Always tired

[ysc]

Going to see a doctor shortly, but I am not registered with one and it will probably take some time to get set up.

I eat fairly healthily - decent number of fruits and veg, enough meat etc. a few too many sweets to get me through three hour lectures. I don't drink coffee or tea.
I walk fast at least 40 mins every day and do 6 or so hours of fairly intense exersize a week (Ju Jitsu, run, light work out). I do drink too much, I am stressed and I am doing an Msc that is far more intense than any job I have done, and I am fairly busy round the sides.
Before now I had suffered from insomnia, but at the moment I am sleeping a fair number of hours but wake up exhausted and I am tired all day.

So any tips or ideas to get me through till I can see a doctor? I find I am falling asleep on the tube and in class, and this evening I was too damn tired to go to Ju Jitsu.

 

[photoguy]

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but when I see "I'm tired all the time" and "I drink too much," the first thing I think of is depression. I might be totally off base. But if you do think that may be an issue, it should be promptly dealt with like any other medical condition.

 

[ysc]

Originally Posted by photoguy

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but when I see "I'm tired all the time" and "I drink too much," the first thing I think of is depression. I might be totally off base. But if you do think that may be an issue, it should be promptly dealt with like any other medical condition.

I am prone to low mood and depression - but the drinking is all in a party/social situation. I am not sitting in my room getting boozed up and crying about my life. Honestly I am happier than I have been for ages, despite the tiredness and stress, so I don't its depression linked.

 

[HgaleK]

Originally Posted by ysc

I am prone to low mood and depression - but the drinking is all in a party/social situation. I am not sitting in my room getting boozed up and crying about my life. Honestly I am happier than I have been for ages, despite the tiredness and stress, so I don't its depression linked.

Check your testosterone levels.

 

[Hartmann]

It sounds like it's stress, grad school will do that to you. I was in the same situation as you last year, eventually had to quit BJJ because I couldn't do evenings anymore, was too exhausted. The only real way to make the stress go away is to stop doing the stressful activity (I graduated). Still, you should go see a doctor and maybe think about doing a physical, it could be something else.

 

[v0rtex]

Quit drinking alcohol/caffeine for a month (or any other drugs), after a week or two you might find you have much more energy.

What's your mattress like? I currently have a terrible mattress and feel tired most of the time. When I stay in a hotel, I sleep like a baby and feel much more rested the next day.

 

[Treen]

I'm in a very similar situation to you, but doing a Phd. I currently get by on 8 cups or so of coffee a day and sleeping for about 12 hours on weekends. It's far from ideal, but I've come to realise that to fit the amount of work I have in, as well as other things I like doing (drinking, squash, golf), I'm going to be incredibly tired, no matter how healthily I eat or other factors.

 

[Septavius]

Hypothyroidism is a possibility.

 

[Master-Classter]

possible vitamin deficiency? Try taking a multivitamin every day for a couple of weeks. It won't do you any harm, but might give you a big pickup.

check you're staying hydrated, keep a water bottle with you and drink regularly.

 

[imschatz]

Going through undergrad I was always exhausted. But I just moved away from home for grad school, and in doing so purchased a new bed (the mattress in particular). Spent a considerable amount of time/money picking out the right mattress, and it has made a huge difference. In my new bed I am averaging less then 6 hours a night, but waking up more energized and alert then 8-10 hours did on my old mattress. Also .. cut down on the number of hours spent looking at a LCD screen prior to bed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36828043...h_and_gadgets/ iPad's are a particular instance of this, but any LCD screen's can cause sleeping problems. What I do is try and get all my computer related coursework done shortly after supper, watch some TV, then spend my pre-sleep hours doing text-book studying.

 

[eztantz]

Originally Posted by ysc

I am prone to low mood and depression - but the drinking is all in a party/social situation. I am not sitting in my room getting boozed up and crying about my life. Honestly I am happier than I have been for ages, despite the tiredness and stress, so I don't its depression linked.
Denial will kill ya! You have admitted to having low moods and depression so once you're making appointments it doesn't hurt to speak to mental health professional. I've been working in a substance abuse clinic for a few months and there are a nice amount of people who've come through the doors who don't/didn't realize they were depressed and their choice of social activities (boozing, binge drinking & other substances etc.) was influenced by their mood. Yes they were happy until it didn't cut it for them any longer...I'm not saying your an addict but excess of anything is unhealthy and probably a crutch.

 

[Seatbelts_]

Not trying to hijack your thread, just simply my throwing out my symptoms and hoping help could be given for me, which might help you. Always tired, eat right, and have a healthy BMI. Yet I have difficulty maintaining erections despite my young age (20). This really brings me down emotionally because I can't have meaningful relationships without sex. I used to be on SSRIs a year and a half ago but have since been off them, due to my doctor's and I agreement that my social, home, and school life has drastically improved. I saw a few posts up a recommendation to have testosterone levels checked, do you think I should do the same?

 

[v0rtex]

Originally Posted by imschatz

Spent a considerable amount of time/money picking out the right mattress, and it has made a huge difference. In my new bed I am averaging less then 6 hours a night, but waking up more energized and alert then 8-10 hours did on my old mattress.

Any tips for mattress shopping?

Made an exploratory trip a few weeks back and it was confusing - not sure how lying on one for a few seconds tells you what it'll be like to sleep on 6-8 hours a night for 10 years...

 

[ysc]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I am taking a multivitamin, but I could probably be drinking more water.

I had heard post grad stuff in general, and this course in particular were a lot more work than undergrad, but this is really another level. Much more intense than any job I have done.

My mattress is a piece of crap, don't know why that didn't occur to me. I feel it can't be all of the problem but fixing that can't hurt.

eztantz - thanks for the concern, but I am not drinking because I am depressed, I am drinking because I am a 20 something English guy, and that's what we do. If the doctor, a new mattress and a bit of time can't fix things then maybe I will look into a head shrinker of some kind.

Seatbelts_ that sounds properly ******, I would see a doctor for something like that straight away.

 

[Seatbelts_]

Originally Posted by ysc

Thanks for the suggestions.

I am taking a multivitamin, but I could probably be drinking more water.

I had heard post grad stuff in general, and this course in particular were a lot more work than undergrad, but this is really another level. Much more intense than any job I have done.

My mattress is a piece of crap, don't know why that didn't occur to me. I feel it can't be all of the problem but fixing that can't hurt.

eztantz - thanks for the concern, but I am not drinking because I am depressed, I am drinking because I am a 20 something English guy, and that's what we do. If the doctor, a new mattress and a bit of time can't fix things then maybe I will look into a head shrinker of some kind.

Seatbelts_ that sounds properly ******, I would see a doctor for something like that straight away.

**** yeah its ******. I could have scored twenty times over if it weren't for ******* failing me.