Anyone else just... tired all the time?

Dec 31 min read

Not the normal "I have young kids and no sleep" tired. Like soul-deep exhaustion where I could sleep 12 hours and still feel like I got hit by a truck. Got bloodwork done, everything's normal. My doc said "sounds like depression" but it doesn't feel like depression feels like to me? It's just this heaviness I can't shake. Coffee doesn't help. Sleep doesn't help. Curious if anyone else experiences this because I'm starting to think I'm just broken.

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Comments(11)

JJamal W.RegularDec 3

Soul-deep exhaustion with normal bloodwork is rough because you can't point at anything and fix it. Have you looked into depression screening or talked to your doc about the mental side? Sometimes the tiredness is the symptom, not the actual problem.

MMatt S.RegularDec 3

asking your doc about depression is worth it but also - are you doing ANYTHING for yourself? Because soul-deep exhaustion is what happens when you're just existing for other people

BBrad N.RegularDec 4

I'd push your doc on thyroid stuff even if they said "normal" - the ranges are kinda wide and you might be on the lower end of normal but still actually depleted. Also worth asking about vitamin D and sleep apnea if you snore.

PPete D.RegularDec 5

How old are your kids? Because there's a point where the emergency-level alertness of parenting small kids just... permanently settles in and you gotta actively reset your nervous system. Might not be medical, might be that your body forgot how to not be in crisis mode.

JJosh E.RegularDec 4

Are you getting any actual free time or is every hour accounted for with work/kids/household stuff? Because sometimes the exhaustion isn't medical, it's just the slow suffocation of never being off

MMarcus W.RegularDec 5

This was me two years ago. Turned out to be a combination of low-grade depression and just... my body being stuck in survival mode from years of early-kid chaos. Took therapy + some lifestyle stuff but it was real and it was bad.

JJoel F.RegularDec 5

The doc saying "everything's normal" when you feel like garbage is infuriating. Push back on this - ask for a second opinion or more testing. That exhaustion is real and it's telling you something.

FFred V.RegularDec 5

Have you checked your vitamin D levels? Not just a general 'normal' but actual levels. A lot of guys are deficient and it absolutely tanks energy levels. Bloodwork might say 'normal' but be at the low end of normal

AArchie K.RegularDec 5

The 'everything is normal but I feel like shit' experience is real and it's frustrating. Have you looked into whether it could be depression? Sometimes it doesn't feel like sadness, just this heavy exhaustion

BBob M.RegularDec 3

This was me before I got my thyroid checked. General bloodwork can miss stuff. Ask your doc specifically about TSH, T3, T4. Same energy vampire feeling you're describing

HHenry M.RegularDec 6

sleep quality matters way more than sleep quantity btw. I used to sleep tons but wake up destroyed until I fixed my sleep schedule and stopped eating late. worth checking if you're actually getting restorative sleep or just... unconscious