Do any other senior citizens have problems with fatigue?
November 5th, 2010 | 
Author: I go to bed tired and get up tired. If I don’t get busy first thing in the morning I have a hard time keeping my eyes open. Once I sit down I want to go to sleep. I usually always take a nap every day and I still sleep at night. I am 64 but this started at around 60. I do have health problems. Vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica. But I see others older than myself and they seem to have energy. I used to have more energy and I was always athletic and strong. I am still very strong for my age. I just feel really lazy.
I should have added, I go to the doctor regularly. I had breast cancer and have to see my oncologist. Now I am down to every 6 months. I see my rheumatologist every three months and I have blood work every month. I have asked all my doctors about this problem with no answers. I do have difficulty sleeping because I am in pain all night. By morning I am so stiff that I can hardly get out of bed. My rheumatologist says it is because of the polymyalgia and the arthritis. I do volunteer work. I also have a hobby. I do a lot of walking several times a week. I do not take a vitamin. I will try a multivitamin and see if that helps. Thanks for all your help
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You ought to get a complete check-up to see what the problem is. It could be anything from diabetes to narcolepsy. By and large, exercise helps to keep you more energetic. Get out and walk vigorously or ride a bike. Join a gym.
Thats like asking if chickens wish they could fly…
Yes, but I have insomnia and health issues. It might be time for you to go have a physical. Hope your fatigue issues are resolve soon.
Chronic illness and medications can be the cause of some things but boredom and depression can also cause lack of interest and energy. Get out, volunteer and have a reason to keep going all day.
Yes. Routine blood work every 6 months has revealed anemia, B12 deficiency, high blood pressure. Thyroid is fine now but we keep watching it. I still am more tired than I would like and with winter at the door I know it will only get worse. Work, money troubles, my son is ill, my daughters all live out of state…these things are more draining than I admit, I think.
I too tire easily. When I was younger I could fall right to sleep but now I have to take a sleep aid at night in order to sleep. I am tired during the day and not much gets done. I don’t know what it will be like in 10 years for me, I am 64. Hire a maid? Poppy
There are all sorts of problems that can cause fatigue. You need to have some blood tests to rule out a mineral deficiency, thyroid disorder, adrenal problems, etc. . Diuretics can cause a lack of minerals such as potassium. Allergies and rheumatoid arthritis can cause fatigue when it flair up. I have been fatigued by iron-deficient anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, potassium (sweating too much in the hot summer), and lack of vitamin B-12. Don’t feel lazy, you don’t need to feel guilty for being ill.
Lack of energy and most health problems are due to a need for things our bodies are made of. Get a good Vitamin – Mineral supplement and take them every day.
To boost the immune system, I take a ginseng every day in the fall thru winter and I won’t catch anything.
I am 66 and energetic and when injured, doctors are amazed at my health and fast recoveries. I do love to be lazy, but that is a mental thing, not physical.
Sister go to your doctor and get a vitamin B shot. This really helped my mom. She would go once a month or so and she would always feel so much better.
I do get very tired – I’m 74 – I know people who are 74 and they are out playing golf. I envy them.
I can feel just fine – then suddenly something over comes me and I have to lay down and sleep it off. If I have company – I simply have to excuse myself.
Also in the evening while watching TV – I drop off to sleep and didn’t know I was sleepy.
My problem is due to several health problems.
Talk to your doctor – tell him how you are feeling.
Hope you can get help and be your old self again.
I often wonder about – “The Golden Years”
Wishing you good health.
DeeJay.
Fatigue is one thing I have finally accepted as a way of life. Simple things like getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, but putting it off because you are so tired. Going to the doctors office wears me out and I usually fall asleep while the doctor is examining me. Cannot drive my lawn mower, because I fall asleep and run into things, even fell off twice, before my so took my keys. Oh Well! Such is life, and I am glad to be living.
Yes, I do. Thankfully I work FT which gets me out of bed around 5:30 and forces me to become active. I later find ‘energy’ more abundant than if I were home all day. You have health issues also, with lots of meds and pain, loss of sleep which I am sure is contributing to your fatigue.
I take a mega Vitamin B Multi Vitamin that has proven to help also; drink a lot of water and eat energy producing foods.
Hoping you improve!
If a thorough physical exam with a full blood workup does not reveal a physical problem you just need some spice in your life. Take on a new hobby that you might discover by doing things that you do not do now. Explore junk shops and second hand stores. Visit garage sales and visit with people. Check out senior citizen centers and find out what other people are up to. Get involved in genealogy. Organize your family photo collection. Reproducing old family photos to allow all members of the family to have copies of all photos is fun and very rewarding.
Yes! I have the same problemI when I get up in the morning, I ache in every bone in my body. I broke my femur in a fall in my home, and pains set in, I use a walker. well some times I am that weary I go back to bed on a morning. Vitamins can help but I use a heat rub at night, not that IT always works…
You sound just like me, only I have a different affliction-fibromyalgia. The only suggestion I haven’t heard in other answers would be to get your thyroid checked if you have not. I drink green tea every AM. I know what you mean about other people with energy, but we can’t compare. We are who we are.
It really sounds like you need a good sound sleep to feel better, and perhaps a new mattress. Have you tried any of the newer ones like the Sleep number that you can adjust. Are you getting cold at night which may make your joints feel stiffer. Have you tried a warm bath right before bedtime. Hopefully some of these suggestions may help. Best wishes. Oh yes, and before even thinking of getting out of bed do some stretching exercises. This really helps.
no i am the opposite.i feel like i am plugged into a live socket all the time.my husband sleeps all the time and he is down for bed at 8 thirty.not me the night has just begun.i cant sleep.if i get over 5 hours a night i am doing good.i am 71 and cant get calmed down at all.my husband says i need a valium,but i would never consider such things.i think my problem was i was a alcoholic for 40 years and when i got sober several years ago that’s when my insomnia started.good luck to ya.
Only when I tire my self out -
In the past year I have been plagued with bouts of extreme tiredness, or sleepiness to the point where I feel I will collapse. Often it hits me while I’m doing something pleasurable. I have decided that since I have fibromyalgia, that I probably have chronic fatigue syndrome. I also have arthritis. I, too, have to take frequent naps.
However, I notice that I’m fine when I take my nearly daily walk, which is sometimes an exhausting hike on hilly, rocky terrain. It also doesn’t hit me when I go for my twice weekly water exercise class.
I do take a multivitamin, but it doesn’t seem to work. My blood work is normal. I’d love to find an answer. I hope you do too.
I am 61, work full time and am constantly tired. I have sleep apnea, undiagonosed, and insomnia. I am a newly diagnosed Diabetic type 2, and have PAD. The body is going down hill with age. The mind is still young.
I just wish I was tired enough to sleep for 8 hours every night.
That would be a blessing.
Hate to say it Babe but you need to get tested for Hep C.
I’m sometimes tired too, for no good reason.
I’ve decided to get a stress test, just to check for blockages.
My doc can’t seem to figure it out either.
Vitamins seem to do nothing for me.
Good luck to you.
You could try looking up the side effects for all the medication you are on. I found that one of the main side effects of 3 of my husbands medications were fatigue. The combined effect was just wearing him out. The doctor changed one to another medication and lowered the dosage on the others and that helped a lot.