a few nights in a dark, quiet room and see if you feel better. Also, good nutrition and doing something fun to break out of your routine, will all help.
Several supplements are very good for stressed adrenals, including a high quality complete B complex, magnesium which should be balanced with calcium, one part magnesium to two parts calcium, vitamin D3 and Omega 3s.
These strategies often help me when I have been pushing too hard.
Only if Simon Pegg is the baby daddy and it's possible to get knocked up in dreams.
Mentioning that brought up another possibility, though. I turned 42 last month. I wonder if there's a chance I'm perimenopausal and the resulting hormone fluctuation is messing with me?
edited to add: Everyone here provided lots of food for thought! Especially whoever mentioned about the protein. I looked back at my food journal and noticed I've been eating mostly carbs, dairy (lots of yogurt!), and fruits. I did eat scrambled eggs every day for breakfast at church camp (there was nothing else remotely healthy!), but that's still not a whole lot of protein. Luckily, protein is easy to add. I can eat eggs in the morning and add tuna or chicken to a lunchtime salad.
I will also start taking my multivitamins again, just in case there's a B deficiency. (And if I'm deficient in protein, chances are there's a B deficiency as well.)
I wonder if there's a chance I'm perimenopausal and the resulting hormone fluctuation is messing with me?
You took the words right out of my mouth. Fatigue is one of the biggest complaints of women in menopause and perimenopause. It might be time to look into some hormone balancing therapy or some good herbal therapy.
Could it be possibly you have sleep apnea? Do you wake up frequently during the night? Sometimes choking to get your breath?
Definitely don't have sleep apnea. My husband, though, has a horrible case of it. I finally got him to go for a sleep study about six years ago after he yelled at me for jabbing my elbow hard into his ribs one night. I yelled right back that it was because he hadn't taken a breath for almost a minute and he was lucky I was awake to hear it. He wears a Snuffalugapus mask whenever he sleeps, even if he's just napping.
tired all the time
