Lacking energy

roundthebend

I struggle for energy. I haven't done a lot of thinking about it but it seems that I'm more energetic during winter than in summer. Which is odd.

I tend to not eat much differently throughout the year so I don't think it's that. Although I do wonder if I don't consume enough food for my metabolism. I'm pretty skinny (9½ stone, 5' 8", age 36), but I always eat a decent breakfast, reasonable lunch, big main meal and regular snacks throughout the day. I have a tendency to try and eat healthier food, but will happily snack on biscuits and cake, and won't shy away from a juicy burger and chips or curry and all the trimmings at dinner time.

Exercise wise I tend to ride to work and back every day - 6 miles total, and have been running ~5 miles twice per week. I also go out on the bike 2 or 3 times per month with a group and do 25+ miles. During winter I intend to do a few hours per week on a turbo trainer.

My daily life consists of an 9-5 office job where I sit at a desk most of the time. I've got 2 teenage kids who keep me employed as a servant and chauffeur, and I tend to do very little else other than household chores, and slumping on the sofa (because I've no energy to do anything else). I don't drink much alcohol because I rarely go out, and if I do I only drink a few pints before I'm done.

Lack of sleep could be a culprit. I'm pretty sure I don't sleep solid ever. I recently bought an expensive new bed and it's definitely comfortable, but I struggle to get a position that I'm happy with. I have a problem in that I'm acutely aware of every part of my body so I am constantly fidgeting with itches, aches, numb spots, cold patches, hot patches, my wife's elbows sticking into my ribs etc. Then there's the stuff going on in my head - not so much worries as I've found ways to deal with most of life's troubles, but I have lots of things that I'm really interested in and they come out to play at night and infect my rest and even my dreams.

I want to work out why I lack energy. I'm sat at work now, and whilst I have the strength to do things I really feel lethargic. I want to know if I can change my diet, and/or take supplements to help. And I want to know what else could be at play. Is sleep really the main factor, and what can I do about it?

Anybody else have experience in this area?

vasselmeyer

Cocaine.

mike_l

I get lethargic quite a lot. I have Crohn's. I have regular (3 monthly) Vitamin B12 injectoins which help.

 

Having a shit job* doesn't help with the lethargy.

*a couple of colleagues who are arguementative and not brilliant at their jobs.

holnrew

Get some blood tests done. I'm being treated for vitamin D deficiency right now and I'm starting to feel more alive. I've also had a B12 deficiency in the past. 

It sounds like maybe you're having some sort of mid-life ennui though, and you have symptoms of depression.

Fazer

you mention sleep.
how many hours of actual sleep are you getting?
make sure the room is completely dark, no gadgets or blazing streetlights through the window.
the good nights sleep is just as important as the exercise.

also the sugary wheat snacks arent good for you, they are creating large spikes and crashes in your blood sugar and hormones etc
try to just eat nonprocessed food, vegetables and proteins.

smigeon

If you drink coffee or tea, try stopping them for 2 weeks and see if that changes anything (you might get a headache for the first couple of days but you'll get through that). I did this and it made a big difference to my energy levels.

DiscoStu

I'm the same. Broken sleep, lack of energy, and I find it difficult to breathe a lot of the time. I've been dropping things at work.

I've had all the blood tests which has ruled out the obvious things like diabetes.

Post break-up stress is partly to blame for the sleep problems.

My biggest thing is energy. I feel like I don't have enough air in my system; I'm constantly knackered and find exercise a struggle and my motivation is pretty shot. I fall asleep very easily if I sit down and I have had one blackout on the way home one night. Ok I'd been to the pub but when I was awoken on the pavement by two very nice policemen (who gave me a lift home) they said I hadn't even tried to break my fall, suggesting that I just switched off.

I've had an MRI scan in recent weeks as a follow up to my brain surgery and it showed no issues with regard my history. It did however suggest I have rhinitis in my nose and sinuses, which explains why I find it difficult to breathe and my specialist team agree with me that it sounds like I may not be getting enough oxygen and so my body temporarily switches off. That's no good! They have prescribed me a course of steroids, antibiotics and a nasal spray which I have been taking since Friday and I have to admit I feel an improvement already! My breathing sounds clear now rather than the constant blocked-nose sound I was making before, I don't feel full of the cold anymore (that too was constant) but most of all I have more of a buzz about me and I haven't napped since Saturday evening.

CT scans show inflammation much clearer than MRI scans so I am getting one of those done too.

So maybe you have a breathing problem @roundthebend? ;

Phil_aka_Pip

DiscoStu said:

So maybe you have a breathing problem @roundthebend? ;

I can think of quite a few people who have a "breathing problem". The problem is that they're still doing it.

chillidoggy

Blood tests for sure.

And tell the GP the FB specialists said so, if he tries arguing.

