OT - I need a direction to begin researching my wife's tiredness. Any forums or other ideas?

What kind of thyroid issue does she have? Because thyroid problems were the first thing that came to mind before I even read the thread. Has she been tested for Hashimoto's disease?

Has she seen a doctor and had a thorough work up included a comprehensive CBC? If not she should start there.

Sue

I presume the allergy meds are non-drowsiness ones? First-generation antihistamines have no effect on me, but knock some people right out.

Captain obvious alert, but anaemia has been ruled out, I can safely assume? (Iron and B12)

Does she feel even worse if she sleeps for <9 hours? When I oversleep (rarely happens these days), I often feel even more tired than if I'd just got 7 hours or so.

And, finally, I don't really like to suggest this, but it could be a depression thing. It can be amazingly fatiguing, even without any co-morbid physical illnesses. Speaking from past experience of depression before I got Crohn's.

I was thinking the allergies? Are hers managed w/ the meds? Where do you live? We live in the South and my son is really suffering w/ his allergies right now.

Hey guys... I'll be on to reply later or tomorrow. Thanks for the replies.

Okay, wow, thanks for the replies. I was seriously not trying to overrun the forum with another OT thread.

I will have to ask my wife about the Hashemoto's. She has hypothyroidism, but it's well under control with medicine. She has been in at least a few times in the last year and her levels were always great. She's very disciplined with her medicine, waits an hour before eating after taking it, etc...

Gary, I don't think it's mono. She DID get mono from me in January/February of 2013. I had held off kissing her when we were beginning to date from after our third or so date until about two months in. At that point I thought maybe we were good (doctor thought it'd be okay)... and sure enough she got mono right in line with the typical incubation period. However, she went to her doctor, got a quick taper prednisone pack, and was back at life within days of taking those. It was amazing. --Anyways, the infectious disease doctor last year did say that the virus was not replicating in my system, so I don't think it's mono with her. She was this way when we were just beginning to date. I thought she wasn't interested in me on many dates, but after a while I figured out that she just got so tired that she couldn't help but stop cuddling and drift off to a half sleep state while we watched movies and such.

Sue, I would have to check about the CBC... but as many physicians as she's been to in the last year I highly doubt that she didn't have that run. I saw one of the EOB's from the insurance and it had like 20 labs on it.

She takes iron supplements. I would have to ask again, but I think she was within normal ranges but the numbers looked like a supplement still might be a good thing.

She tried taking a Super-Complex B Multivitamin, but did not notice a difference even after higher doses.

She is dedicated to trying only one thing at a time, and waiting a minimum of two weeks before adding or subtracting treatments... so that she knows what is helping or hurting her.

She is lined up to meet the sleep doctor next. Having experience with my dad having sleep apnea I in general doubt that she has this issue. She is an extremely light sleeper, but never wakes up gasping for air or anything like my dad does. She sleeps light enough that we don't sleep in the same bed most of the time. (I can sleep with the lights on and her making noise, but she is the opposite... she wears earplugs and still says my breathing (not snoring) keeps her awake even in a pitch black quiet room)

I've often wondered if the birth control could be a culprit. She said she was more awake as a teenager... but whatever this tired issue is it's been this way for a long time. She started taking birth control pills at some point in high school to control her periods. Maybe that is when she became more tired and it's so far back that it's hard to correlate the two. She saw an endocrinologist today that suggested that possibly trying an IUD birth control instead of a pill could be better for her.

We live in the midwest, in Nebraska. She's allergic to half the world outside it seems like on some days.

After the 9 hours of sleep she gets she is a different person than at night when she's heading to bed. She is more energetic and happier. What happens though, is that about 8 hours after she's been awake she just hits a wall so to speak, and turns into a yawning machine more often than not.

NCOT, you're exactly right about depression causing issues like this. However, it just doesn't fit the situation. She's told me she is so sick of hearing doctors talk about depression as a possible cause. She says since she's in her mid twenties it seems as if all the doctors look at her and think she couldn't possibly have issues being so young.

Soy... if you provide the funding we are definitely up for both retiring, haha. Until then I suppose either her or I at a minimum should be working!

Has she ever tried SCD or gluten free? Might be something worth playing around with together. Some people can get very groggy from sugars and gluten. It's so much easier to experiment with diet when you have a supportive partner and you are, so that's great :)

I think the IUD is worth trying, I had one fitted a few years ago and have had no problems whatsoever, so I can say with experience they work well. Also being on the pill for many years isn't really a good thing for anyone, her body will do better with a break from it I would have thought.

Its also possible that she might have a couple of things that aren't really working for her, so a planned elimination of anything suspect would definitely be worth doing...

UC&Me: My wife usually wakes up fairly refreshed. On work days where she wakes up to an alarm she is a bit sleepy sometimes... but overall morning is not the problem. Like I said, she just begins yawning around 2 pm and goes downhill from there. Sometimes she gets revived for a bit after we eat dinner, but her natural sleep cycle usually pushes her to fall asleep once it's dark out. She also has a hard time staying asleep once there is light from outside coming into the bedroom.

NSSG: Awe, thanks for the compliment... haha. :) I don't believe she's tried sugar or gluten free. Her uncle has celiac's disease, but she was tested for sensitivity (and had an endoscopy) and didn't show any signs of problem with gluten. I think a lower sugar lifestyle is good overall anyways, so maybe we'll try to get back to it more. Before I dated her I was down to almost no sugar; but she likes to bake, and to eat desserts. So... that will take more effort now.

Dreadsteel: She has taken melatonin before at times when she was having trouble sleeping through the night, even as she was still tired. It doesn't seem to make her need less sleep at all unfortunately, if that's what you're suggesting could happen. She drinks coffee drinks a bit, but has stayed more away from them because they make her have almost IBS-like symptoms. If she could pick her sleep schedule, she'd stay awake until 10-11 and sleep until 8 am. But, she doesn't have an enormous urge to stay awake late (unlike me, who usually stays up 3-4 hours later than her). Also, she does exercise on the elliptical we own as well as do other regular things to stay moving.

No worries..With regards to the IUD, once it has been fitted, that's it. I have never had any adverse affects with it, no hormonal problems, nothing really, and the one I have fitted I was told I could keep in for five years, so it is without doubt a painless approach. The pill is a good contraception for some people, but I discontinued using it because I never felt that good on it, and it is well documented that its a good idea to take a break from it if you have been taking it for many years.

I think your suggestion of her coming off the pill for a while is a good idea before embarking on something new. I think she probably needs to be free of any kind of contraception for a couple of months at least just so she can get a clear idea of what might be going on..

I also have allergies, and I do think that people that suffer with allergies have to be very careful what they take.

Is she sleeping too long? I slept for 9 hours last night and I am exhausted today. I function much better between 5-7 hours per night.