Continued
Food Allergies, Food Intolerance, and Fatigue
Symptoms: Fatigue, sleepy, continually exhausted
Although food is supposed to give you energy, new medical research suggests that hidden food intolerances -- or allergies -- can do the opposite. In fact, fatigue may be an early warning sign of food intolerance or food allergy.
Ask your doctor about the elimination diet. This is a diet in which you cut out certain foods that cause a variety of symptoms, including sleepiness within 10 to 30 minutes of eating them. You can also talk to your doctor about a food allergy test -- or invest in a home test such as ALCAT -- which may help you identify the offending foods.
Heart Disease and Fatigue
Symptoms: Fatigue with an activity that should be easy
If you find yourself becoming exhausted after an activity that used to be easy -- for example, walking up the steps -- it may be time to talk to your doctor about the possibility of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. If your fatigue is related to your heart, medication or treatment procedures can usually help correct the problem, reduce the fatigue, and restore your energy.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fatigue
Symptoms: Fatigue, morning stiffness, joint pain, inflamed joints
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a type of inflammatory arthritis, is another cause of excessive fatigue. Because joint damage can result in disability, early and aggressive treatment is the best approach for rheumatoid arthritis.
Medications that may be used early in mild RA include:
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
Other drugs used in more serious forms of RA include the anti-cytokine therapies (anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha agents), as well as injections and other forms of treatment.
Sleep Apnea and Fatigue
Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, feeling exhausted upon awakening, snoring
According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than one-third of adults in the U.S. snore at least a few nights a week. If snoring is associated with periods when breathing stops, a condition called sleep apnea, a person may have daytime sleepiness and excessive fatigue.
Obstructive sleep apnea results in low oxygen levels in the blood. That's because blockages prevent air from getting to the lungs. The low oxygen levels also affect your heart and brain function. Sometimes, the only clue that you might have sleep apnea is chronic fatigue.