Can anyone relate or give suggestions for a mom who is tired all the time?

[Jennefer@SSA]

Here’s the situation: I am trying to decide whether to seek some medical attention for this but I have no idea what, if anything, can even be done. I want to know if what I am experiencing is “par for the course” or unusual.

I am tired all the time. I exercise (cardio) 3-5 days a week for at least 45 minutes. I eat very healthy a majority of the time. I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. All this and yet every afternoon without fail I fall asleep when I sit down on the couch to read with ds6. And I am not talking just a little sleepy; it’s like first trimester pregnancy – gotta sleep or I’m going to die – exhaustion (and no I am not pregnant :) ). By the time I fall into bed at 9:00 at night I am so tired I can’t even think straight.

I realize that I am in a very busy season of life with 3 kiddos, one of whom is a very high maintenance baby and another very high maintenance ADHDer. Throw homeschool into the equation and it’s crazy busy around here. Still I wonder why I am so tired. It doesn’t seem “normal” (whatever that is!).

I have thought about hormones changing as I am getting older (My mom went through perimenopause at 40) causing this. Or could I be depressed and not realize it? I have decided that this month I am making a point to get a full 8 hours of sleep every night, drink 8 glasses of water, eat even better (and not skip breakfast), and take vitamins and fish oil. If after a month I don’t see improvement I am going to an md who also specializes in natural cures. Still I just wondered if I am alone in this or are others experiencing this too. For some reason I feel like it will help me to know if this is just normal and I need to suck it up. Lol!

Is this anyone else's experience or does anyone have any natural remedies that may help?

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

[Ferdie]

It could be your thyroid. The doctor can do a simple blood test to determine if your thyroid is working correctly.

I went to the doctor several years ago with the same symptoms. I was so tired in the afternoon it was scary, almost like I was drugged sometimes. We had adopted two foster children a few years earlier so I figured it was the accumulation of stress and adjusting to a new life style. But my doctor knew right away that it was my thyroid. I guess it is pretty common among women in their early 40's.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can for your health, so I would go have this checked out.

[LlamaMama]

No, I don't think it is normal to feel that tired. I recommend going to see the doctor. I am currently taking 4000 IUs of Vitamin D and an iron supplement at the recommendation of my doctor. The blood test you take will help reveal any deficiencies. Even though I had already been taking vitamins, it was not at the dosages that I really needed to combat my very low levels. I hope you get answers about your tiredness soon and get on the road to mending! :)

[dragons in the flower bed]

By the time I fall into bed at 9:00 at night I am so tired I can’t even think straight. . . Is this anyone else's experience or does anyone have any natural remedies that may help?


This has been my experience for a couple of years, now. We still don't know what is causing it. I finally gave in to desperation this past six months and started taking caffeine pills.

I don't believe that you can be depressed and not realize it, but if it keeps on this way, you will become depressed. The longer this drop-dead exhaustion goes on, the harder it is to keep up with everything. Things start dropping, one by one, and one day you wake up, if you can call dragging your half asleep self out of bed "waking up," and realize you're too tired to catch up.

Go see a doctor. Don't wait. There are a myriad of medical conditions this could be and not many of them will go away by themselves.

[Pongo]

I am very active, and I eat pretty healthy. I was experiencing more than normal exhaustion. After a run I would feel like I needed a nap and that s unusual for me.
I went to my OB/GYN and I found out that I was anemic. Sometimes as we get older(I hate to say that) our bodies take longer to "recover" from our cycle (loss of blood). All I needed was to start taking Iron pills. I can tell you that the regular cheaper ones gave me horrible stomach cramps. I found SLOW FE a timed release Iron pill.

I feel like myself and I actually have more energy which I think is because it was a gradual thing and I only recently started to notice.

I take 2 SLOW-FE a day (morning & night)
1200 mg of Fish Oil
1 daily vitamin with Chondroitin (for joints) I feel great!!!!

