The doctor said after you have ruled out lifestyle factors, you may want to see a GP
An NHS GP has urged people to be vigilant about their symptoms if they’re still feeling fatigued despite making lifestyle changes. Dr SK, also known as @yourdailydoc on TikTok, emphasised that constant tiredness could be a sign of an underlying health issue.
She said: “Feeling tired all the time is your body’s way of telling you there is something going on. I’m a UK-based GP and these are the common causes that I come across. The obvious causes are lifestyle factors which you can recognise yourself”. The doctor listed lack of sleep, sedentary lifestyle, dehydration, poor diet, and excessive stress as potential culprits.
However, she warned that underlying medical conditions could also cause exhaustion. She explained: “for example not having enough iron, not having enough vitamin D, B12 or folate” can lead to fatigue.
Other possible causes include “thyroid problems, diabetes, coeliac disease” and even “going through the menopause”. She concluded by advising that if lifestyle factors have been ruled out and persistent tiredness remains, it’s definitely worth seeing a doctor.
Miranda Hart has opened up about her struggle with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, after years of being misdiagnosed. The star of the hit BBC sitcom ‘Miranda’ revealed that she had been living with undiagnosed Lyme disease since her teenage years, reports the Express.
After her show finished in 2015, her condition deteriorated into ME. Now at 51, Miranda shared how she suffered from extreme fatigue, joint pain, and memory issues, yet faced “decades of misdiagnosis”.
Speaking on the ‘How To Fail’ podcast, she recounted frequent visits to the doctor, saying “I probably went to the doctors every six months, at least, going ‘there’s something wrong with me”, only to feel invalidated when a doctor noted “TATT code for tired all the time” and exclaimed “I don’t know what else to say to you”, leaving her to run out in tears.
What are the symptoms of ME/CFS?
The NHS lists the four main symptoms of ME/CFS as:
- feeling extremely tired all the time (fatigue), which can make daily activities like taking a shower, or going to work or school, difficult
- sleep problems, including insomnia, sleeping too much, feeling like you have not slept properly and feeling exhausted or stiff when you wake up
- problems with thinking, concentration and memory (brain fog)
- symptoms getting worse after physical or mental activity, and possibly taking weeks to get better (also called post-exertional malaise, or PEM)
It also warns that some sufferers may also experience body pains or flu-like symptoms. These can include fever, headaches, and sore joints or muscles.