Common Causes of Fatigue

Dr. Travis Stork: Fatigue is so very common. I'm here to help and shed some light on the common causes of fatigue as Endocrinologist Eva Cywnar welcome. Eva Cywnar: Thank you! Thank you! Dr. Travis Stork: Such a common complain for women and the diagnosis could be varying from depression to like you said thyroid problems. Walk us through what you're thinking when you see somebody possessed with fatigue? Eva Cywnar: Well in Pam's (ph) particular situation I have to think that her thyroids are not regulated. She has family history of thyroid disease. She has been hyperthyroid for a number of years. But she hadn't come into the office for an extended period of time. So that's my first thought. The other thing is that she was complaining that she couldn't sleep and when I got deeper into that questioning, she was saying she actually was experiencing some night sweat, some hot flashes. So I'm thinking well she is going through the change of life there. So we really needed to check that. She's a busy mother. She's a working woman. She's a wife. So I was wondering do you get your breakfast. Are you eating and it turns out that Pam actually, was skipping breakfast, you know grabbing something quick for lunch and having pasta for dinner because she didn't have enough time to prepare things. So, what I really ran through were some hormonal tests, some thyroid tests and a myriad of vitamins and nutritional aspects of her diet. Dr. Travis Stork: Any abnormal results on the test? Eva Cywnar: We do have. We have several, so fatigue isn't just limited to one disease state. Dr. Travis Stork: Right! Eva Cywnar: Again her appropriate dosage needed to go up on her thyroid. She's not on the correct thyroid medication. So that's her first change. The second one she's actually going through a little bit of perimenopause which is probably the cause of her insomnia and then again if you're not sleeping at night, you're waking up exhausted. And then she gets into a cycle and then her adrenals crash and it goes on and on. Surprising as well in part of her nutritional analysis, a lot of her B vitamins were gone and when I had questioned Pam she said well you know I wanted to make so I'm not eating a lot of red meat because I'm scared of cholesterol. Well her cholesterol is fine. There's no family history of heart disease. She doesn't ever have a high level of cholesterol. So I thought you know a little bit of red meat could be okay. Other than that she could supplement herself with some B12 over-the-counter or get some shots. Dr. Travis Stork: And B12 it is so important, it's found in animal products because it helps build healthy red blood cells and Pam, the question I have for you is, after this consultation, are you excited to make some changes? Pam: I'm very excited! Dr. Travis Stork: How are you feeling today? Pam: I'm feeling better. I was given the B12 shot and I immediately felt better. Dr. Drew Ordon: It sounds like what she needs is a little bit of everything. I mean its medication, its changed lifestyle, a little bit prioritize, make sure that she eats regularly and writes. So it's not just one thing. Eva Cywnar: Right! She needs to get her metabolism started first because when people are hormonally imbalanced, they're not going to want to work out. They're not going to have the energy to eat right. They're not going to want to prepare their meal. So my time frame for Pam is to give it about a month for all the hormones to get regulated and then start on a new program of breakfast every morning, of not as much caffeine as she has been drinking, of having more proteins in her meal. Dr. Drew Ordon: That tires you out too, fatigue. Eva Cywnar: Exactly! Dr. Andrew Ordon: If you lowered up on the caffeine everybody is going to crash to a certain extent and that gets you tired and then the whole issue of your body carrying extra weight, you have to work harder by the end of the day that's another reason why you may be tired. Dr. Jim Sears: I am fatigue that I just tried to get a quick wok-out and which is hard because that's when you don't feel like working out. When you're tired that really-really helps. Dr. Drew Ordon: That's when you really need it. Dr. Travis Stork: So Eva will give you two quick tips for women at home as assuming they don't have any medical promises first giving no for fatigue. Eva Cywnar: First of all have your breakfast. When most of us women, men too but most women think oh! I'm going to skip my breakfast therefore I save on 300 calories and I'm also getting late. Dr. Travis Stork: So breakfast, don't worry about the calories. You need the food for energy. Eva Cywnar: You need the breakfast. Dr. Travis Stork: Number two? Eva Cywnar: Get at least half an hour of exercise in at least every other day because that you'll get another two hours of energy through that day. Dr. Travis Stork: Well! Thank you so much Pam. Good luck to you. Pam: Thank you! Dr. Travis Stork: Don't skip breakfast, at least thirty minutes of exercise a day.