65 and so tired. Anyone else ?

I'll be 65 in December and for the last year I've been feeling like you. My sleep pattern is awful rarely waking less than 4/5 times a night. I work as a Learning support assistant in a class of 31 4 year olds, starting at 8am and finishing at 3.30. I now choose to do one chore a day when I get home, so I either iron or dust or hoover etc, whereas I could keep going for hours. I retire on Friday so hopefully things will get better then.

Katyj…
After posting I saw your last reply. There’s a little more to the story - you are an only child caring for an elderly mother with health conditions. I suspect you could be suffering from depression and exhaustion. You can get help and SUPPORT for your type of situation. There are others going through the same process (of caring for parent(s). You can share your feelings in a support group. It will lift you up to know you are not alone. Also check for a medical deficiency/solution. God bless. It ain’t easy.

Perhaps since your annual and blood work six months ago, some kind of deficiency may have popped up. At our age things seemingly change/happen overnight. How well I know that!
Plus - older age does respond to our slowing down and relaxing more (we’ve earned it!!) yet staying physically active just to keep our bodies moving and healthy. Having less stress in your life is a reward. You’ll see. Then get involved in hobbies, book clubs, volunteering, gardening more - whatever you love! Even if it means taking an occasional nap.
Cheers!
USA Gundy

Have you had your thyroid checked?

I agree, since having covid I’ve never felt quite like me. It’s getting better but has taken months . HRT has helped massively before that as I was suffering from aching bones and sleepless nights too.

Everyone is different I suppose. My mum forgets how old I am. She’s 91 and wishes she could still go to work, she’s always been very active and now finding it very difficult being her age with mobility problems, and heart disease. She’s had two heart attacks this year.

She’s getting very cross with everyone lonely, bored and never stops moaning. The carers think she has dementia. It’s very hard, I’m an only one, but she still thinks I should be there every day.

As we get older a lot of people do not make B12,my husband has injections of B12 every 6 weeks,before the injection he is exhausted after he is revitalize——also I give him black pudding ! How about visiting a Naturopath they are very in tune to what your body needs.Also you are actually achieving a lot in a day,I really hope you feel better soon,good luck.

I too feel permanently tired. Haven't had covid. Throughout lockdown though I was carer for my beloved husband who had been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. This took its toll. He died in Nov 2020. The grief doesn't help with the tiredness. I take artichoke for gout, Vitamin D and B, Tumeric capsules for (I've forgotten) and various other pills. Pre diabetic. Depressed. Old age doesn't come aline (I'm 74 going on 90) also caring for my 97 year old mother who complains all the time.

I have an auto immune disorder, and one of the main symptoms is overwhelming lethargy. Have you got any underlying problems that could be associated with an AID.? Sometimes my tiredness is so debilitating that I can barely move from the sofa.Hope you get sorted.

My niece told me that being dehydrated makes one feel very tired. Are you drinking enough water?

Bijou

I was 64 when my husband died and two years later came back to the bungalow which had been let for twelve years and I had to completely redecorate and restore the furniture which had been ill used and restore the garden. Never had time to be tired! Then I spent my savings until I was 82 on holidays abroad and at the same time had to give up decorating and gardening.
My niece graduated from university when she was 60 and at sixty five is still teaching. Has two of three grown up sons still at home who don’t help much.
My mother went out to work for the first time at 67 when my father retired because she couldn’t stand being with him all day.
At the age of 99 I still manage with only one hours help a day. I do have arthritis in both knees and have survived cancer twice. The only medication I take is painkillers but I do take vitamins and have a healthy diet.
It is not a question age but a state of mind.

Bijou I'm truly glad that you, and apparently your wider family have excellent genes and admirable life habits. But it's not helpful to state that that's because of a state of mind.

For many, many people it's much more complex than that - e.g., a genuine health condition which causes tiredness amongst other symptoms, or a mental health problem which has been triggered by stress but is nonetheless genuine.

Telling these people that it's just a state of mind is only going to make them feel even worse if they believe you, because then they'll have to carry the burden of guilt that they've not been strong enough to cope - which isn't at all the case.

It's a bit akin to when the old fashioned doctors used to brush off things like endometriosis pain and things like depression as "just women's problems" or "pull yourself together, man!" My own father used to tell me to "pull your socks up" "grow a backbone" etc., until after my first hospitalisation at age 12, when he was given an excellent book about depression (I wish I could remember the title) and realised that it is in fact in some people - I'm one - an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. (It also runs in families.)

If there is not anything medically wrong with you, it is probably natural that you feel tired.
I look after my 96 year old Mum and although it is not difficult as she also has a carer, it tires you out probably more than you think. Many pensioners are looking after older pensioners!
I am quite convinced that all the events such as the pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, etc has probably had a much greater impact on us than we imagined.
PS I find that swimming helps!