Phil_aka_Pip

wee tests for kidney trubble

chillidoggy

/\ Yup.

roundthebend

Cheers guys. I'm going to do a few things:
1. Stop the biscuits and cakes. I don't think I have that many, so it won't hurt to try.
2. Drink more water, and less tea.
3. Find a smoothie recipe with vitamin D and iron.
4. Eat more protein - lentils for lunch.
5. Monitor my sleep.
6. More fresh air during the day - possibly an evening walk to help with sleeping.

I go to bed at 11/12 most nights. It get up at 7. But I don't always sleep well. Last night I remember waking up a few times with one occasion being almost wide awake able to think about work.

I don't think it's stress, or anxiety, I've just got interesting things on my mind that can't seem to wait.

I may also book in with the doctor, but I'll give this lot a go in the first instance. Nine of it can harm me.

DiscoStu

roundthebend said:

6. More fresh air during the day - possibly an evening walk to help with sleeping.

I go to bed at 11/12 most nights. It get up at 7. But I don't always sleep well. Last night I remember waking up a few times with one occasion being almost wide awake able to think about work.

I don't think it's stress, or anxiety, I've just got interesting things on my mind that can't seem to wait.

If you think it's a lifestyle issue rather than a health one then no.6 is the way to go.

Do something physical in the evening. That will tire your body out and it will WANT to sleep. Good long walks, cycling, gardening, the gym, etc. Shower later in the evening and drink caffeine free tea in the evenings.

My personal recommendation is Tick Tock Redbush Tea. It relaxes me and helps me sleep.

Deadman

It was all down to not drinking enough water for me.

Nunogilberto

Cut down on sugary stuff/carb rich stuff like pasta and bread.

Take time whenever possible to unwind or have a quiet moment.

Don't overdo the fitness malarkey - riding to and from work is one thing, but that's probably sufficient.

Visit your GP and ask for blood tests - always worthwhile.

I speak from experience as I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Bogwhoppit

Ebola, go and see the person you hate most and give them a lick.

menamestom

A full time job, 2 teenage kids, 6 miles a day on your bike plus 10 miles running. Maybe you should try just slumping on the sofa and resting more? Perhaps resting will do you good, sometimes you have to just rest if that's what you feel like.

chillidoggy

More shagging could help you to sleep.

Sambostar

I feel exactly the same, except I work outdoors every day, which is pretty physically punishing everyday but rarely aerobically so.

You are getting older.  I can't put weight on either, currently 12 stone, 6'1" and zero bodyfat.  Doc suggested eating and I had some blood tests done at the same time for diabetes, thyroid and some other things.

Funny thing, at work, because it is physical I tend to zone out and will push myself till I drop.  Where as at home I can't concentrate on anything and always get ringing in my ears and waking up every morning with what feels like a massive hangover.  I don't eat lunch and if I do it is soft drink and chocolate, two eggs breakfast and a pizza for tea, no where near enough calories for the amount I am expending and not good ones either I know.

It's when I'm not working I realise the pain and how knackered I am.  I know I'm getting older, but without more pain to combat it, it hits home. Sometimes I almost faint, sometimes I just aimlessly sulk about like a sloth, completely unable to concentrate or do anything.

Cutting the caffeine out completely helps as does the sugar and you probably don't have even a quarter of the protein you should be getting.  Cutting out sugar is like quitting smoking, your body goes into shock, seriously.  Eating meat makes me feel ill as does any heavy meal, but if I push myself, I almost feel like a new person the next day.

Of late I've been having three dinners straight and still feeling hungry, knackered and brain dead, like everything is just passing straight through me and hungover and getting small dark patches under my eyes, like an allergy (Not drinking anything alcoholic either, although I feel much better if I do, for a while).

I also figured I am on my feet all day and push myself too hard, literally, I won't sit down when I get home, I'm standing up writing this.  Although the BT man did arrive today, but anyway.

Get some blood work done, ask for as much as possible, eat protein, when taking time out, drink enough, make sure you are actually relaxing in your spare time.  If you have no bodyfat, your body is pretty fragile to anything too and it will eat muscle before fat, so it's a lose, lose situation.

If you are getting short of breath, that might be your heart, it happens in your thirties or forties, if it's a bot defective.  If you just feel completely dead, it could be a mild food allergy raising it's head, as they do as you get older.

Also I guarantee you, if you persist in seeing the doctor, he will diagnose you with depression, brought on by fatigue and stress.  That is where it ends and what we all suffer from apparently, I've even see folk die of it, although other physical factors, that completely escaped the attention of the GP seems to cause their demise. 

I've always suspected my kidneys, I drink gallons, wel enough and it goes straight through and I still wake up hungover, when I drink beer, a couple of cans and I am out for a week, not drunk, just completely debilitated and massive headaches and fainting, I figure I've done it in with Dr Pepper maybe. 

roundthebend

I've skipped my last cuppa of the day, went for a 4 mile run before dinner (last training run before a half marathon) and I'm in bed feeling ready for a good kip. See you all on the other side of tonight.