Wednesday, March 2, 2011

are you a tired mom?


I've been soooo tired lately. Really tired. To the point where I complain about being tired during most of my awake time. I know it's normal for a working mom to be tired but this is just ridiculious! I've been explaining away the tiredness because, well, what can I do about being tired?

I finally gave in and made an appointment at the doctor's office. She came in nonchalantly and fired off questions that were just like the ones I've been asking myself, and thinking that the answers to some of them were the culprit for my new state of exhaustion:

- "Do you sleep enough?"
- "Do you work full time?"
- "How old are your children?" "Oh. Do you ever rest?"

After reassuring the doctor that I've been at this pace for a while, and explaining that this is something new, she asked "are you depressed or anxious?" And my negative response led her to order some blood tests (4 vials worth) and a pregnancy test just in case (which, to my relief, was very negative although I immediately imagined myself with another baby in my arms...).

The result? A simple vitamin D deficiency. I'm definitely eating enough vitamin D-rich food, so it's probably due to lack of exposure to the sun. I'm taking 1000 cu's of vitamin D3 per day. It's only been a week and I feel the same.

While I am tough and push myself, ignoring the exhaustion did not work to my advantage this time. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to other health problems like osteoporosis.

Has anyone experienced this before?

7 comments:

  1. Oh I'm so tired too. Between a long commute, a long work day, and a toddler I'm exhausted. Dr. Oz is always touting the vitamin D thing so maybe I'll give it a go.

    Stopping by from SITS. I'm your newest follower.

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  2. Wow you are totally giving me something to think about. I supplement my children's Vitamin D, but never thought about myself. I certainly have not had enough sunlight.
    Maybe I should give it a try.
    Thank you for saving me a copay!

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  3. I'm always tired as well... really, really tired. My bloodwork always comes back normal, so I chalk it up to stress!

    Hope you see a difference soon!

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  4. A friend of mine saw a distinct difference when she started taking supplements. I think she took it at a particular time of day....maybe just before bed so she'd wake more bright-eyed? Let me know if you want me to check w/her.

    Winter is a hard time of year, for sure - hurry spring!!

    What ever the case, it's good that you're taking care of yourself and getting it checked out w/your doc. :)

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  5. Thanks for all the input. I am definitely interested in learning about the best time of day to take vitamins. When I was pregnant I used to take my multivitamin with milk in the morning and then I found out that the calcium in milk inhibits iron absorption. I was anemic at the moment. As soon as I started to take the vitamin with OJ instead (vitamin c helps to absorb iron) I started to feel better!

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  6. Oh, wow! I am the same. I complain about being tired every minute of the day. I was sick of myself! I'm on 5,000+ IUs per day, plus vitamins and fish oils. I'm so nauseous! Did you have that problem too, and did you eventually get used to the vitamins? I take them on a full stomach, but I've always been sensitive to vitamins (which is why I've been so bad about taking them).

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  7. I'm not experiencing any nausea, but I think my levels were likely higher than yours because I'm only supposed to take 1000 ius...
    When I used to take a pill that made me nauseous, I switched to taking it at night on a full stomach. Somehow I would sleep through the nausea and not notice it. Worth a try!

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