There’s always times where you just aren’t your usual perky self. Normally it’s because you didn’t get enough sleep or you’re coming down with a cold or flu. However, if you constantly feel tired all the time, you might be suffering from something more serious.
One of the unfortunate symptoms of some medical illnesses is exhaustion. Here are 4 medical conditions that can leave you feeling flat:
Anaemia
Anaemia occurs when your red blood cells or level of haemoglobin in the blood is lower than normal. As Haemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body, it’s essential in keeping you from feeling run down.
Being anaemic can make you feel tired all the time because your heart must work harder to pump blood around the body. Your heart does this to try and maintain its normal oxygen levels while you go about your daily activities.
The most common cause of anaemia is iron deficiency, which can occur due to any number of factors. Anaemia is particularly common in women, an estimated one in five menstruating women (and half of all pregnant women) are anaemic.
The key groups at risk of developing anaemia include:
- Menstruating women
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women
- Babies (especially if they are premature)
- Children in puberty
- Vegetarians
- People with cancer and other chronic illnesses
- Athletes
Chronic Fatigue
Chronic fatigue affects your nervous system, however, the cause is not completely understood. One of the main symptoms of chronic fatigue is having flu like symptoms after exercise and physical exertion. However, the condition itself involves much more than just feeling tired all the time.
While 25% of people with chronic fatigue can manage daily life, about 50% of are unable to get to school or work, making it quite a debilitating illness. As there are many subtypes of chronic fatigue, the treatments are often individualised and self-managed.
For some people, this illness can be triggered suddenly by a viral infection, exposure to toxins, anaesthetic, immunisation, gastroenteritis, or trauma. For others, the condition slowly develops over time.
Depression
Depression is a mental illness that effects how you think, feel, act, and communicate. When you suffer from depression you often experience a mixture of negative emotions for a long period of time and this impacts on your daily life. These include sadness, guilt, unhappiness, disappointment, frustration, and many more which can make you feel tired and emotionally drained.
A lack of energy or a tired feeling is only one of the many symptoms that comes with depression. The difficult aspect of this illness is that you will notice symptoms appearing in your life at one point or another. It’s a common mental illness that’s experienced by 1 million Australians every day that can only be diagnosed by a health professional.
There is no single cause of depression. The illness most likely develops from a combination of social, biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors. Personal factors can make you more prone to developing depression and depressive symptoms, these include:
- Family History: If someone in your family has depression you have an increased genetic risk. Although, this doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to develop the mental illness.
- Personality: You might be someone who’s quite anxious, worries a lot, has low self-esteem, are a perfectionist, are sensitive to personal criticism, or are self-critical and negative. This can make you more susceptible.
- Chronic medical conditions: Some serious medical conditions can bring on depression directly or contribute to developing the mental illness through the reoccurring stress and worry.
- Drug and alcohol use: This can be both a result and an encouraging factor. Many people with depression find themselves with drug and alcohol problems, while others find it contributes to their negative emotional state which leaves them feeling tired all the time.
Thyroid Diseases
The thyroid is a gland in your neck that produces hormones. This effect’s your body’s metabolic processes, such as your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight. If you have an overactive, underactive, or cancerous thyroid gland you can have a variety of health problems like feeling tired all the time.
Problems with your thyroid can be caused by autoimmune diseases, inflammation of the thyroid (caused by a virus or bacteria), nodules or cancerous lumps, medical treatments, and some genetic disorders. When you’re pregnant these thyroid issues can worsen and result in miscarriage and premature birth.
The main thyroid diseases (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism) can lead to many health complications, such as:
- Heart problems
- Brittle bones
- High cholesterol
- Infertility
- Birth defects
- Depression
As well as exhaustion and many more.
If you’re feeling tired all the time and it’s starting to impact on your everyday routine then you should book and appointment with your regular GP. If your symptoms are more acute and they occur after hours don’t be afraid to give us a call on 13 55 66.
