You are not alone! Worn out and weary, women across the country named fatigue among their top five health concerns. (webmd.com) Dr. Sharma shares several possible causes of fatigue and suggestions to put the spring back into your step.
- The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck and produces the hormones that regulate how your body burns fuel for energy. It can be overactive or underactive, but either way you’ll feel sleepy.
An underactive thyroid can make feel like you can’t get your engine going. With an overactive thyroid your engine’s on overdrive and you start to burn out. A simple test can determine if there is an issue. - When your heart isn’t pumping efficiently, it can’t get enough blood out to your body, and that can make you tired. Fatigue is one of the most common complaints of women with heart disease. If you have heart risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and a family history of heart conditions, have your heart checked out. Measuring your blood pressure and other simple tests such as an electrocardiogram or an echocardiogram can pinpoint whether your heart is the source of your weariness.
- There’s been an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency over the last few decades because we’ve been avoiding the sun. Too little of this essential vitamin can sap your bone strength, and some research links a deficiency of vitamin D to chronic fatigue syndrome.
A blood test can determine whether you’re getting enough of your daily D. If not, a supplement can get you to the amount you need each day. The Institute of Medicine, which published new guidelines in 2010, recommends that most adults get 600 international units a day.
Dr. Priyanka Sharma specializes in really listening to her patients and she is trained to solve puzzling diagnostic problems. Dr. Sharma is trained and equipped to deal with whatever problem a patient brings, no matter how common or rare or how simple or complex. She is specially trained to solve puzzling diagnostic problems and can handle severe chronic illnesses and situations where several different illnesses may strike at the same time.