[HollyDay]

I do most certainly feel for you. I have been there too. I would urge you to get a check up complete with blood work. If possible, find a dr who will do saliva testing as well as blood work.

My issue had no easy answers as nothing was "that" bad so there was no medication to start. I did work with a nutritionist and started a vitamin/supplement program designed to combat adrenal fatigue. I encourage you to keep at it until you feel better. By the way, the odd thing, once I reduced the working out, I felt better. The nutritionist said I was actually taxing my body's reserves by doing too much, too often. Just a thought

[angela in ohio]

I was feeling the same way last year. My dr. ran a series of tests, just to rule anything out. Everything came back fine, and she diagnosed me as a "busy mom." :D I would definitely have some tests run, though, for blood sugar, thyroid, etc.

[8FillTheHeart]

I get this way a lot, usually when I am under a lot of stress. I am also hypothyroid, but my meds don't seem to help that much. I also had a a bunch of other hormonal tests done and my cortisol was peaking at the wrong time of the day so my dr gave me something to help change my cortisol cycle.

I would go and get a good blood work-up. You need to make sure there is nothing physical going on.

Ultimately for me, it still boils down to stress. I am sleepiest when I have the least control on my life. I have to figure out ways to deal with the stress.

[Claire]

I would try Enada (Nadh) for a week to see if that helps. It is a B-vitamin coenzyme. If your body is lacking in it, you should notice a significant improvement within 3 days or so. There could certainly be other things going on too, but if Enada helps you will know that you are probably low on B-vitamin utilization.

[SnowWhite]

For me, the thyroid medication makes all the difference in the world. If I start to feel tired, I can be sure my dose needs adjusting or I'm not remembering to take my pill regularly, or I'm eating too soon after taking it.

[Diana in OR]

I went to my OB/GYN and I found out that I was anemic. Sometimes as we get older(I hate to say that) our bodies take longer to "recover" from our cycle (loss of blood). All I needed was to start taking Iron pills. I can tell you that the regular cheaper ones gave me horrible stomach cramps. I found SLOW FE a timed release Iron pill.

Anemic was my first thought as well. It's not always easy to turn around. I have also discovered the Slow FE and it's easy on the stomach (although I really need a stronger supplement that you have to get from the pharmacist).

Be aware, however, if you are anemic, it can take months to get your levels back to normal.

[Sue G in PA]

Have your dr. do a full thyroid panel. After I had my 4th child, I was feeling tired like you are describing. It wasn't just sleepy. It was a debilitating lethargy that HURT. My limbs felt like lead, my brain was fuzzy, I couldn't think straight, I could sleep for 10 hours at night and wake up feeling exhausted. Depression can also be a symptom of Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism slows down all your body systems, metabolism, etc. I was depressed for quite some time and once my thyroid meds were "right", the depression lifted substantially. BTW, when I had my thyroid checked, my dr. almost choked...he said that my thyroid TSH was so low I should have been dead. Scary. He couldn't understand HOW I was walking around and functioning at all. Go have it checked. If it's not thyroid, you'll at least have that ruled out. Oh, hypothyroid can also have symptoms like dry skin, blurred vision, fuzzy--headedness, memory difficulties, dizziness, etc.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Some things to test would be thyroid, adrenals, celiac disease and food allergies. I have been going through this for sometime and just found out that I have celiac that has caused me to develop allergies to eggs, soy, dairy and wheat (gluten). I am not sure if I can survive the diet, but hopefully I will be feeling better soon. You could also try an elimination diet, especially since your fatigue seems to happen at the same time each day. Good luck!

[Marsha]

you wake real sluggish and get better real late in the evening.

Here is a ton of info....

http://www.drrind.com/tempgraph.asp#intro

I have had the exact same problem. We eat healthy.
I take vitamins, but ordered a lot more.

[Jennefer@SSA]

We recently started on a GFCF diet for my oldest son who is severely ADHD. In my research I have come across some great blogs from other celiacs.

