Do you feel good?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This is not intended to be whiny, just something that’s been on my mind lately…
I almost never feel good. I’m not legitimately ill, as far as I know. But I either have a vague headache/sinus pressure, or my joints feel kinda achey, or I’ve got this general, all encompassing feeling of being TIRED. This is probably 5 days / week.

I’m currently trying to cut out most of the sugar in my diet, thinking maybe that was a contributing factor. So far (roughly 2 weeks in), I still feel exactly the same. It’s not lack of exercise; I go to the gym 3x/week and go for a run 2x/week. In general, I just don’t feel good.

Maybe this is what mild depression feels like? I gotta say, it kind of sucks.

2

Have you a history of sinus infections? My husband does, and whenever one’s coming on, he starts to feel tired and listless and generally icky.

3

Just off the top of my head - I know that exercise is good for curing the blues. Are you sure you’re getting enough rest between workouts? How hard are you working out? Are you sleeping well at night and getting 8 hours?
Do you have allergies? Have you seen a doctor lately? If you go, mention it to him. It could be anemia, are you eating enough red meat and/or green vegetables?

4

this is an interesting thought… i have had sinus infections in the past. i’ll ask my doc about it. thanks!

5

My sleep is pretty poor, so I’m sure that’s a contributing factor, but I don’t know what to do about it. I tend to toss and turn quite a bit and frequently wake up early (430am today, woo hoo)

I had a sleep apnea test a few years ago and it came back normal. -shrug-

6

Have you had your thyroid checked? Achy joints and tiredness can both be caused by hypothyroidism. (You might also feel cold, or get constipation…there’s a huge list of potential symptoms, though you might not feel all of them. See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothyroidism/DS00353/DSECTION=symptoms.) Getting a simple thyroid test is well worth it to see if that’s the cause of the problem.

My other thought is whether you practice good “sleep hygiene.” Do you stop watching TV and eating food at least an hour or two before bed? Is it dark and quiet enough where you sleep? (Or if you can’t make it quiet, do you use a white noise machine?) Do you have a good mattress and pillow?

Since you say you’re waking up at 4:30am even though you’re tired, I wonder if you’re waking up because of your dreams? One way of going back to sleep is to hold on to the dream or the sleepy feeling with all your might rather than letting your brain start thinking about things you have to do that day. (I do this far too well and actually have a really hard time getting up in the morning…)

7

Heh. My dreams are usually quite scary - when I wake up, I make a real effort not to hang on to them.

8

Maybe you should try to remember them? My dreams aren’t usually scary (though they’re not that great either), but I find that they affect my day unless I think about them a little. There’s only one scary dream that I’ve ever had that still scares me, but only because I don’t know what it means. When I can understand where a dream comes from, or what it corresponds to in real life (and it’s usually pretty obvious), it loses some of its power to frighten me.

Anyway, if you wake up from a downright scary dream that you don’t want to remember, then forget the dream and just hang on to that fuzzy, sleepy feeling. It really does work, but you need to be persistent about not letting your mind start thinking fully conscious thoughts.

9

Waking up too early and being unable to go back to sleep is a form of insomnia, I believe. Mindful meditation can be really effective for that (being able to turn your mind back off and finish sleeping). It’s also really good for learning how to relax (something a lot of people need to learn).

10

I would go see your doctor. You have many symptoms which could be many things. They will probably run some tests. I hope you feel better…

11

I am on the mend. I have been fighting fatigue for many years, but now seem to be getting better.

Good luck!

12

I can’t seem to help myself; whenever a topic like this comes up, I have to pop in and mention melatonin:

Available OTC. (like, at your local drugstore)
A naturally-occurring substance. **
Non-habit-forming.
Has other health benefits.

**it is made nightly by your pineal gland, but ONLY if you sleep in the dark, and long enough. It is responsible for a normal sleep cycle & healthy appetite. Once it becomes depleted, you’re in a viscious circle. You will want to give yourself a little extra sleep time when you take it, though.

13

Oh, that reminds me about serotonin, too, a neurochemical strongly linked to feeling good - it’s part of your sleep cycle, too, along with melatonin. Sleep hygiene is very important for proper sleep - a dark, quiet, comfortable room, not doing stimulating things in the evening, not taking a hot shower or exercising right before bed (a warm shower or bath is relaxing, though), turning your lights down throughout the evening to get your body gearing down, not watching tv in bed, etc.

14

I feel that way every Spring. I think it’s allergies for me. I have a slight headache and shorter temper. My body aches just a little, just enough to make me feel lazy.

When you say you cut sugar do you mean carbs or just sugar? I had amazing bursts of energy when I stuck to a low carb diet. Not like Atkins “induction” low, just about 40 grams a day.

If your sleep is poor, maybe it’s sleep apnea? Yeah, you need to talk to your doctor. Best of luck!