We often blame lack of sleep, a hard day at work, or running around with the kids for our fatigue. But did you know feeling tired may be a warning sign that something is wrong with your health? Our Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall explains on The Doctors.
Do you ever feel tired for no reason when it happened to this year one time too many she reached out for some answers hi doctors i’m ke i’m concerned because i feel tired all the time sometimes i go to bed late i have to get up early i know that people get tired from time to time but i just can’t seem to shake it and i wanted to know is this something that comes with
Aging or is it something more we often blame a lack of sleep a hard day at work or running around with the kids for our fatigue however feeling tired can be a warning sign that something is wrong with your health caillou she joins us today and i’m also joined by our good friend and colleague dr. freda lewis-hall the chief medical officer of pfizer who’s here to help
Explain when being tired may be more than just being tired welcome to you both you know cage there is a long list of things that can make us feel tired in fatigue lack of sleep poor quality sleep or eating habits too little physical activity too much physical activity and of course jet lag but chronic fatigue is something else it can be an important warning sign
For an underlying health issue it also could be related to one of these three things right here and we’re gonna start with sugar not talking about the kind you eat we’re talking about blood glucose or blood sugar fatigue is common but often an ignored symptom in people with type 2 diabetes so in this chronic disease the use of glucose up by your body is affected
You can actually experience fatigue if your blood sugar is high because it affects your circulation amongst other things or you can feel fatigued if your blood sugar is low because that means that the cells in your brain in your body are not getting enough fuel to do their jobs properly and it’s important that people with type 2 diabetes know the symptoms they
May urinate frequently feel thirsty have visual problems cuts that are slow to heal or even pain or numbness in the hands or fee in case here’s the big thing if you’re not really sure what’s going on then obviously getting tested is important i was feeling light-headed and so i had some blood work done and the doctor told me that time actually borderline anemic
Anemia is caused when your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your organs now you mentioned lightheadedness that’s a symptom but the most common symptom of anemia is you have it fatigued now there are a number of different types of anemia some of them are caused by things like iron and vitamin deficiency but there are
Other causes like chronic diseases i don’t eat a lot of meat and you mentioned vitamin deficiency i could my diet may be play a role and you know it’s a really important question and for people at home as well because your body does get iron from foods things like meat eggs leafy green vegetables if you consume too little iron over time your body can become iron
Deficient anemia is also common in women of reproductive age due to menstruation but it can be a symptom of a more serious underlying health problem and should certainly be checked out and you mentioned that anemia is coming in women it’s also common in children older adults and people with chronic diseases and i want to move on to our last reason why someone may
Be feeling fatigued and it has to do with this little guy your heart coronary artery disease a weakened heart muscle or damaged heart valves can cause fatigue and here’s why the heart and valves pump blood from your heart to the rest of your body all day every day if the heart is weakened its ability to pump blood can be reduced less blood flow to organs muscles and
Then fatigue can certainly ensue so if you feeling chronic fatigue it’s really important to schedule a visit to your doctor take to your doctor your medical history including your family history along with a journal of your fatigue so you want to track your energy level on normal days and after activities and meals monitor the changes and make sure to note symptoms
That you might be experiencing as well this may help you and your healthcare team figure out your fatigue and to come up with a good treatment plan now there’s a lot to learn about these various diseases and if you want to know more you can go to get healthy stay healthy.com there we have information on these conditions their symptoms risk factors and ways to help
Manage them and while you’re there you can sign up for the monthly newsletter dr. freda thank you thank you very much more to come everyone
Transcribed from video
When Being Tired Is More than Being Tired By Pfizer
