Tiredness at 63

My goodness, a lot of you people do a lot of work. I am so tired now. A lot of it is that walking or standing makes my knees ache and that is tiring.
Have spoken to the doctor and had blood tests. She is ringing me on Thursday.
I must say that not walking too much means I am much more comfortable and can sleep.
Am on metformin and that can cause low b12.
Very interesting thread. Will follow with interest.

welbeck meant to say, check every other avenue first, iron deficiency, B12 etc. Although well-meaning, GPs really have no idea about the effects of thyroxine and it is over-prescribed. Consider natural means of enhancing sleep and try to remove triggers such as stress etc.

Walking increases oxygen flow through your body.
That increases your levels of Cortisol, Epinephrine, and Norpineprine.
These hormones help to elevate your energy levels.
But first it has to start in your thinking.

welbeck, 30 years experience makes me think that the accepted 'normal' range for thyroxine levels is deceptive! One person I know turns into the Incredible Hulk with levels on the 'a bit on the high side of normal' and is a lovely person who functions really well on the low side. The dosage of thyroxine given by a GP is also heavy-handed, they really have no idea how minute quantities can make such a difference to all aspects of someone's life.
Beau1958 I think there is an age that you feel older around your sixties, and probably that age varies from person to person, but you suddenly realise you don't have the energy you had. And yet, like others have said if you have an interesting full day you don't lack in energy at all, but boy do you know about it the following day! Do as much as you can, rest if you need to, and accept this is nature's way of telling you to relax and enjoy life more. Before retirement age was purely a financial thing, it was set at 60-65 with good reason.

Grandtante I think your right I am fed up and bored. My OH works and my daughter has moved away with my two beautiful grandsons. I have health problems hence the restrictive diet. I am thinking of taking anti depressants this may help with my tiredness and lack of motivation. It’s a vicious circle I’m too tired to exercise or go for a walk sometimes but maybe I’m depressed.

Welbeck....I believe you are wise.
I too have been on thyroxine since my 20s and I am the same barely any extra weight I try to monitor what I eat because of it probably. But it does make me nervous seeing the comments on this thread as it’s a serious drug that can have long term effects on you you.

i do feel tired though. but don't sleep well, which is partly psychological, got into bad habits. and distraction.
and i don't eat meat, so maybe lacking vitamin b12 ?
i do take a multivitamin tablet, also vit d3 with calcium.
and macusheild, meant to be good for the eyes.

MayBee70

I’m sure I read years ago that your thyroid level can appear normal but the level that they regard as normal may still mean you need thyroxine.

what about the other way; do some people naturally have or function on a lower than usual level.
this is what one GP whom i respected said to me. then she retired. younger GP suggested i take thyroxine, but i have resisted doing so, as i believe my level is borderline.
i believe once you start taking it, it is forever.
and i don't seem to have the usual symptoms: weight gain, well only a little; nor thinning hair, i don't think.

I'm 64 and still working 4 days a week in a demanding job I feel constantly tired up at 6 sleep at 9 I've had blood tests but nothing conclusive however my vitamin D was low so I'm now taking medication in the hope things will improve

I've been tired ever since I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid in my 40s, I take 150 mcg of Thyroxine this has never been a silver bullet in minimising tiredness. Although once the menopause kicked in a decade later that exacerbated the feeling of weariness too. Over the years since being on GN have read many threads on the subject so it does seem this is not uncommon for women of a certain age. Sometimes HRT is the answer. I had problems with it. My doctor also advised me I was deficient in vitamin D, so I make sure that I take that daily. I try and exercise, today I went swimming quite early and that made me feel better. On a personal note, I find carbohydrates, particularly bread makes me feel tired, so I try and limit my intake, which is hard because I love it.

Do have all the necessary tests Op good luck.

I like the term bone weary. I’ve not been able to describe how I feel these days but that sums it up nicely. Especially in my legs.

