Help w/ Possible Causes of Low Energy?

Hi there. My issue is that I'm regularly feeling physically exhausted especially in my legs when walking up stairs (about a year now, but worse since doing circuit training the last 2 weeks). When I wake up I experience this aching as if it's in my nerves throughout my whole body, and don't want to get out of bed. When I finally do, my feet feel so swollen it's hard to walk. Today I couldn't muster enough strength to get past 5 minutes of my workout. Lately, I feel I have no energy to get through a normal day and just want to stay in bed.

I've been exercising consistently since March, at least 30 minutes of activity daily. Mostly walking every morning. The last 2 weeks I've been doing 30 DS circuit training (J. Michaels) and sometimes walking, swimming, or Zumba. My calorie goal is set to lose 1.5 lbs per week which gives me about 1700 calories a day. I try to eat balanced meals, I think. Lots of different proteins, occasionally heavy on carb with rice or bread, and vegetables. I eat eggs and veggies almost every morning after working out. I take a multivitamin, magnesium, BP med, pill form birth control, and glucosamine chondroitin daily. I drink 6-8 cups of water a day.

Things I'm thinking/wondering: Could this be diabetes? Should I have scheduled days of rest, and can I still walk 30 minutes on these days? Could I be overworking myself? Am I not eating enough? I hate going to the doctor.

What could I try to change first to see if there's any improvement?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.😊

Replies

Lounmoun

1. How much weight do you have to lose? Are you eating more when you exercise?
You could change your goal to lose slower (.5 lb-1 lb a week) or just maintain for awhile. If you are not eating more when you exercise you should start doing that. A rest day is a good idea. I imagine 30 minutes of walking could be okay. These changes might be enough.

2. This has been going on for a year though and seemingly getting worse. It is probably worth speaking to your doctor about these symptoms to rule out a medical issue.

jgnatca

1. Go to the doctor.
2. Possible causes - uncontrolled diabetes easily ruled out with a blood test...ordered by your doctor - failing kidneys ... easily ruled out by a blood test - poor lower body circulation or a weakened heart, quickly ruled out by an observant doctor. Who knows? I’m not a doctor.
3. Go to the doctor.

I once observed a (real life) trapper getting advice from the pharmacist about his popping kneecaps. He hollered his symptoms across the pharmacy counter and I learned all about it because, you guessed it, he hated going to the doctor. The pharmacist explained that some things can’t be cured with a pill. Go to the doctor.

Anya_000

I second @jgnatca. Given that the symptoms have persisted over a year, and they're getting worse, go to the doctor. Just go.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

I would definitely go to a doctor if I were you.

Depending on how much you have to lose, I would consider upping your calories for a .5-1lb loss for a while, if not maintenance and take a complete diet break. It could be nothing other than inadequate fuel, or it could be something more serious. Go to a doctor.

Crafty_camper123

Yup, doctor time. Electrolyte imbalances, kidney problems (as mentioned above) blood sugar problems, and thyroid problems can all be detected or ruled out through a simple blood test. Also, sleep apnea is another one to look into. That could cause the exhaustion and nerve-y feelings in your legs due to lack of oxygen while you sleep. But the only way to find out, is you'll have to go to the doc for a consult and blood panel. I wouldn't even worry about weight loss until you get the medical part sorted out.

kshama2001

Do go to the doctor and stop the 30 DS immediately. Check out the 1 star reviews for any Jillian Michaels DVD on Amazon. Seems to shred the knees particularly, which will make stairs especially challenging.

intrigame23

Thank you, all. You're right -- calling the doctor's office tomorrow for sure.

alabamaheather

I used to have fatigue and weakness-especially going up the stairs. I had low ferritin. Have your doctor run an iron panel including ferritin. Most doctors don’t check for it. Most don’t believe you can be anemic with low ferritin and normal iron labs. This is not true.

intrigame23

Not that anyone cares but doctor said it was dehydration. Blood tests showed I was so dehydrated my kidneys suffered an 'acute injury'... drinking a gallon of water a day was her order and it solved the issue.

jgnatca

I care! It’s been six months but grateful nevertheless that you got back to us.

Just goes to show it pays to check out odd symptoms. Glad your kidneys are OK now. We all do better with healthy kidneys.

Numer1ca

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing.

I doubt anyone would have guessed dehydration as you were actually drinking plenty of water.

Makes one think as I suffer from muscle cramps

Numer1ca

Stick around lady.

kshama2001

intrigame23 wrote: »

Not that anyone cares but doctor said it was dehydration. Blood tests showed I was so dehydrated my kidneys suffered an 'acute injury'... drinking a gallon of water a day was her order and it solved the issue.

Wow! Thanks for the update. Glad it worked out for you

ps - I'm curious - did your doctor explain why you were dehydrated despite drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day or why you need so much more water than the standard recommendation?

Crafty_camper123

I love it when people come back and update us on how they are doing in regards to thier post! I'm glad it was a simple fix!

intrigame23

Thanks, all! 😊 I hope that if someone else has an issue like this they also see a doctor. I thought I was drinking plenty of water!

intrigame23

kshama2001 wrote: »

intrigame23 wrote: »

Not that anyone cares but doctor said it was dehydration. Blood tests showed I was so dehydrated my kidneys suffered an 'acute injury'... drinking a gallon of water a day was her order and it solved the issue.

Wow! Thanks for the update. Glad it worked out for you

ps - I'm curious - did your doctor explain why you were dehydrated despite drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day or why you need so much more water than the standard recommendation?

She said I had to have much more water because of how much I sweat during the summer teaching summer school and really pushing myself with exercise that it actually wasn't enough. She did another blood test after doing the gallon a day for a week and the numbers were much better! I wish I remembered exactly what was tested... creatinine I believe was over 300ml... something like that.

23rochelle23

Numer1ca wrote: »

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing.

I doubt anyone would have guessed dehydration as you were actually drinking plenty of water.

Makes one think as I suffer from muscle cramps

Salts often a culprit for muscle cramps

Pleased to hear you got your dehydration sorted @intrigame23!