Health

Serendipity

I know the Polk forum is not the best place to seek medical advice, but...lately I feel tired all the time. It doesn't matter if I sleep at normal hours everyday. I've tried exercising and eating healthier foods, but that doesn't seem to help much either. I just feel tired ALL the time.

Last semester I had a sinus infection for 4+ months and felt terrible for the entire semester. I got better in December thru January, but then got sick again during midterms (late February/early March). I basically had to rest for a week before returning to school.

Now I want to know what tips you guys have for better health. I've been trying to exercise as much as possible, and eat less junk food. My friend's dad is a doctor and says exercise + good diet is the best way to keep healthy. But unfortunately I still get sick a lot and I'm not sure exactly why.

So besides that, is there anything else that works? I know I shouldn't be getting sick so often....

bobman1235

Do you have insurance? Go see your doctor, have blood work done. You could have any number of things wrong with you; diabetes comes to mind if you're tired a lot, as well as much worse (or, hopefully, milder) things. No one can know what's wrong without first getting some tests done though.

petrym

Lots of fresh air; I go camping and hiking with our son in Boy Scout events.

Serendipity

Yes, I've had blood work done recently.

IIRC aside from having high blood pressure and (I think) an excess number of white blood cells due to an infection, the doctor didn't mention anything else to me. She just said to exercise on a regular basis and eat healthier foods.

steveinaz

Health starts with your mind. You're probably stressed. Continue with the exercise and good eating and throw in a multi-vitamin like Centrum or something similar. Find ways to lower your stress level.

bobman1235

steveinaz wrote: »

Health starts with your mind. You're probably stressed. Continue with the exercise and good eating and throw in a multi-vitamin like Centrum or something similar. Find ways to lower your stress level.

+1 to this one too. Especially when I was in the later years of college, I went through a lot of what you're going through, convinced I had cancer or anything else cuz I was always anxious and tired. It was all in my head. Regular exercise helped, as did just finding something that truly lets you forget whatever else is bothering you - something that makes you focus. One of the reasons I love riding a motorcycle - you have no choice but to put all of your focus on what you're doing; it's great therapy. But the same can be said for a lot of exercises or hobbies.

clifselina

I had very similar symptoms. It turned out that I have restrictive sleep apnea. It was interfering with my breathing and caused my to never get into a deep, restorative sleep state.

I have a little machine that is basically an air pump that is attached to a mask and it keeps my airway open during the night.

It took a sleep study for that to be discovered, but I am very glad I did it.

mule

1st keep control over sugar and caffeine. They might get you up for a short time but you will crash and end up having swings in energy level, I am throwing rocks out of a glass house here because I struggle with it myself.

Look for foods with a low glycemic index, if you want fries get sweet potato fries, don't drink juices or sodas, way to much simple sugars. Eat beans instead of rice, just google "low glycemic index foods" and you can get a whole list.

Stretch, I know it sounds dumb, but I can't tell you how big the difference can be if you stretch for 20 minutes in the morning and the evening.

Like someone mentioned above, handle your stress. Things are never as bad as they seem and with a positive attitude you can handle virtualy anything that comes your way.

If you do some fun sports or work out you will burn off that stress and have more resting sleep.

The only medical condition I've had that really beat me down was Lyme disease. It is such a slow progression that I kept thinking I wasn't training hard enough and thats why I was getting weak, then I thought I was over training and thats why I was so tired, finally after getting checked out and going on 6 weeks of antibiotics I got back to normal and realized how sick I really had been.

Jstas

High blood pressure can be a source of fatigue.

PolkThug

I cured my high blood pressure with the Atkins Diet (not kidding).

ohskigod

managing stress is HUGE. I took some big steps to drop my stress quotient and it worked miracles.

I too have sinus infections and it can take me weeks to fight them (less if I break down and get an antibiotic) try Tylenol Sinus Severe (white caps) if you feel another one coming on by the way, they seem to work f*(king miracles for me recently

if you get these for months, you need to get thee to an ENT guy. ITs something I know I will have to do if mine get worse, sick for months? you passed that point a WHILE ago.

when your body fights an infection, it can beat the **** out of the rest of your body, and DEFINITLY make you feel tired.

