Tired all the time. My heart rate feels like it’s up at resting, but when I go to get a check up, there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with me.
…anybody else experience these things? It’s been an on-going problem with me for yonks. So much so, my friends have commented on it.
The doc has no idea, but perhaps somebody out there has a suggestion?
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO. Title edited to indicate subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Smoke less pot and go outside for some fresh air and exercise…?
All sorts of possibilities.
Either there’s nothing medically wrong with you, or there is something medically wrong with you that your doctor failed to catch.
If it’s the former, it could be that you’re not getting enough sleep, or you’re not getting enough exercise, or you should improve your diet, or you’re dehydrated, or you have psychological issues that are making you not want to engage with life.
If it’s the latter, there are all sorts of things it could be.
How long are yonks?
Are you overweight? Might you have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes? Not enough information here to even speculate. How old are you? Male or female? Been bitten by a tick that you can remember?
Nope. Not overweight, or rather, I don’t think I am - 9st and 5’6.
I play squash every so often. I eat my five a day - more or less. I tend to walk most places, and avoid TV.
Yonks = about ten years. Obviously. 
I’ve had blood tests which show an ever so slight iron deficiency, but I I’ve tried to remedy that. Actually, liver is offally good. hoho. And we’re always eating tinned toms, kale, etc.
It’s been suggested I’m depressed, but I don’t think that’s really the issue. I’ve tried antidepressants, but they don’t do anything for me.
I’ve cut down on coffee, instead drinking fruit juice. I don’t drink much alcohol.
It just hits me. BOOM. I have quite honestly contemplated just going to sleep on the pavement before.
I’m female. I’m 27. No ticks, as far as I know.
It just comes in waves. I can go from active to totally conked out. It’s a real pain in the butt
Has your thyroid hormone been tested?
Since you had blood tests I assume that your doctor checked for thyroid problems, if not ask him/her.
Missed it by that much.
Are you physically tired, or just sleepy?
If you are just sleepy a lot, then perhaps a sleep study would be in order. It would be pretty unusual (I think) for someone your age and size, but perhaps you are suffering the effects of sleep apnea.
When I had undiagnosed sleep apnea, I didn’t really realize I wasn’t sleeping at night. However, I would drop off almost without warning at odd times during the day (it didn’t help that I had a desk job). Treatment (using a CPAP machine to sleep is one treatment) made a world of difference and I would say my energy level is now at least normal or better for someone my age.
Roddy
Thank you! I’ll look into all the above. I really do appreciate the suggestions, because it’s so frustrating being this tired. It’s not exactly sleepy, and not quite like proper physical exhaustion, I just feel like all the energy has left my body. The best way to describe it is a sense of heaviness.
I think I must go back to the docs. I might be making light of the situation, because when I go in to see them, I usually always play it down a bit in my rush to get out of the doctors surgery.
Thanks for the tips.
A sleep test would also detect narcolepsy (you would actually need two tests done). I get tired a lot too and both my mom and grandma have narcolepsy. Unfortunately my primary care doctor thinks I can’t have it because I’m too physically healthy. So if you think your doctor’s not taking you seriously or thinks it’s all in your head either push the issue or get a second opinion. In my case my doctor referred me to a psychiatrist. I’m going to bring up that narcolepsy runs in my family to the psychiatrist and will see if he or she refers me to someone else.
I third (fourth?) the thyroid tests, and you should get your Vitamin D and B12 checked too.
Not just vit D but calcium also - when I was hypercalcemic and had no vit D in my system, it was caused by 2 of my parathyroid glands going bad and I had absolutely no energy, and was subsisting on 6 to 8 red bulls a day to stay awake at my job. [I was slamming down vit D and it wasn’t really sticking, my body was going through it like nobodies business.] Actually three days after they removed the bad parathyroids, it was amazing, all of a sudden I actually was awake and didn’t need any help to stay awake. It took about a month for my calcium/magnesium metabolism to level out [but I still need to supplement D even with spending 10 to 15 minutes a day in direct sunlight to maintain a decent level.]
Sounds like you’re British so the sleep study would probably be covered by NHS but if not, a relatively inexpensive way to track actual numbers for yourself is one of the new fitness tracker bands. They run around $100 and you want one that tracks not only activity but sleep. I’m fond of the Withings Pulse, it not only tells me when I’m sleeping but when I’m in a lighter sleep cycle and when I’m getting deep sleep.
Less technical solution - make sure your sleeping area is dark. Little bits of light are starting to show up in studies as having a greater impact on our sleep than previously believed. Blackout curtains, towel over bright alarm clocks, less screen time right before bed have all helped me improve my sleep.
Weird. What in the world does being physically fit have to do with having narcolepsy? My dad, who has narcolepsy, is probably in the best shape of my immediate family.
For a precursory sleep screening, you can go much cheaper than that if you have a smartphone. There are sleep tracking apps for both iPhone and Android that will monitor your sleep the same way those fitness tracker bands do–they’re all based on movement. And the accelerometer in your smart phone is probably as good or better than the one in the specialized devices.
The Android app is free for the first couple of weeks, while the iPhone one claims to be free (though it might try to upsell you in-app: I haven’t tried it.)
(assuming male) - Check the Testosterone levels as well.
sounds exactly like what I was experiencing with low-T…