Distinct lack of energy...

[ocailleagh]

I'd agree with looking into blood sugar levels, tiredness/lack of motivation can often be a symptom of them being low or erratic.
Also, multivitamins? Put them to one side and try a big big glass of fruit smoothie instead. Every morning, use whatever fruit you fancy or is available, add a bit of yoghurt or soya milk, you'll feel more energised within days. Eating lots of brightly coloured fruit and veg can help too. Especially raw. Books by the Food Doctor give details on how to best eat to keep your energy levels up. He has a website too, with printable factsheets!
And for your B vitamins, there's nothing better than Marmite!
If you suspect there may be a touch of depression behind it (or have been diagnosed as such) then rhodiola rosea could be worth a try. It's adaptagenic, rather than being strictly anti-depressant, so lifts your mood and does give you an energy boost, in a similar way to ginseng. It can make you spacey when you first start taking it though, so not great if driving. It can also interfere with sleep if you take it too late in the day.

[becks77]

When feeling lethargic I can usually put it down to lack of water, normally our bodies require about 2L a day, lack of iron, and vit B as already recommended, have a multi vit with iron in the morning not forgetting to take with food or else it won't be absorbed properly, hope you're feeling better soon

[ina]

Thanks - it's really daft, but I've had this more or less most of my life. Sometimes it's worse (like now), sometimes better. I suppose I'll have to learn to work around it.

[Mrs Moustoir]

Ask your doctor for a thyroid function test. An under-active thyroid can cause lethargy and tiredness. Dry skin, dry hair and weight gain are also symptoms. No amount of "life style changes" can compensate if your body ain't working right!

[yugogypsy]

Ginseng can help energy if your blood pressure is okay, but avoid it if you've got high blood pressure. Have your Dr. check sodium and potassium levels, my potassium is low and that make mes pooped all the time.

Calcium and Magnesium pills help sleep. SiSu make a no dairy etc one that is excellent.

Fresh air and sun, if all else fails walk around the garden breathing deeply and with a purposeful stride, swing your arms and pretend you're really going somewhere.

I'm working through the same thing myself.

Lastly have your Dr. test for Thrush or Candidiasis- (candida albicans)

Thats what I've had.

HUGS and good wishes
Lois

[ina]

Ask your doctor for a thyroid function test. An under-active thyroid can cause lethargy and tiredness. Dry skin, dry hair and weight gain are also symptoms. No amount of "life style changes" can compensate if your body ain't working right!

Been there, done that - they tested just about everything on me, but insist I'm OK.

Lois, I think potassium is about the only thing I haven't tried yet...

[Esther.R]

Ask your doctor for a thyroid function test. An under-active thyroid can cause lethargy and tiredness. Dry skin, dry hair and weight gain are also symptoms. No amount of "life style changes" can compensate if your body ain't working right!

Been there, done that - they tested just about everything on me, but insist I'm OK.

Lois, I think potassium is about the only thing I haven't tried yet...

Did they do the full thyriod test? T3 and T4? Mine tested my thyriod, was low but normal, so treated me for postnatal depression (felt absolutely foul all the time, very depressed, gaining weight, exhausted etc etc).....a year later when there was no improvement and they were sick of me turning up once a month saying I still felt awful they did the full thyriod test...and low and behold although my thyriod was within normal range it was extremely low for me, and my thyriod stimulating hormone was off the chart (should have been under 3.5....it was 24 by the time it was diagnosed no wonder I felt foul!). Once I had stabilised on thyroxine (I am now on 150 micrograms a day) my life came back - it was amazing, my depression cleared completely and I had a new lease of energy, my periods came back and after a year and a half of trying for a baby I fell pregnant immediately..oh and I lost 2st in 2 months!

It might not be your thyriod but it is well worth making sure you have had both tests, not just one.

[Andy Hamilton]

Not so sure about Hop extract if you get depression a spot of mild depression. I grow the stuff and have found the day after having a hop tea I was depressed for no reason. - I then looked it up and sure enough - "acts as a mild depressive on the higher nerve centres and is therefore contraindicated in depression." from here

[yugogypsy]

I na,

Are you anemic, has you Dr done a hematocrit or checked your iron stores, checked your white cell count??? Ginseng works for energy except don't take it if you've got high blood pressure.

What about diabetes? have you had a glucose tolerance test?
If not try that.

Lois

[StripyPixieSocks]

Try extra Vit C to help you absorb the Iron, works wonders.

Also yes, avoid Hop if you suffer from depression, even a mild case as it does have an adverse effect on people with depression!

