9/18/2016 10medicalreasonsforfeelingtiredLiveWellNHSChoices

Yourhealth,yourchoices
10medicalreasonsforfeelingtired

Anyseriousillness,especiallypainfulones,canmakeyoutired.Butsomequiteminorillnessescanalsoleaveyoufeelingwashedout.Hereare
10healthconditionsknowntocausefatigue.

1.Coeliacdisease
Thisisatypeoffoodintolerance,whereyourbodyreactsbadlywhenyoueatglutenasubstancefoundinbread,cakesandcereals.

Onein100peopleintheUKareaffected,butresearchsuggestsupto90%ofthemdon'tknowtheyhavethecondition,accordingtopatientgroupCoeliac
UK.

Othersymptomsofcoeliacdisease,apartfromtiredness,arediarrhoea,anaemiaandweightloss.YourGPcancheckifyouhavecoeliacdiseasethrougha
bloodtest.

Readmoreaboutcoeliacdisease.

2.Anaemia
Oneofthemostcommonmedicalreasonsforfeelingconstantlyrundownisirondeficiencyanaemia.Itaffectsaround1in20menandpostmenopausal
women,butmaybeevenmorecommoninwomenwhoarestillhavingperiods.

Typically,you'llfeelyoucan'tbebotheredtodoanything,yourmuscleswillfeelheavy,andyou'llgettiredveryquickly.

Womenwithheavyperiodsandpregnantwomenareespeciallypronetoanaemia.

Readmoreaboutirondeficiencyanaemia.

3.Chronicfatiguesyndrome
Chronicfatiguesyndrome(myalgicencephalomyelitis,orME)isasevereanddisablingtirednessthatgoesonforatleastsixmonths.Thereareusually
othersymptoms,suchasasorethroat,muscleorjointpain,andheadache.

Readmoreaboutchronicfatiguesyndrome.

4.Sleepapnoea
Sleepapnoeaisaconditionwhereyourthroatnarrowsorclosesduringsleepandrepeatedlyinterruptsyourbreathing.

Thisresultsinbadsnoringandadropinyourblood'soxygenlevels.Thedifficultyinbreathingmeansyouwakeupofteninthenightandfeelexhaustedthe
nextday.

It'smostcommoninoverweightmiddleagedmen.Drinkingalcoholandsmokingmakesitworse.

Readmoreaboutsleepapnoea.

5.Underactivethyroid
Anunderactivethyroidglandmeansyouhavetoolittlethyroidhormone(thyroxine)inyourbody.Thismakesyoufeeltired.

You'realsolikelytoputonweightandhaveachingmuscles.It'smostcommoninwomenandhappensmoreoftenasyougetolder.

YourGPcandiagnoseanunderactivethyroidbytakingabloodtest.

Readmoreabouthavinganunderactivethyroid.

6.Diabetes
Oneofthemainsymptomsofdiabetes,alongtermconditioncausedbytoomuchsugarintheblood,isfeelingverytired.Theotherkeysymptomsare
feelingverythirsty,goingtothetoiletalot,andweightloss.YourGPcandiagnosediabeteswithabloodtest.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tirednessandfatigue/Pages/medicalcausesoftiredness.aspx 1/3
9/18/2016 10medicalreasonsforfeelingtiredLiveWellNHSChoices
Readmoreaboutdiabetesandfindouthowtomakesmartsugarswaps.

Findyourlocaldiabetessupportservices.

7.Glandularfever
Glandularfeverisacommonviralinfectionthatcausesfatigue,alongwithfever,sorethroatandswollenglands.

Mostcaseshappeninteenagersandyoungadults.Symptomsusuallyclearupwithinfourtosixweeks,butthefatiguecanlingerforseveralmoremonths.

Readmoreaboutglandularfever.

8.Depression
Aswellasmakingyoufeelverysad,depressioncanalsomakeyoufeeldrainedofenergy.Itcanstopyoufallingasleeporcauseyoutowakeupearlyinthe
morning,whichmakesyoufeelmoretiredduringtheday.

Readmoreaboutdepression.

Findyourlocaldepressionsupportservicesandyourlocaldepressionselfhelpgroups.

9.Restlesslegs
Thisiswhenyougetuncomfortablesensationsinyourlegs,whichkeepyouawakeatnight.

Youmighthaveanoverwhelmingurgetokeepmovingyourlegs,adeepacheinyourlegs,oryourlegsmightjerkspontaneouslythroughthenight.

Whateveryoursymptoms,yoursleepwillbedisruptedandofpoorquality,soyou'llfeelverytiredthroughouttheday.

Readmoreaboutrestlesslegs.

10.Anxiety
Feelinganxiousissometimesperfectlynormal.Butsomepeoplehaveconstantuncontrollablefeelingsofanxiety,whicharesostrongtheyaffecttheirdaily
life.

Doctorscallthisgeneralisedanxietydisorder(GAD).Itaffectsaround1in20peopleintheUK.Aswellasfeelingworriedandirritable,peoplewithGAD
oftenfeeltired.

Readmoreaboutanxiety.

Findyourlocalanxietysupportservices.

Pagelastreviewed:21/02/2015

Nextreviewdue:21/02/2017

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