TAT - aka tired all the time

It sounds like depression. I recently felt like you and also had a blood test which revealed nothing. So the good news is that you are healthy. The next thing is to try to get help for your sadness. As I’m sure you’ll know, there is a lot of help available- much free on the NHS. Do try. You probably have many more years ahead and you need to be able to enjoy them.

Ask for your Vitamin B level to be tested. I have been feeling like you do and I am 'only' 69. It's been awful, frustrating, demoralising and making my mood drop as I've only been able todo a few, feeble tasks a day, before needing to rest. A friend suggested to consider Vit B - so I just went ahead and got Vit B Complex tablets (clean with no fillers or additives) and the difference is huge! I feel a lot better! Good luck, I hope this might be an option for you.

I am not being flippant, but are you drinking enough water? Dehydration is exhausting which in turn can make you feel down.. and then into a spiral..

6 glasses a day....

I had to insist that different blood tests were done, apart from the basic, everyday ones.

It showed up a lot more issues than the usual ones did.

I am three years younger than yourself and at the beginning of the year I started feeling very tired, no energy at all, could not be bothered about anything and went to bed in the afternoon.

I also ate well, salads, drank plenty of water, had plenty of sleep but was always tossing and turning.

One day I was watching You Tube and there was a couple talking about their every day lives and the husband said that he had not been himself for a few months and always felt tired and so had tests but everything was fine. He then said that someone had told him to drink Electrolytes so he bought a tube of electrolyte tablets and has not looked back since and feels great.

I decided to order some from Amazon and when they arrived I added one tablet to a bottle of water, shook it up and drank it and lo and behold, the second day I was back to normal.

I now don't take them every day but just when I feel tired for no reason at all.

If you are on medication check with your GP first.

I have attached a link.

www.verywellfit.com/what-happens-when-you-have-an-electrolyte-imbalance-8421311

Have you family ExDancer? Living nearby? Husband? Are you lonely? Have you lost friends? I got very unhappy when a close friend died.
My blood tests were "normal" when I was TAT but I subsequently found out I was very low in Vit D. A high dose has helped me. Vit B12 and other B vitamins can be low as well and not always tested for in a blood test. Likewise Vit D.

Did you go back to the GP after the blood test? Would you consider taking an anti depressant? Do you get out and about? Only asking to see what you could do to help cheer yourself up out of the glums.
Did you dance? Tell us a bit more about your life if you want to.

I am feeling just the same and like you got, well you are 87, but when the usual bloods came back normal I reiterated just how fatigued I was at times and a few random symptoms and asked for a face to face with a GP.
She listened, asked a few questions and asked for more bloods and a urine test.
Another GP rang me and said I had tested positive for a type of blood cancer, borderline now but will be subject to regular testing.
Next is in about six weeks, it may stay “smouldering “ but may progress.
Don’t be fobbed off if you are concerned.

ExDancer, you mention that you have arthritis which, in itself can make you feel very tired. While you’re working at ruling out any other causes can I suggest you Google the Spoon Theory of fatigue. I found it very helpful and now plan my day carefully and take frequent short rests. That, by itself, has improved my energy levels.

I was fobbed off, too, and there was a physical problem.

Vitamin D, vitamin D and iron tablets? Worth a try.

Sorry, meant vit B and vit D

Dont take iron supplements until you have confirmed with the GP that they checked your iron levels in your blood test.
I was very anaemic 4 years ago but my iron levels were very very high. The reason I was anaemic was that my haemoglobin and red blood cells were very low. Had I taken iron supplements as advised by friends I would have been in danger. Like the GN above I too had a blood cancer which susequently was treated with chemo and I am now in remission.
Please dont be worried, but do see your GP again or at least check your blood test results on line if you are able and if ferritin has not been checked nor vit b12 and vit d levels, then maybe ask for them to be checked. In case you need supplements which may help a great deal.
The world is not a pleasant place at the moment and I am not surprised that many of us feel down. But do seek some help especially if you are on your own.

I find your experience quite shocking Usedtobeblond I hope you've been given some help to feel less worn out and not left alone to 'deal with it'.

