Why am I so tired?

[Leporello]

Over the last couple of months I've had several days - maybe once every 10 days) when I wake up exhausted and things don't improve as the day goes on.

I exercise 4-5 days a week (cardio, weights and yoga

I get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

my diet isn't perfect but it could be alot worse. I eat mostly fish, whole grains, and fruits (not enough veggies, admittedly). I also take a multi.

I'm not overweight. I'm 5'7 and I weigh 145 pounds.

What am I missing?

 

[f283000]

Maybe too much exercise?

1 thing I recommend is buying a good sleep mask to block out the light when you sleep. There is a lot of light that comes into my room so I bought a sleep mask and I could tell the difference right away from sleeping with one and sleeping without one. I was having much better sleep and waking up much more energized in the morning.

They're cheap you should try one. Your room doesn't need to have a light to be blocked for you to give one a try. They do improve your sleep.

 

[Leporello]

Maybe too much exercise?

1 thing I recommend is buying a good sleep mask to block out the light when you sleep. There is a lot of light that comes into my room so I bought a sleep mask and I could tell the difference right away from sleeping with one and sleeping without one. I was having much better sleep and waking up much more energized in the morning.

They're cheap you should try one. Your room doesn't need to have a light to be blocked for you to give one a try. They do improve your sleep.

This is possible. I live on a busy street and there's alot of noise, so while I go to bed with 7-8 hours before morning I don't always get the full allotment.

 

[Fuglydude]

Post your nutrition/supplementation info in a more detailed format... Sounds like you're eating good food, but my concern is that you may not be eating adequate amounts of it given your activity level.

Also, consider taking a high potency time-release B-complex. I work in critical care, an area where you always have to be vigilant, and can't really let your guard down. I can't afford to be tired. Although a lot of my co-workers use coffee to stay alert, I use B vits, as coffee just makes me anxious and gives me gut cramps a lot of the times.

Are you taking any EFAs like fish oil, or flax?

 

[Leporello]

Post your nutrition/supplementation info in a more detailed format... Sounds like you're eating good food, but my concern is that you may not be eating adequate amounts of it given your activity level.

Also, consider taking a high potency time-release B-complex. I work in critical care, an area where you always have to be vigilant, and can't really let your guard down. I can't afford to be tired. Although a lot of my co-workers use coffee to stay alert, I use B vits, as coffee just makes me anxious and gives me gut cramps a lot of the times.

Are you taking any EFAs like fish oil, or flax?

I don't really have a set diet so it's hard to quite pin down my daily calorie/vitamin intake...When I eat meat its usually seafood, sometimes chicken, almost never beef or pork.

As for supplements I take l-arginine, low-dose aspirin, and the multivitamin (GNC brand Mega Man).

I'm not taking any fish or flax oil, though I'd imagine there's fish oil in the...fish, that i eat.

 

[Fuglydude]

Sounds like you eat really clean... this is good. However, clean food is typically not as calorie dense as more crappy stuff. You're probably getting a good amount of omega 3's from your fish, assuming you're eating a few pounds of salmon every week. However, I'd still suggest you supplement. I'd stack on a B-complex as well.

I'm assuming you're taking 80 mg ASA? You're 24... why aspirin now? Hx of CAD, HTN, obesity, DM2?

How many hours a week are you training? I still bet that you're not getting enough calories or protein. Write down a food journal for 2-3 days and post it. Consider supplementing w/ a meal replacement or even a mass gainer shake.

I don't have time now, but I'll post my diet and lifestyle factors. I'm around your height, but 40 lbs heavier, and don't do any cardio, yoga, etc.... maybe thats what you need to cut out haha!

 

[Leporello]

I take aspirin because.I have tetraology of Fallot, a congenital heart defect. I had a valve replaced about 15 months ago. That's why I started training in the first place.

It could well be the cause, though my cardiologist told me I'd be fine if I kept doing cardio.

 

[Fuglydude]

What interventions have you had for your TOF? I don't know a lot about the condition, but left untreated I know that there's issues w/ proper tissue oxygenation. Have you had a recent ABG done? What's your EF like on any recent echos that you've had?

Fatigue could simply be due to inadequate physiological reserve secondary to TOF... from hypoxemia, etc... I'm totally grasping at straws as I don't know anything about your management.

I'd suggest increasing calories and decreasing activity. Hell, I'm a competitive bodybuilder, and even I don't train 5x/week! Only time I would have to train so much would be for contest prep.

 

[Brownrice]

You might be overtraining.

 

[Leporello]

What interventions have you had for your TOF? I don't know a lot about the condition, but left untreated I know that there's issues w/ proper tissue oxygenation. Have you had a recent ABG done? What's your EF like on any recent echos that you've had?

Fatigue could simply be due to inadequate physiological reserve secondary to TOF... from hypoxemia, etc... I'm totally grasping at straws as I don't know anything about your management.

I'd suggest increasing calories and decreasing activity. Hell, I'm a competitive bodybuilder, and even I don't train 5x/week! Only time I would have to train so much would be for contest prep.

I might indeed be over-training. I'll cut it down to 3 days a week.

If by interventions you mean treatment, as I mentioned I had surgery in February 2010 which replaced one of my heart valves. As part of the recovery process they had me do cardio twice a week. I've kept the cardio the same and added weights and yoga, though it was only recently that I started working out 5X a week.

Without treatment the most common effect of TOF is death, at least in the long run. In the short term it can cause poor circulation, shortness of breath, and excessive strain on the heart. They've only recently began treating it in a serious way, so they don't really know how effective treatment is in the future.

I'm due for a checkup with my cardiologist, so i'll check back when I hear what she says.

 

[Alle_Gory]

What kind of heart halve? Synthetic, animal, lab grown from your own body??

 

[Leporello]

What kind of heart halve? Synthetic, animal, lab grown from your own body??

From a cow.