Chronic Fatigue Treatment Melbourne – Always feeling tired? Here are the Top 12 Causes of Fatigue

Do you reluctantly crawl out of bed each morning, secretly wishing you could just roll over and go back to sleep?

Are you constantly feeling exhausted, dragging yourself through the day? You may need to look into Chronic Fatigue Treatment Melbourne.

Do you say things like, “it’s just what happens when you get old”? Well, it isn’t!

It could be so much more than that. Fatigue is common affecting one in five people and women more often. The causes can range from minor to quite serious.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is an illness that affects a person’s nervous system (commonly called a ‘neurological illness’). It can occur at any age and can affect children as well as adults. At least 35,000 Victorians have ME/CFS. – Better Health

Here are 12 common causes of fatigue:

1. Lack of sleep

Getting enough sleep…..sounds simple can be elusive to some!  Hard to get to sleep, stay asleep, have a busy mind or lose track of time.

Remember to switch off the technology at the set time and allow for the wind down.

One in three people suffers from bouts of insomnia. Age dramatically influences sleep requirements, often as age, we need less sleep. However, there’s a huge variation in individual requirements, anything from 5 hours to 10 hours.

2. Eating too little or too much

Yes either extreme, especially when compounded with poor quality food choices. If you start your day with doughnuts, your blood sugar will peak and crash, leaving you sluggish. So best to eat a healthy breakfast, to keep your energy levels stable.

Carrying excess weight is exhausting and digestion takes a lot of energy. So over-eating makes us sluggish.

3. Too little iron or too much

Low iron is a top cause of feeling constantly tired. It causes your body to not have enough red blood cells to carry life-giving oxygen to your tissues and organs. There are several types of anemia – related to deficiency B12, folate, and iron.

Excess iron or ferritin stores can be a problem as well, causing sluggishness and fatigue. Commonly seen in men or menopausal women, as either hemochromatosis, in its full expression or as a carrier.

That is why it’s important to not just randomly take iron tablets. The treatment depends on the cause.

4. Underactive thyroid

The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped organ at front of your neck, that controls your metabolism or the speed your body converts fuel to energy. When your thyroid is underactive you will feel sluggish, put on weight easily, have brain fog, poor muscle recovery after exercise, be constantly cold or constipated.

Degrees of hypothyroidism affects up to 40% of women, especially over the age of 40. This can range from a sluggish thyroid to autoimmune, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. TSH blood test may not pick up the whole picture since it only tests a portion of the pathway.

5. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)

Chronic fatigue syndrome is severe, persistent, unexplained exhaustion that lasts more than six months and interferes with daily activities. Also called myalgic encephalopathy or ME. There’s no quick fix for CFS but people with the condition often benefit from changing their daily routines, learning better sleep habits and starting gentle exercise.

6. Sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea briefly stops your breathing many times during the night. Each interruption disrupts your sleep for a moment, but you may not be aware of it. The result is you’re sleep-deprived, despite spending a full eight hours plus in bed and feel exhausted during the day.

It’s most common among overweight middle-aged men. Alcohol and smoking make it worse. Some solutions are to lose weight, stop smoking and avoid alcohol in the evening. Some people sleep with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device to help keep their airway passages open at night if recommended by a doctor. Learning Buteyko breathing can be another option.

7. Urinary tract infection (UTI)

The common presentation of a UTI is burning pain and frequent need to urinate. In some cases, especially as we get older, fatigue may be the only sign. Once the infection is treated the tiredness will disappear.

8. Food intolerance

Food intolerances can present as constant tiredness or tiredness after eating certain foods. This can last for several days. Food intolerances can be identified through a blood test or elimination diet.

Coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity is also another cause of tiredness, anemia and chronic diarrhea in some people. Some people have very few symptoms other than tiredness and multiple nutrient deficiencies. Research has shown that 90% of sufferers may not know they have it. It can be identified by blood tests.

9. Diabetes

Diabetes can initially present as extreme tiredness or persistent fatigue. Sugar from food stays in the bloodstream instead of entering the body’s cells, where it is converted to energy. The result is your body runs out of energy despite having enough to eat. And there is a large spectrum of presentation, anything from mild insulin resistance to autoimmune type 1 diabetes, which requires insulin. Diabetes can slowly develop over many years before it is diagnosed. More common in those who are overweight, inactive or have thickening of the waist.

There are a variety of treatments available that include weight loss, lifestyle alterations, natural or orthodox medications.

10. Heart disease

When everyday tasks like cleaning the house or climbing the stairs leave you feeling exhausted, it can be a sign that your heart is not up to the job and an early sign of possible heart disease.

There are lifestyle changes, medication and therapeutic procedures to get heart disease under control.

11. Depression, constant anxiety

Depression causes physical symptoms as well as emotional symptoms. Fatigue, headaches, and loss of appetite are most common. If you treat depression, the fatigue should lift and vice versa.

Commonly among clients, once low energy is resolved, mood soars naturally, because life flows instead of being a struggle. Did you know an underactive thyroid causes depression?

Also, constant anxiety, where your body is in constant fight or flight can cause fatigue.

12. Glandular fever

Glandular fever is a common viral infection that causes tiredness as well as a fever, sore throat and swollen glands. Teenagers and young adults are most prone to it. In the main, symptoms clear up within four to six weeks, but the fatigue can linger for several more months.

 

Chronic Fatigue Treatment Melbourne

Call Julie on 0438 593523 or book online.