Fatigue/ Tiredness

Phew-felt exhausted reading these posts. Was watching Jayne Eyre recorded on telly at the same time and guess what. . . . Nodded off. That is after a morning with elder DD and 2 DGC aged 6 and 7 on their bikes at flooded nearby Shugborough Hall (NT). Didn't walk a huge distance but what with picking up bikes, helmets, sorting them out, nearly slipping in mud a few times. Anyway will have a cup of tea now and an hour in the garden.
I was v tired for YEARS blamed it all on busy life, turned out I had an under active thyroid so now on Levothyroxine daily. I have an annual blood test for that and get them to test everything else they reasonably can-I've said think of it as my MOT!
I must say I find GPs useless-you feel as if you have to do do-it-yourself doctoring these days, no initiative shown, no reasonable suspicion, no referrals. I'm coming to dread the thought of true old age.

And what about the poor women caught in the delayed pension trap? I'm only 67 but am so glad I'm in receipt of my pension so I can plan my days and if I need a nap I have one. I know several women who have to soldier on til they get their pension and they're tired out and they don't do particularly physically tiring jobs either! Shame on us allowing this to happen to our sisters, do all you can to support them to get the pension they have paid their contributions for.
I'll get down off my soap box now. . . If someone will just give me a hand that is

I have been feeling excessivelyy tired and put it down to be very overweight. This latest time change has really put me out of sorts and I have never even noticed it before. So I have read this thread with interest and will certainly see my doctor. Even a two hour flight and the associated long walks around the terminals to the departure gates leaves me exhausted the day after. Is it just getting older? I am 72 now and yet at 70 and the same weight I had loads more energy . When I hear of all the lovely grans on here looking after dgcs on a daily basis I am full of admiration because I know I couldn't do it. I lost my beloved Mum 17months ago and am finely free to travel wherever I want but this tiredness is making me think twice if I am exhausted with just a two hour flight.

Daisyboots, have you had your thyroid tested? My underactive thyroid was diagnosed after I'd had a very narrow escape, almost dozing off on the M6. I then had 40 winks in the service area car park and had to have two more naps on the way to Scotland. That was about 20 years ago and I'm currently on 100mcg of levothyroxine per day. I'm also reliably informed that excessive tiredness can be a symptom of type 2 Diabetes for which I was also tested.

I am 65 and waiting for knee replacements, I have had rheumatoid arthritis for about 20 years, but always managed to keep up with work and household chores, until I retired at 61. Last year my husband was very ill and died in October. Now, although I am aware that the stress and anxiety of the last year, added to the pain of my bloody knees, accounts for the weariness that envelopes me, I fear that if I don't push myself I will just become more tired, as it seems the less I do the wearier I become. I think after seeing all your posts I will ask about Vit D. and thyroid tests, I have blood tests monthly because of the medication Itake for arthritis, but I'm not sure they test for that.

I feel tired most of the time. I had vile virus recently and a lot of rest. I felt less tired for one morning after this. Am 68.

I will be 70 this year but lead a very active life most of the time. I am chair of my U3A, run several interest groups and bowl regularly. On those days when I am occupied morning and afternoon I keep going all day but if I am in during the afternoon and sit down then I nearly always fall asleep. I am not a good sleeper at night, I go to bed at about 12.30 read for 30 minutes and wake at about 8.00 so don't fret about a nap if I'm in during the afternoon.

I have "enjoyed" an afternoon nap for YEARS! It usually coincides with Escape to the Country and I "come to" not knowing which, if any , house they have chosen

I once dropped off while an A-level class was doing a piece of writing for me. It was late afternoon and I just felt my eyelids closing. I was in my early 40s. When doing my post-grad education course I was in a tutorial when the Prof had a little nap. We all sat in respectful silence until he woke up and said, 'Where were we?'

I think it's called 'power napping' nowadays.