The trouble with blood test is normal stretches from low normal to high,so you could be border line.My husband has low B12 and we know when he needs his injection as he suddenly feels exhausted,he has to have it every 5 weeks.Maybe try a Naturopath,I have only been a few times but each time they cured my problem which my Doctor didn’t,just a thought,
it is not normal to be so exhausted,plus Covid taught me I was cleaning too much before !Hope you feel better soon,look after yourself.

funnily enough I attended the gp a while back with the same thing,. Wasnt just tired but bone-weary, every joint in my body aching and just felt I could not put one foot in front of another. full barrage of blood tests later but nothing out of the ordinary.
GP suggested I listen to my body and if it wants to stop then stop. Not overly easy at work right enough but stopped pushing myself at home. Cycling nearer the 10 mile mark rather than the 20 I was doing. Do 1 mile on my treadmill instead of 3 etc.

Believe me: when you hit your seventies, things really start to slow down. Unfortunately.

Get your Vitamin D levels checked as well as B12. I had low vitamin D (some people just don't absorb it too well) and a course of high doses of Vit D made a big difference to my fatigue levels.

i was told by people when i was in my 50s,by people who were older, that around late 50s you start to get tired easier,im 65 now and have to pace myself ,ive minor health problems but in good nick.The mind can still be stuck in the past, i let my body take the lead now, if it says no, then time to ease back.

Last year I started falling asleep while sitting in the chair, most unlike me. I have an under active thyroid so put it down to that. However, a blood test showed that I was very low in B vitamins. Ive been on Folic Acid tablets ever since. I stopped for a while and the levels dropped considerably so I am on them permanently.

It’s worth trying what Oofy suggested I think, I’m trying to cut down on sugar at the moment as I had been comfort eating in the lockdowns and put some weight on. Less sugar does seem to equal more energy for me, and I’m a similar age to you.

You could talk to your GP about HRT? If you’re not already on it. Thankfully things have changed, I would strongly advise researching it, lack of hormones can be the cause of endless ailments that we’re told is ‘Normal’ for our age ☹️

Could you be depressed? I have friends who reckon that when they got into their 60s they really hit the decks emotionally. Entering the third age can be a tough time especially when the future becomes shorter. Seeing a Homeopath really helped me, that and freeing myself from the tyranny of housework. Good wishes to you.

I’m sure I read years ago that your thyroid level can appear normal but the level that they regard as normal may still mean you need thyroxine.

I meant it had been playing on her mind, not me of course.

Very true that it helps to come on here and find out that I am not alone in whatever Polnan. I also agree with you about the Pandemic affecting us all subliminally. We’ve had GD visiting for the first time in a couple of years. She’s 30, single and has been lucky enough to stay fit and well since we last saw her, but even so after she’d had her test to make sure she was safe to travel home, she came in to me and specifically said, “ I haven’t got Covid.” As of I had been weighing on her mind that somewhere, somehow she could have contracted it.

Beau, you have consulted your doctor who says there is nothing wrong, but has made no helpful suggestions about getting over your tiredness, as far as I can see.

So either you plague the doctor until she or he comes up with something that helps, or you accept that there is no physical cause for this tiredness.

Which leads me to ask, could there be an emotional cause?

Do you, like me, enjoy housework? It is usually the things we don't like doing that make us tired.

Are you worried about anything? Feeling lonely. Bored? Is there something you feel or know you should be doing that you don't want to do?

The answers to these questions are, of course, not my business, but I would like to suggest that you ask yourself them seriously and answer them - if not at once, after careful thought.

You see, feeling tired is an acceptable reason to shove worries to the back of your mind, and an even better reason for not doing a whole host of other things.

However, my experience has always been that I go on feeling tired until I have confronted the issue that is bothering me and either solved it or started taking steps to solve it.

A lot of people find sleeping from 10.30 to 7.30 normal, so why are you asking about it? Did you use to stay up much later or get up earlier?

I never go to bed at 10.30, so I am not the right person to ask about this, but I have sometimes felt, "Oh, dear, will this day never end, so I can go to bed?" if something has upset me.

So please consider whether you tiredness could be caused by something other than a physical cause.

I hope you manage to defeat the tiredness and enjoy life again, because it sounds to me as if you aren't really enjoying yourself right now.

I'll be 64 in December and still work full time in a classroom of 32 4 year olds. I get up at 6.15am and walk around 2 miles before I start work. I go up to bed around 9.45 and read for around 30 45 mins. Saturday is me time. I go to town for a stroll and a coffee and knit/crochet etc when I get home. Sunday morning I'm busy ironing and making a roast dinner, but when that's cleared away I sit down until bed time. I find this works for me although by Friday morning, I'm very tired.