I haven't read all of the posts, but note that several have mentioned thyroid problems. Some years ago OH was tired all the time (said he felt 'sluggish') and also was always cold. After half an hour in bed his feet were still like ice. Eventually, after many visits to the doctor, he was diagnosed with underactive thyroid. When this happened, he was prescribed Thyroxin and it solved his problems. It's interesting that although he was under 60 at the time, so not yet eligible for free prescriptions, this prescription meant that his medications were free. I think this shows that this condition is serious. It would be worthwhile for the OP to ask for this test I think.

I’m 78 now and find I’m a lot slower. I only have energy to do household “jobs” in the morning and can’t wait to sit down in the early afternoon and watch telly or snooze! I do have health issues at the moment and all the investigations are making me so anxious. When I was in my 60’s I seemed to do so much more.. I no longer have any desire to go on holiday preferring to remain in my comfort zone. Advancing age taking its toll I suppose.

I've just read page 1 and now I've got to hop it: before I do, in case nobody else has suggested it, please (a) ask your GP if your full blood test would have shown up a Vit. B12 deficiency. That's fairly common and needs regular injections at a surgery. I've known two people with it and the regular injections were a blessing to both.

(b) is it possible that you may be mildly clinically depressed? I'm bi-polar, and one of the first signs that I'm about to fall off the edge of the cliff, as my late DH used to put it, is tiredness.

Not the sleepy type of healthy tiredness after climbing a Monroe (!) but the drag yourself around and can't see any joy in life & even taking a shower needs a lot of prompting and is a gargantuan effort type.

If it's the latter, do ask for help, whether that's drugs - which can have an enormous lifting effect - or "talking therapy" which is 101% more helpful than it sounds, but there's often a looong waiting list.

Wishing you all the best.

A lot of good ideas and advice here, but if none of it helps, you will really need to see your doctor.

I think most of us do have spells of feeling tired now and then, but one that has lasted since May if I understand you correctly seems a bit extreme. To me it sounds as if it could be stress-related.

How stressful is "looking after mum"? Mine could have driven an archangel into hysterics and I was ten years younger than you are now when she died. However much we loved and missed her, we could not honestly say that life without her wasn't a great deal easier.

Quite honestly the news from the UK is so dire, that all of us who don't live there are wondering why the whole nation isn't tired to death (quite literally).

That said, a check-up - if you can get an appointment with your GP might be a good thing. If for no other reason that if you are reassured that there is nothing physically wrong with you, you might start feeling less tired.

I'm 65 on Tuesday and like you felt tired all the time. But I went to the doctors and he suggested a full blood test and it came back I needed vitamin B 12 injections then either injections every now and again or take the tablets which I chose to do as didn't want to keep going to the Dr's.. I try to remember to take the tablets daily not easy when. We have such busy lives. Like you I'm still working and like the majority of women and men have to wait to get my pension at 66. Please God they don't change the rules with the new Prime Minister. Try to make time for yourself easier said then done. Even if you just watch your favourite soap, read a magazine or book or just go for a walk. Also think about going to see your Dr to rule out anything not sinister but as another post has said your thyroid. Take care x

cc

I'm 70 and have found that tiredness has just crept up on me over the past couple of years. I just don't have any stamina.
I eat properly and take A-Z vitamins and minerals, as well as fish oil capsules.
In my case I think it's down to not absorbing nutrients well, I come from a family with a lot of coeliac and other autoimmune problems.
I also seem to need more sleep now, though I don't sleep as well.

Have you tried kefir...

semperfidelis I love your choice of user name.

I was 64 when my husband died and two years later came back to the bungalow which had been let for twelve years and I had to completely redecorate and restore the furniture which had been ill used and restore the garden. Never had time to be tired! Then I spent my savings until I was 82 on holidays abroad and at the same time had to give up decorating and gardening.
My niece graduated from university when she was 60 and at sixty five is still teaching. Has two of three grown up sons still at home who don’t help much.
My mother went out to work for the first time at 67 when my father retired because she couldn’t stand being with him all day.
At the age of 99 I still manage with only one hours help a day. I do have arthritis in both knees and have survived cancer twice. The only medication I take is painkillers but I do take vitamins and have a healthy diet.
It is not a question age but a state of mind.

I would ask your surgery if the full blood test included thyroid levels and vit D. Mine were both very low. I buy vit D tablets over counter now after requiring prescription for strong vit D. I’m also on thyroxine as I have Hashimotos thyroid probs. I don’t feel tired now.

Elusive. Wish someone would sit up and notice the sandwich generation ! Your so right it’s too much trying to keep all the balls in the air. 60 for women used to be the norm I really think 66 is too long .

I too have been feeling very tired. Have you had your blood pressure taken recently? Tiredness can be one of the symptoms.

You’re shifting over into the third age - this is significant especially if you are a sensitive person. There must be huge scope for research into the different ways people are affected by this change, and we’re all different.

For many I know the pleasure is found in not filling time with doing things they’re not really interested in or feel they ought to - stopping trying to run up the down escalator.

Could you have a touch of depression?

I was always exhausted when still working from 60 onwards. I felt 10 years younger once I retired. I think, when we are in our 60s, we cannot go out to work, look after family members, run a house etc. as we did when younger.
Elder care and babysitting or a job - one is enough.