I found that drinking 2ltrs of water a day (I put No sugar cordial in it) works wonders, you'd be surprised... a healthy water level also can help with depression (trust me I researched everything when I was really bad)...

Generally I find if I eat well, very healthily, take a vitamin supplement, an extra strength Vitamin C tablet and drink 2 ltrs of water a day it goes a very long way towards making me feel more awake and energetic.

As for sleep, hot milk with a tsp of sugar in it has a sleepy effect as it produces Seratonin in the brain. Turn off the TV, PC (avoid stimulii) and just read a book or listen to relaxing music while drinking it and you will probably feel sleepy in no time.

Try to avoid Coffee or caffeine related drinks as they will perk you up for a while but then bring you crashing down later and leave you needing more and more caffeine to accomplish the task at hand.

Check out that you're not in the 'sugar trap' too... eating sugary foods for a rush then crashing later on leaving you needing more sugar... try GI foods like a Banana which gives you a stable flow of energy release and avoiding the blood sugar crash (which makes you feel sleepy)

[gdb]

mild sleep problems can be a cause of this. (the problems can be so mild that you dont even notice them).

in such cases i think good quality Valerian capsules (or a concotion of the root if you have it) might help. it relaxes you and so you sleep a bit better. after ten days or a fortnight on it, you just do feel a bit less lethargic. (because now you are sleeping a bit better).

it's no wonder cure but it seems to help. and as soon as you feel a bit better you can just stop taking them until you feel the need again. so it's not dear either.

[gdb]

oh, and, i dont know if its true or not, but metal fillings (if you have them) are not supposed to be good either. by all accounts a tiny wee bit of mercury is released from them when you chew and, over time, that can make you feel gradually more lethargic.

there seem to be contradictory views on this; some people say it's nonsense and get very edgy about it. some people say it's fact - and they get very edgy about it too. for me, i reckon it's probably best to have them out in any case. just in case. but it has to be done properly and is not cheap.

[ina]

Sorry, I've missed all you latest contributions - I was away in Shetland for a while... Some more things to think about.

I had all the tests that were mentioned, but I don't know whether I really had all the detailed tests, like the "full" thyroid test etc... Even while on holiday, I only managed to sleep properly for one night. I usually avoid coffee in the afternoons and evenings - will be a bit stricter with myself on that in future.

Interesting that about the depressing effect of hops - didn't know that! What a shame... no more beer at night. And mercury; now that's something I ought to look into as well. The thing is, these effects need not be the same for everybody (as with lots of other substances). Medical science is often a bit reluctant to accept that we are individuals.

Thanks for all your input!

[ellie12022]

You can have ok levels of iron in the blood but have a low level of ferritin, the iron stores in your body. That is a separate test. When my ferritin was low, I found myself eating lots of dried (unsulphured) apricots (I didn't take the prescribed tablets, as I knew they wouldn't agree with me) and my levels went up. (reminds me, I keep meaning to ask for another test to see how the levels are now).

I have had chronic fatigue syndrome for a few years now, although I think I have been struggling for a lot longer. I am doing a lot better at the moment

The important thing to remember with diet is that 'one size does NOT fit all'. I started following the blood type diet about 4 years ago, and have now started the genotype diet (both developed by the same doctor).We are all genetically unique. And the foods we eat can affect our bodies and our minds (I have found through this that too much corn really makes me depressed, and corn/maize is hidden in so many foods! ) If you're interested I highly recommend the website: www.dadamo.com. Dr D'Adamo is an amazing man, he keeps on researching so it is all an evolution!

Another tool which can be helpful is Emotional Freedom Technique, a kind of acupuncture without the needles. I must confess I don't use it as often as I should, but it can have amazing results on all kinds of things. If there are any emotional issues, it can help to clear any unhelpful energies from the mind & body, to get things back into perspective. There is free manual to download, and once you've learnt it, the basic technique is very simple and there are loads of articles on how people have used it. Depression is one of those things. Here is the website address if you are interested: www.emofree.com

I hope that's not too much info

[Big Al]

Dear Ina,

Try drinking loads of water, don't buy it for goodness sake, just ordinary drinking water. Most of the human brain is H2O anyway and it works with classes of primary kids.

Another that works with them and might help you is "Brain Gym" check out http://www.braingym.org
http://esl.about.com/od/englishlessonpl ... aingym.htm

Hope it helps

Love and Peace
Jim

........ but you are not supposed to drown the classes of primary kids but teach them.......