Part I

So many people are tired today. If tiredness is a part of your life, it would be wise to investigate the cause and get rid of it – living with fatigue is just…well…not fun!  Tiredness, or fatigue, is a warning flag that something is wrong. The problem is that it can indicate many things that are wrong, so, investigative work is essential. Although it is common knowledge that many health issues cause fatigue, sometimes we forget that other things such as diet, exercise, certain lifestyle activities, as well as medication usage can be contributing factors.

Let’s talk about health issues first.

Hormonal imbalances can cause imbalances in your energy levels. For example, the number one symptom of a thyroid not functioning properly is fatigue. Other symptoms can include cold hands and feet, temperature dysregulation, loss of head and eyebrow hair, dry hands and hair. Other hormonal glands such as the adrenal glands (that control sustained energy throughout the day), pituitary (the “master gland” that controls other hormone-producing glands, and along with the pineal gland, regulates sleep), pancreas (responsible for blood sugar regulation), liver (which produces or regulates many hormones), sex hormones, brain hormones – nearly any hormone out of balance can result in fatigue.

Health conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica), Epstein Barr Virus, Lupus, cancer, kidney disease, chronic anxiety, many inflammatory diseases, etc. can be sources of fatigue. Although this list is long, I want to focus on a few:

Gut disorders can be accompanied by fatigue. Good digestion takes a lot of energy to process food. A poorly functioning gut takes tons more energy. Inflammatory gut diseases, including dysbiosis, leaky gut, celiac/gluten intolerance, Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) of any form, commonly carries with it fatigue. Straightening out your digestion can really help you out.

Anemia – iron deficiency, and pernicious (vitamin B12 deficiency) and other mineral and vitamin deficiency diseases commonly cause a person to be tired. Sometimes those deficiencies are specific, such as Vitamin B12 deficiency, others are more complex, such as a deficiency of all the B vitamins collectively. Zinc deficiency can cause fuzzy thinking, commonly associated with fatigue.

A compromised immune system to any degree can result in fatigue. Common conditions such as Epstein Barr Virus, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, any chronic infection, and any auto-immune condition can cause fatigue. Rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue disorders and pain are all tiring, and can strip your body of every stitch of energy you may have.

Medications which have side effects of fatigue include anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, blood pressure meds, pain meds, muscle relaxants, antihistamines, cancer meds, seizure or epilepsy meds, cardiovascular meds, arthritis meds and many others. Not all medications in these categories cause fatigue, so check your own medications.

There are many other causes of fatigue and many remedies for fatigue as well. See Part II of Fatigue Can Be a Warning Sign.

Part II

In Part I of Fatigue Can Be a Warning Sign, we talked about fatigue as a warning sign that something could be wrong and warrants investigative work to find out the cause. We discussed hormonal imbalance, gut health, auto-immune and other compromised immune system conditions, anemia and medications – all conditions that could be causative factors in fatigue. Let’s review some others:

As healthy blood sugar metabolism is essential for operation of our energy systems, an imbalance in blood sugar can cause fatigue. If your energy crashes between 2pm and 4pm, it is a good indication that your blood sugar could be crashing. Simply eating enough protein at lunch and avoiding refined carbohydrates could be enough to turn that around. Blood sugar that is either too high or too low could be contributors to fatigue. Blood sugar monitors are cheap on the internet today and easy to test. Blood sugar that is too far out of balance can be downright dangerous and needs to be professionally monitored.

Emotional balance needs to be suspect with fatigue. Anxiety disorders, depression and mental disorders have a common denominator of fatigue and also hormonal imbalance. Although it is currently unclear as to how much “happy hormones” we need, we do have a good enough knowledge to know when it is too low. Chronic inability to let things go and ruminating about things is just plain exhaustive! Learning to let go of the things we don’t have control over is a good exercise for reclaiming energy. Grief and PTSD are also thieves of our energy. But, don’t forget, grief is a normal emotional response and shouldn’t be suppressed unless it is interfering with a healthy life for too long. Even boredom is tiring!

Conditions related to the head, such as headaches or migraines, head traumas, concussion or other similar injury will likely cause fatigue.

Many cardiovascular diseases can make one tired: congestive heart failure (which occurs in varying degrees), valvular prolapse, such as Mitral Valve Prolapse, peripheral circulatory diseases, blood pressure that is either too high or too low, poor quality blood, such as anemia, poor oxygenation of blood, weakened heart due to lack of conditioning or neuroendocrine dysfunction, or loss of cardiac output all can cause fatigue.

Many lung disorders can cause fatigue: COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), asthma, emphysema, lack of oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood due to iron deficiency, vitamin C deficiency or blood disorder.

Other organ problems such as chronic kidney disease, any organ failure either functional or cancer, may also be blamed. Any chronic or severe pain can wipe someone’s energy out.

You would think by now, after two weeks of articles, we’d come to the end of causes of fatigue. But we aren’t done yet. We also haven’t looked at remedies. So, stay tuned for Part III of Fatigue Can Be a Warning Sign.

Part III

In Part I of Fatigue Can Be a Warning Sign, we talked about fatigue as a warning sign that something could be wrong and warrants investigative work to find out the cause. We discussed hormonal imbalance, gut health, auto-immune and other compromised immune system conditions, anemia and medications – all conditions that could be causative factors in fatigue. In Part II we discussed blood sugar, emotional balance, head symptoms, cardiovascular and lung issues, kidney disease and other conditions – all which can contribute to lethargy. In Part III we will continue with conditions, then remedies.

Weight, either too low or too high can cause fatigue. Malnutrition because of eating disorders – even “mild” ones can cause fatigue. You need energy to run the system and energy comes from food. So, if food is cut back too far, fatigue can result. Likewise, too much junk food-induced weight can be a cause of tiredness. Obesity from any cause causes fatigue. It takes a lot of energy to carry around extra weight – obviously the more weight that is carried around, the more tired the individual. Many are able to push through out of necessity, but it is tiring to the body.

Lack of sleep and rest is an obvious cause and I didn’t cover it earlier because it is well known. Finding out why you aren’t sleeping is vital. There are many reasons for insomnia and the root cause needs to be uncovered and addressed. Sleep apnea needs to be addressed, as does its sister problem: stress. Learning to say “no” when overloaded and asked to take on something else and learning to delegate more can prove helpful in restoring energy.

Exercise is both helpful and can be hurtful when it comes to energy. If you don’t have the energy, it can do more harm than good. Yet exercising when tired can help enliven you. Exercise before bed can help you sleep, for others it can keep you awake. Finding out the proper amount of exercise for you, specifically, is really important.

Nutrition plays a vital role in energy. Poor nutrition equals poor energy, good, nutrient-dense foods are vital for good energy. The saying “life begets life and death begets death” is appropriate here. If you eat dead, nutrient-devoid foods, you are on a path of slow death. Live foods, fresh, clean and full of life-giving properties will restore you. It’s simple physics.

Inflammatory foods will steal energy. Any food you eat that you are allergic to or sensitive to can drain you.  Eating “inflammatory foods” – sugar, gluten, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers) and others can also drain you.

Skipping meals, especially breakfast is not advised if you are trying to get your energy back. Also, avoid dehydration. Keep your water intake up and avoid dehydrating liquids such as coffee, teas and pop.

We have covered a lot of reasons for fatigue. Too many to assess. It is advisable that you find a practitioner that will uncover the cause or causes of fatigue specific to you, then help you find a solution to recover your energy.

©2018 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.