Here is my favorite:

Gluten Free Mommy (http://glutenfreemommy.com/) (Try Natalie's Millet Oatmeal bread. It is truly the very best gf bread out there!!!!)

On her side bar she lists several other celiac blogs as well!

Also if you need recipes feel free to PM me and I can send you all the ones I've tried and liked. I've got them all typed out on word documents. We are also dairy (casein) free so none of my recipes use any dairy - although I do substitute almond milk often.

Good luck on your journey!

[Herding Cats in NC]

Jennefer, I agree with the others that suggest visiting a dr. Last year I could sleep all night, wake up exhausted and be falling asleep by mid-morning. My primary card dr. checked my thyroid, iron levels, and for inflammation markers. All were normal. She had me do a sleep test to check for apnea - again, normal. She thought maybe depression was causing it, so she put me on an antidepressant. I told her that I didn't feel depressed, but she said it could be a chemical imbalance. Well, the antidepressant kept me awake (after all, it was a stimulant), but I felt disconnected - almost like I imagine I'd feel if I drank way too much coffee. Alert, but still very physically tired. I stopped taking them because they weren't solving the problem, just masking it a bit. Anyway, I had almost given up when one of my sisters told me to see an allergist. Well, I went this past fall and had testing done. I was positive for just about everything. He took one look at me and said that he didn't know how I was doing as well as I was (ha!). He started me on two meds (my primary care dr. had ruled out allergies because simply changing my meds didn't make a difference in my fatigue), and recommended allergy shots, which I started in the fall. I am still tired some days, but it is sooooo much better than last year. And, I have the added bonus of knowing that I'm not losing my mind. At least, not yet. :D Btw - most allergy meds control the main symptoms of allergies for me (sneezing, runny nose), but didn't work on the fatigue. The combo I'm on now seems to help much more, and I'm hopeful the shots will make a difference. All this to say...you know your body. If you feel like your tired out of proportion to what you're doing, then definitely see a dr. and stay with it until you have some relief. Good luck!

[pixelroper]

make sure you didn't have just your TSH tested
also test:
free T4 & free T3
thyroid antibodies- anti-TPO & TgAb
Ferritin- not just RBC
B-12
DHEA
Reverse T3

apparently only testing TSH is unreliable

[Jennefer@SSA]

I have learned to much from all your posts. I appreciate all the ideas/thoughts/suggestions! I feel like I can make a more informed plan now.

[Kris]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet, but "eating healthy" can't be painted with a broad brush. If there are blood sugar issues, the food pyramid is a recipe for disaster.

[Carol in Cal.]

It's scarey to be so dependent, but I take Stuart's pre-natal vitamins, and if I stop, I get like that after about a week.

I have tried other brands because I don't like needing something that I can't be sure I can always get, and this is the only one that seems to work for me. I believe that the iron is more available in this vitamin than in others.

Thyroid is good to check. I have a friend with no thyroid who hunted for a doctor that would prescribe Armor instead of the normal thyroid meds--she found that her body did not convert the normal meds (which are precursors to some extent) as efficiently as was needed to take care of her symptoms.

[strider]

Honestly, iron supplementation changed. my. life.

Some simple blood tests will tell you if you have thyroid or iron issues. Just go ahead and get it done.

Make sure your request both the hemoglobin test AND ferritin test for iron. Hemoglobin is the more common test, but it only tells half the story. Your ferritin levels can be badly depleted before your hemoglobin is officially in the anemic range. This was my problem--my hemoglobin was borderline, whereas my ferritin was REALLY low. Taking iron supplements really, seriously, changed my life.

When I was initially diagnosed, I took 125 mg of iron a day for about eight months. I now take a maintenance dose of 50mg a day. It takes a while for your iron stores to build up.

If you do find you are anemic, I have been very happy with Ferrosequels, which are slow-release and do not upset my stomach.

Another, natural alternative is to take 3T per day of molasses.