On another thread we were talking about just this subject.

My friend spent over 3 months trying to chase up blood test results, convinced that there couldn't be anything too wrong, or someone would have get back to her.

She was eventually told, over the phone, that she has leukaemia.
It is going to be just a "watch and wait" issue, except she is now having extreme anxiety, affecting her really badly.

The blood cancer I have markers for is Myeloma and I have also been put on “watch and wait”
More tests in 6 weeks but I agree it is very unsettling and probably at the back of my mind a lot of the time.
I have only hinted to family and no friends but it is hard to keep to one’s self.

Hard to tell, and harder not to tell, I'd imagine.
They stressed to my friend that a lit of people have no idea they even have a problem, and go about their lives never knowing.

No it’s NOT all that’s left 😊
The tests done at the surgery do not pick up subclinical deficiencies
If you can afford it visit a naturopath
A ‘good’ diet isn’t enough these days
Also do you have a passion in life? Friends? Family?
At least go to your local health food store and see what they recommend
But also please be aware that you may be depressed as has been suggested above
There are several ways to ameliorate this
I would fight shy of meds personally
Good luck
There’s better out there - honestly 🥰

I am 88, and had recent, annual checkup.. changed my high bp medication, that alone causes problems, side effects.. I can`t get a docs. appt, can`t get past the receptionist to get an appt, keep being told ring back at 8 am. in a weeks time.. I am constantly tired,, when I had the result of my annual checkup, the doc changed my high bp tablet and said "well you are 88!"oh yes, constant tiredness. docs at my surgery just aren`t interested.

and it should be on their records that I got low a couple or so years back, when I was suicidal, well thinking about it!

ExDancer

Exhausted, weepy, disappointed at finding myself still alive in the morning.
OK, I'm 85 and don't expect to be brimming over with energy, I'm not overweight, don't smoke, seldom drink and have a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables.
That's me, I'm just tired, all the time.
I've been tired all the time for ages, well about 18 months.
I did mention it to my GP when she was doing a review of my drugs (arthritis) but all I got was a lecture on fast food and smoking (I don't). At my request she reluctantly took some bloods, which came back as 'normal'.
She almost, but didn't quite say What do you Expect at Your Age.

Is this it? All that's left?

So sorry you feel like this. I think when you're not 'Listened to ' properly it can add to your feelings of despair.
Question what bloods the GP took, for instance are your Vit D levels ok, is your Thyroid function normal ? Both can give tiredeness and feelings of sadness. You are quite within your rights to ask the GP to investigate further, the thing is, you know YOU better than anyone, and if you don't feel like your normal self, then something could well need taking for you.

Perhaps you need some outside stimulation too, a reason to get up and pursue an interest .

Just ty and live your best life, if just to spite your GP if nothing else !

Hope you feel better soon .

There was a programme on Radio 4 the other day about Electrolytes, the conclusion was they are a waste of money. However, if the placebo effect works for you - fine.

mabon1

There was a programme on Radio 4 the other day about Electrolytes, the conclusion was they are a waste of money. However, if the placebo effect works for you - fine.

It probably won’t, now you’ve said that! You really are a person who likes bringing gloom and doom, aren’t you?

Maybe have a comprehensive range of tests? I know that's something I've just had done - though I had to go to a private doctors practice to have it done. They do 3 levels of testing (depending on how thorough you want it). So I booked the top-level testing and a Long Covid test as well. It is not cheap - but I've got a better idea of what's what. Will have to go through my (pages and pages) of test results myself later on. The doctor herself went through them at the time and the "long story short" is that I myself am doing nothing wrong/she can see I'm eating the right foods etc and the "BUT" is "Your heart readings - agh, agh and agh" and they are all very high and she said she could see I've got that as a genetic thing (from my family - who are absolutely riddled with heart problems) and it's not my fault. So - having a range of tests might help you figure out what's what...

A small amount of seasalt into your drinking water bottle should balance electrolytes. I was speaking with someone who said her great fatigue vanished when she went gluten free. Yes tiredness can be a symptom of dehydration.