I have just seen this and was writing inappropriately I suppose in a different thread because I feel my tiredness may be a factor in ongoing marriage problems. I'm 62, I used to be always fit and sporting. I would run and cycle and go to the gym. About 5 years ago I started getting infections, cold symptoms after each visit. I stopped going because I thought the gym was maybe an infectious place. I have knee problems so I can't run anymore and last year I took up swimming but after a month or so I developed allergic rhinitis, from the chlorine I suppose, and now a swim will result in days of a runny nose. I also now sneeze all the time regardless and I think I have become allergic to the cat and possibly house dust.
The GP has done all the tests she can think of, including for allergies, and when I last saw her said it was ageing and I just had to learn to slow down. It's depressing. I certainly have no trouble falling into bed at 10, sleeping till 8 and sometimes napping in the day too. I do go through patches of waking regularly at 3 a.m. which certainly doesn't help. I wish I could find an answer to my health problems and constant fatigue and I do sympathise with the OP.

I really think everyone should have a regular thyroid test. My hyperthyroidism was discovered when both the doctor and I thought I had a totally different problem and he sent the tests off "just in case" but said he didn't expect to find anything. A low thyroid can affect so many things. Someone described it too me as the oil in the engine - and you can imagine what will happen to the different parts of the engine if there was no oil. This can mean that other organs are affected. One of the first things I noticed - other than energy - was a bit of a loss in weight, a general improvement in digestion and the "puffiness" most noticeable in my face has generally disappeared.

At the time - pre Levothyroxine - I was a little depressed and quite anxious - so much so that the doctor was suggesting cbt. As my mother has Alzheimer's and I am her carer, he shared with me the fact that there is a higher level of depression among dementia carers - that seems to make perfect sense but in fact the underlying anxiety has gone. I don't mean I never get anxious but that is very different.

Do, do please get this checked out. We are still trying to get to the right dose for me and I don't expect to feel like a teenager again but the improvements are so worth while. One of the best is that my eyebrows have thicken back to normal - they were getting very thin. Strange but true ... and I am less exhausted most days.

I believe it is how fit we keep ourselves, as my brother, who was once in the army and is now in his 70s, plays tennis nearly every day, if they are not off on holday. As well as being great with my ancient ma of 98 yrs of age.

I'm not sure about that Cath9. I try to keep "fit" but just at the moment feel anything but. I've had 7 weeks of a virus and can hardly function. Woke at 11 today, then had an afternoon sleep. Of course this is down to the virus, but it feels awful. I have never known lethargy like it. I can just about cook the dinner and anything else is an effort but I do try to keep going, and keep,thinking tomorrow will be better. As a rule,though, I do keep active. I do fitness classes - mainly Aqua and Pilates - and I go out on walks with a field club. I love to be involved in activities and dread the time when I can't do these things. The current level of tiredness is truly horrible but I also think that with advancing years we do slow down and this isnt a bad thing. We have to learn to pace ourselves and just accept that we are no longer as we once were.

I too have had this virus second time this year and just want to sit and do nothing I am getting really fed up feeling like this has it got a name and is it worth going to GP. I am like most people on this thread getting older so not as energetic as I once was , I do find if I have got to get my a---e in gear I seem to get more done , and can take all do to do something if I have all day to do it Also agree to get thyroid checked I also have to take levothroxine and have also started taking vitamin D supplement

Obviously keeping fit helps in normal circumstances Cath9 but if you are experiencing extreme fatigue being told you should be doing more may not only be unhelpful but may also be counterproductive health-wise.

The reason so many have suggested a thyroid test is because women are more likely than men to have thyroid diseases, especially right after pregnancy and after the menopause.

If you are suffering from this you may well have got to the stage where you are assessing how much energy you have when you wake up and how best to use it - I promise you a quick trip to the gym will be pretty low on your list.

I believe it is how fit we keep ourselves,
Not necessarily; I would recommend anyone who feels tired for longer than a month or so to get a blood test. It could be nothing or something more serious.

Tiredness cometh with age. The afternoon nap is an emperor meant to be obeyed!

Grace one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is losing the outer third of the eyebrow. Mine have started to grow for the first time since I can remember but I am still not confident my dosage is right. I take 100 mcg every day plus 25 mcg 4 days a week yet several I know who still have some sort of thyroid function are on higher doses. When I asked GP about the tiredness having some other cause he felt sure it was the lack of thyroid hormone and said that the body regulates it naturally but because mine is added manually it doesn't cope with the ups and downs. Not much comfort but he has done tests for other things and I get the results next week.