3 things made my overall health seem to improve recently

a) excersize (started taking Krav Maga over a year and a half ago)
b) Took major steps to reduce stress (hard to go into details here)
c) Recently started taking a vitamin suplement called Veema, while wether something like this maing you feel better is subjective, i did notice I sleep ALOT better since taking it, which is something others that take it notice as well. Vitamin deficiencies can REALLY screw with your head and body chemistry, for example, a vitamin B deficiency can make people feel really depressed (ask me how I know..LOL)

maybe you should check your blood sugar on a more regular basis. If your sugar runs high, it can a) make you feel tired and b) drastically reduce your bodies ability to fight infection. since you have these issues, I cant shake off the fact your sugar levels are involved here. check blood sugar (the pee strips should be more than enough), limit pure sugar intake, as well as overloading on bread and pasta too.

Polk user

Take up Yoga

markmarc

I'd be tempted to have another set of blood work done. Also, I'm a firm believer looking thru your whole environment, i.e. water supply, cleanliness and fresh air at home and work, diet, financial situation. Investigate by starting with those things that don't cost money and then move into areas from least to most expensive: airing out the house, cleaning out the fridge including the ice maker, steam cleaning carpets, drinking filtered water for a couple of weeks. Then move into diet, fresh veggies and fruits.

The point is, it could be just one thing in your environment that you get exposed to constantly that has knocked you out of whack. For example, a former parent at my school refinished a piece of furniture with a fabric from asia. She spent months with allergy problems that no one could solve. Went she left town for a week, she had a temporary cure. Once back and miserable she read an article about fabric allergies and put two and two together.

bikezappa

all of the advice given is good, at least i can't see how it would hurt you and may very well make you feel better. when i look for advice as you are i try to ask and listen from people i know have made it work for them. the opposite of this is a diet book by dr phil. give me a f'in break that guy is over weight and has no business writing a diet book except to make money from dumb people.

who do you look to for advice if you feel tired? may i suggest you try reading some books by jack lalaine. the guy has been talking about health for 60 years and is in better shape than most people in their prime. the proof is in the pudding as they say. I have read a few of his books and his advice is simple and direct and works. his problem is that his advice is so simple and good other people can't make money from him. some one asked jack once what is more important exercise or diet, without any hesitation he said exercise. if you are healthy and exercise you can eat most anything. according to jack exercise is king diet is queen.

trying to evaluate your life sytle is very hard and takes much honestly and energy.

i wish you luck.

Serendipity

Thanks for all the advice.

I don't think it's stress, as I rarely get stressed out, and people who know me think I'm the most easygoing person around.

But getting sick this often can't be normal. I find that recently I drink a LOT of water and sleep a lot too. I just feel very tired.

With that said, I've been trying to get back into exercising regularly. Back in high school, I held the record for the fastest mile run and I was also a Gym Leader for Phys Ed. I'd like to say that I was in better shape then compared to now. When I started college, I stopped exercising as much and I need to get back into that habit.

Jstas

appadv wrote: »

But getting sick this often can't be normal. I find that recently I drink a LOT of water and sleep a lot too. I just feel very tired.

Do you drink alot of water because you are thirsty or just because you drink alot of water?

My grandfather was always thirsty and always tired and fatigued and sleep alot and it turned out that he developed diabetes.

Oh and just because you are "easy going" doesn't mean you aren't stressed. You don't have to be perpetually anxious and pulling your hair out to be stressed. Stress comes in many forms.

Serendipity

Jstas wrote: »

Do you drink alot of water because you are thirsty or just because you drink alot of water?

My grandfather was always thirsty and always tired and fatigued and sleep alot and it turned out that he developed diabetes.

Oh and just because you are "easy going" doesn't mean you aren't stressed. You don't have to be perpetually anxious and pulling your hair out to be stressed. Stress comes in many forms.

I don't know, I'm not thirsty all the time but I drink lots of water after I've done anything that requires energy (mowing the lawn, cycling, etc.)

