[ssorrrento]

I'm 40 with a 4 year old. I exercise 3-4 times per week (mostly during my lunch, or running in the morning on a weekend), eat well and weigh at the top end of 'normal'.

Yet I feel constantly exhausted and I'm not sure if this is normal.

The last two weeks in particular have been horrible. I'm usually in bed by 9.30 to get up for 6am for work, or now even earlier (Son has decided 4.50-5.30 is a good time to rise), so in general, I get enough sleep. But now I need to go to bed even earlier, and just don't have the energy to do anything in the evening. I wake in the morning and dream of going back to bed.

Weekends I spend actively doing as little as possible, because I just feel worn out, and it's impacting on my family. I used to be itching to get things done, but now I just feel sick at the thought of my to-do list.

I don't have any other symptoms that I could associate with any condition, so feel a bit silly going to the GP with tiredness.

Does every mum feel like this? It's not like I have a house full of children to tire me out.

I don't mean for this to sound like a wussy post, but I did wonder if it sounds normal.

[JKTMum]

Get your thyroid levels checked as well as your iron levels (and anything else your GP thinks needs checking). It might be nothing, but it's better to have anything medically looked at first.

[Libster]

It doesn't sound normal to me, it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out. I had a mild form of glandular fever in my twenties and it really knocked me about, perhaps you could get checked for that too.

[MakeLoveNotBacon]

Doesn't sound normal OP ( although I can relate and need to see my GP too).

[Relish*]

Look into it. I always feel this way when my iron levels are low. Although no matter how healthy I am at the time I'm always useless if my day starts before 6am... my body just rejects being up at sunrise!

[Ruby Gloom]

Definitely look into it.

Are you napping during the day?

I was in a similar position to you and ended up asking for a sleep study. At the time I had sleep apnoea with pointers to Narcolepsy. I went away and lost a bucket load of weight to deal with the apnoea but was then diagnosed with Narcolepsy which described the excessive daytime sleepiness. The quality of my night time sleep needed addressing as well since people with N can sleep for a LONG time at night but because the quality of their sleep is so poor they don't feel refreshed.

Good luck with getting to the bottom of it. Don't feel silly going to the GP.

[HerringToMarmala...]

I'd go to a doctor. Fatigue is an important symptom but most people don't think its enough to go to a doctor - thats how I ended up not getting to a doctor until my thyroid condition had become severe.

[His Boy Elroy]

Thyroid issues, low iron, sleep apnea etc are all things that have little or no other side effects, just tiredness. Go to your GP and have some bloods done.

Hope you feel bright eyed and bushy tailed as soon as possible.

[wca]

Definatley get your Iron and Thyroid checked. For both problems, extreme fatigue are the red flags. They both have other symptoms though, but they tend to be 'vague'. I have been feeling like you for the last 2years. One GP told me "Your a busy mum with 3 kids who get's up at 5:30am, of course you feel tired" but I think thats bulldust. I know plenty of other mums out there with busier lives who have far more energy than I do! Sometimes I feel like I physically can't go on with the day, like I can't even string a sentence together. I have had blood tests and I do have an Iron Deficiency. I also have a request for a recheck blood test to see how my levels are going as I am feeling rather crappy at the moment. Good luck! In a really weird way, I'm kinda glad I'm not the only only one who feels this tired.

Anni xx

[jayskette]

are you mentally exhausted?