Wow! morethan2 I think your'e amazing working and taking care of your grandchildren. I too am 63 but retired at the moment helping take care of younger sister who has had knee replacement surgery. It is tiring but but I am loving it,I no idea how lazy I had become especially over the wintertime.

I'm only 58, but feel exactly the same. I don't sleep very well any more and I work 2 days a week - the rest of the time I'm DH's carer, and will be looking after our new grandson once a week when DD returns to work, but I do get very sleepy at about 4pm... In fact I've been known to "power-nap" for about 20-30 minutes!

I take multi-vitamins + minerals and a Vitamin C booster every day and am pretty active as we also have 2 lively rescue dogs. I can only put it down to getting older.

My biggest bugbear is that when I pull a muscle or similar, it takes so much longer to recover these days!!

I find so many things about hypothyroidism very strange Nonnie - very much what you didn't know you didn't know in my case. My GP is still trying to get to the right dose for me. I also have peripheral neuropathy which, as in my case it is caused by the low thyroid, I hope will be cured by the right dose but it may need B12 meanwhile. Both B12 and Vitamin D seem to play a large part and I would really like to know more about them and more about what I can do to help myself but am finding it hard to find the information.

I feel very lucky that my doctor specialised in endocrinology but I do wonder who else is involved at the surgery. When I went back last time I had not been recalled because my bloods had been marked as OK. She muttered that she must have a word with them again as there is a spectrum that needs to be looked at not just a number - no sure what it meant but I had gone back because I was needing (on the "no choice" side of needing ) naps again and a nurse friend of mine told me to go. I would probably just have coped otherwise.

My worry is that many do cope and I wonder what it is doing to their internal organs. As well as the eyebrows - a plus indeed - my digestion and my skin have both improved. Also the puffiness going must be something to do with either my kidneys or liver working better. The skin problems must have been costing the NHS quite a bit in creams, etc., and heaven know what would have happened as I got older. We seem to run behind the curve so much of the time.

I will be 93 next month. It is only the past couple of years that I have felt tired. My knees started to get arthritic when I was 75 and I had bowel cancer when 80 but I still did all the decorating and gardening etc. until ten years ago. To feel tired in ones 60's there must be something wrong.

I am 70years old and never seem to have enough energy.

I can't do mammoth shopping trips anymore. A couple of hours and that's it, I have to sit down.

I have had thyroid and other blood tests done which all came back clear.
The only health problem that I have and know about is Scoliosis.
My back just doesn't seem to support me any more.

Can't hold seven month old grandson for too long, so have to plonk him down whenever I feel weak. It's a ruddy nuisance, but nothing I can do about it really.
There is no cure.

Also I am a poor sleeper, so that is probably a factor.

My DH and I retired about 3 years ago and now look after our lovely GD from Tuesday to Friday - four full days from 8am until 5pm. We love having her, she is now just over 2 and is on the go all day. We are both exteachers and have loads of activities for her to do every day. She is very bright for her age and her speech is amazing. However, we do find it that tiring and by Friday night we are both shattered. I give DH a break by taking GD out to various activities or just for a sleep drive. He gives me a break by taking her out in the garden. No one without GC can appreciate how tiring they can be but we love her so much it's a small price to pay.

Bijou I agree with you there must be something wrong to feel so tired so young. I will be 90 in June and have had two knee replacements when I was 75 what a relief to lose the pain. Have diabetes 2, heart failure, cervical spondulosis and arthritis and underactive thyroid but I don't feel so tired as many of the younger people have reported on here. I still do quite a lot but must admit that when I begin to feel tired I just sit down, put my feet up and rest for a half hour before starting again. I spend quite a lot of time reading letters on gransnet, Hm just had to go and chase the crows off my bird nuts. They are becoming a problem now they are all nesting as are the seagulls. And I can find a lot to laugh at on You Tube. I consider myself to be very fortunate at my age, wish I could help more people.