Tired all the time

Two things strike me: I used to have this problem (afternoon sleepiness) but I now have a big breakfast, and then a lighter sugar & carb-free lunch (otherwise I nod off - it's caused by an insulin spike after eating sugars/carbs) so, for example, rather than having a sandwich, I'll have a cheese or ham salad, with a big dollop of mayonnaise (the fat keeps you fuller). No biscuits or crackers or bread with it. Keeps me awake all afternoon! (I'm in my 60s). Secondly, I would also say get your thyroid checked. If GP says that your thyroid is normal, I would ask for the score and then seek a second opinion. The scale that the GPs use is low, and also what's normal for one person may not be normal for you - especially if you're only just in the "normal range". (I was told my thyroid was normal but then I saw a private doctor who prescribed thyroid supplement and that really helped - as well as cutting down on sugar & carbs!)

Please don’t leave it. Go to your GP, ask for comprehensive blood tests, including an “iron panel” including ferritin not just haemoglobin. You can feel exhausted if you have too much iron, as well as too little! Check it all out, thyroid, vitamin levels, iron levels. You may “just” be a bit low but good to check all the physical symptoms before assuming that. If a bit low, what may cheer you up?

Hope the Dr will do some comprehensive tests and put your mind at rest. It's wretched when you feel tired all the time, especially when GC want a lively granny to play with.

I find that if I eat too many carbs I get tired, so no sandwich lunches. Most of the time I have lots of energy and can keep going on very little sleep. Not every day, possibly twice a week, I take a multi vitamin with my lunch. I don't eat red meat so have to be sure I get iron in vegetables.

Tiredoldwoman are you going to change your name now?

I had my bloods checked in 2011 and was found to be very low on B12. I started on injections three times a week but now only need them every 12 weeks. One of the symptoms was feeling cold.

I had the blood tests when I first started feeling like this. The doc said they were all very good. So, in my case, it's old age.

Maybe have your doctor check your B12 levels

Food for thought! Thanks everyone.
I do go to carbs rather than fat, from habit I suppose.
I will make an appointment for bloods.
I am vegetarian but have been for so long that maybe I am lazy about making sure I get a properly balanced diet

get GP to do a blood test and check for B12. Mine was so low 2 years ago I had to have injections 3 times a week for quite a few weeks. My symptoms are now returning, so blood test is booked for next week. It feels like exhaustion, not just tired. I have always been a night person, but now i am going to bed at 8.30pm many nights, sleeping most of the night, getting up about 7am but wanting (and sometimes do) to go back to sleep by 10am. I told my GP I feel I need to sleep 24/7

Get yourself checked out for Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid). I went for years feeling the same way as you , along with brain fog and joint pain) and I thought it was just part of getting older. The menopause can play havoc with your metabolism too and if you’ve got hypothyroidism it’s even worse. I’m on levothyroxine and, although I do get tired still, it’s not so bad now. Hope this helps.

I get sleepy even after breakfast! In the afternoon, I just have to close my eyes and I'm off for an hour or so. I'm also 79 at the end of the year, but don't think the doziness is just a matter of age. Last year, I had to take iron pills and think I might be in need of another blood test.

Why not make an appointment with your doctor - ask if you can have a full physical so that you can have your bloodwork done, he can listen to your heart, take your blood pressure etc. Something is going on - even if it’s discovered that you have a low blood count and just need iron tablets. It’s normal to slow down as you get older, but not normal to be constantly so tired. Your body is trying to tell you something - so take notice!

Mine's not so much sleepiness as physical exhaustion. Find it hard to drag myself around sometimes. Is it worth fighting it?

You do need to speak to you Doctor. Ask for a blood test to check if you have any vitamin deficiencies.

I have my radio primed to come on at 6am playing 'His Latest Flame' (Elvis) which never fails to wake me if I'm not already awake.
As I go running with a buddy at 06.15-30, it gives me time for a shot of ☕ and a fast hot? then it's all systems go>>>>>>??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️
Sunday is my 'day off' but I still get up at the same time.
In summer, if I'm at home, I sometimes read or listen to a play on the radio or an audio-book lying on my bed for an hour or so as the room gets all the sun from noon onwards.
My mantra is to sleep when tired, eat when hungry and drink when thirsty.
??????

Gonegirl, mine is also physical exhaustion, like full body crash, but which does make me feel like I could go to sleep right where I'm at like children do when engaged in play then doze off - Had bloodwork done as well, Vitamin D was a little low - Doc suggested it could be sleep apnea, that I can go for a sleep study if I want to - The last time I experienced full body exhaustion like this was in my 30's, I was suffering from a tick borne disease and didn't know it, it took 4 years of going from one doc to the next before diagnosed -

As regards the cold, I always noticed when I was younger that elderly people were wearing more layers, they seemed to increase with age! so maybe that's all it is?

I had a full blood count a few weeks ago for just the same reason. Turns out it showed an underactive thyroid. For some reason I have to wait two months for a repeat blood test before any treatment is offered. Meanwhile I'm nodding off a couple of times a day and can't wait to get to bed in the evening. It's miserable always feeling so fatigued and seems to affect everything I normally do.

Thyroids change, 12 years is a long time.

I was diagnosed at 61 with haemachromatosis or iron overload disorder, wondered why I'd been tired for years. I'd asked previously for my thyroid to be checked and it was ok, but iron overload wasn't really well known, so GPs missed it. It is getting into the news a bit more now, it's not that uncommon. Worth asking about when other tests are proving negative.

Have a check-up obviously, but if you get the annoying response that this is normal at your age, which I suspect is a doctor's way of saying they don't know what is wrong, consider the following:

how warm is your house? Might it be a good idea to have a little more heat on?

You say you sleep reasonably well, but how old is your mattress? A new one might help you to sleep better.

Sorry for suggesting things that cost money!

Blue Belle I agree with you, go with the flow your body is winding down.I am pretty fit, I am 77 and every now and then I become so tired mid afternoon I just have to lie down,but after a nap I am up and about again.
Check with your Doctor if this is a recurring thing Grammaretto.

I have suffered with anaemia all my life. I take an iron tonic and vitamin tablets. Until my mid eighties I had plenty of energy but now at 95 still living alone I am inclined to fall asleep when I sit down at any time of the day.

I only sleep 4/5 hours per night and strangely i bounce out of bed about 5.30.....I have been used to this as always did early starts while working! I’m very active most of day but on ‘slow’ days ( when not seeing to grandkids) I fall asleep about 3-4 in pm. I put it down to boredom. My husband watches 15/16 hours of putrid tv a day and I’m not prepared to join him. Sometimes I just go for walk or bike ride...sometimes go upstairs and watch Richard Dawkins on You Tube...those debates liven me up .

I read an article by an American specialist who said that the so-called normal levels of thyroid activity in this country are actually set very low and that most of us Brits are low in Iodine. He recommended that we should all take an Iodine supplement, so since then I've taken a kelp tablet each day and it's really made a difference. I was dreadfully tired all the time but that's now gone.

chicken I believe this is true. An easy test to see if you need more iodine is to paint a 5 cm square of iodine on the inside of your thigh. It should stay orange for about 2 days, but if it disappears within 24 hours (mine faded within 8), then your body is crying out for iodine.

People who eat a lot of soya are preventing their bodies using the natural thyroxine the thyroid makes. We are always being told that Japanese women eat a lot of soya to deal with menopausal problems and that they have less breast cancer because of soya boosting the hormones, but they have higher rates of thyroid cancer and thyroid problems. Soya is certainly not good if you've already been diagnosed with thyroid problems (I speak from experience! )