I might drink 10-12+ bottles of spring water a day.

Airplay355

If you eat fast food, definitely stop. If you eat frozen food, definitely stop. Try cooking things if you don't already and make use of local farmers markets for good fresh food (even meat, not just veggies).

If you're overweight, you may want to get control of your weight. Find some more time to exercise and try eat healthier.

Diabetes could be the problem, but don't psych yourself out and go on a diabetes scare. If you're generally concerned talk to your doctor about it.

Diabetics are thirsty because the excess glucose in their blood gets removed by the kidneys which then causes water in the blood to be osmotically drawn into urine. So you'd drink a lot and pee a lot. There are urinalysis strips to test for glucose. Under no circumstances will a normal person be able to pee glucose. I know because I've tried. One of our lab experiments last semester was to eat 33 glucose tablets, the kind diabetics buy and use to quickly elevate their blood sugar. Well 33 tablets in less the 30 minutes did absolutely nothing other then give the 4 of us headaches. Healthy people will be able to produce enough insulin to allow whatever amount of glucose you manage to ingest to move into muscles and other somatic cells.

My uncle also has sleep apnea. It was causing him to feel tired all the time. He got one of the positive pressure machines and even though he sounds like darth vader at night, it helps him sleep until morning. I'm not sure how they'd test you for sleep apnea.

Talking to your doc is your best option though, especially if you have insurance (which I assume you do as most colleges force you to have medical insurance either through the college or your own private insurance company).

ben62670

Have you had an LFT(liver function test)?

mrbigbluelight

Don't get the pee strips to check your blood sugar level, unless you like peeing on your fingers.
Walgreens ALWAYS has some glucose meter on sale and, for the most part, they come with about 20 test strips.

Walgreens also has a Walgreens brand glucose meter that is small and comes with 50 test strips for about $25 (the test strips are what costs in the long run).

If, when you take a whizz, it suds up like cotton candy, you're dumping a lot of sugar.

Get a blood glucose meter, though, for your own piece of mind.

Face

And if your pee looks like cranberry juice, you're fine.

Serendipity

Airplay355 wrote: »

If you eat fast food, definitely stop. If you eat frozen food, definitely stop. Try cooking things if you don't already and make use of local farmers markets for good fresh food (even meat, not just veggies).

Ever since I moved out and lived in college, I've been eating mostly fast food and frozen food. On campus we have a Burger King, Taco Bell, a pizza place, and something like KFC (they sell fried chicken). Then there's a place thats like a McDonald's which serves mostly burgers and fries.

I need to stop eating campus food and going to local markets to buy healthier food.

bobman1235

Ya think?

steveinaz

Nasal infections are much more serious than people think, especially if they are allowed to go on for a long time, this could be the root cause.

Serendipity

steveinaz wrote: »

Nasal infections are much more serious than people think, especially if they are allowed to go on for a long time, this could be the root cause.

Well, the doctor finally gave me antibiotics after the 4 months of being sick, and the nasal infection went away.

As per the food, I believe that pizza, french fries, burgers, and fried chicken everyday (what I've been eating) isn't that good for your health

bikezappa

appav

rent the movie about the person that ate only fast food for a month. his doctor said to stop the experiment because his health was in serious jeproedy.

the suppliments for the movie were also great. they compared a hamburger from fast food to a home cooked burger after 4 weeks. the fast food burger looked perfect (wonder why) (perservatives). ever find a frech fry under the seat of your car that has been there for 4 months, looks perfect no bacteria-the wonder of perservations in the FF and YOU.

bikezappa

movie=supersize it

bobman1235

The movie is Super Size ME.

I liked the "other" stuff they talk about in that movie (specifically school lunches) much more than the "no duh" part about "if you eat fast food every day your liver will fail."

zombie boy 2000

I thought that was a great movie.

bikezappa

thanks for that info bob

danger boy

high blood pressure and diabetes are both serious and should be taken seriously.. they can have long term health affect. and at least with HBP there are no symptoms . I didn't realize I had HBP till my doctor said it was borderline high. high enough to put me on a med.