My name is Brett. I'm 20 years old, and always exhausted.

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Ever since sophomore junior year of high school, I have been exhausted every single day of my life, all day long. 

Today, I am a junior in college. 

Physically, my body doesn’t have any trouble. I can play basketball, run long distances, usually don’t have any fatigue over the regular person. I’ve always been fairly athletic. 

However, as the years have been going on, I am always tired. Sometimes to the point where I can’t even do things I enjoy doing, such as talking with friends or playing video games. 

Sleep doesn’t help. Doesn’t matter how little or how much. Some days I would even sleep up to 15 hours. And often times it takes me 2-3 hours after being up, to stop being in a zombie state. I nap almost every single day. (2 hours or more). 

When I was younger this wasn’t ever an issue. I know what it feels like to be awake. 

This is everything I have tried to fix the problem:

I went to a sleep study, to make sure I didn’t have issues with my breathing and such. Doctors said nothing was wrong. 

During college, I tried eating foods such as lean proteins, salads, bananas, trying to make sure it wasn’t a diet issue. No difference. 

Caffeinated drinks and coffee don’t affect me. I can drink a full cup of coffee, and fall asleep half an hour later, no problem. 

Couple days I tried not eating late at night, to see if it was a digestive issue. 

Senior year of high school I picked up consistent exercise, going 3 times a week, and 1-2 other days of cardio, do too my summer job. 

Tried warm showers at night to relax my body. 

Consistently taken Iron supplements. 

To eliminate high sugar intakes, I started drinking only water. No soda, or sugary drinks. (Water does seem to help a small amount when I drink a large cup in the morning). 

One thing to note that has changed since I was younger,  is of my sleep schedule. Being in college, definitely swaps around my times I’m available to sleep, with classes all at different points in the day. So for almost 2 weeks, I tried going to bed and waking up every single day, same time. (I had to tell my friend, that any day I missed, I would pay him 5 dollars. Just because of how difficult it was). The result has no effect, and I just felt more exhausted than ever before. To say it was challenging is an understatement. 

I sleep fine. I fall asleep at around 25-30 minutes and dream almost every single night. I won’t wake up mid-night unless I drink lots of water beforehand. I’m a pretty heavy sleeper. 

Things to note: I have back and neck pain quite often. (I’ve tried many many many pillows, chairs, and sleeping patterns. Even went to get electrotherapy for my back). 

I have had a heart ablation for my erratic heart beats.  Even after the ablation, I still feel issues with my heart though, but different in a weird way. Probably not related, but worth mentioning. 

High amounts of issues with itching all over my body. (Resent problem). 

Very dry mouth when waking up. (Recent issue). 

Thyroid issues in both of my parents. (Though blood test shows nothing of me). 

I feel I don’t have good circulation. Legs constantly go numb sitting. 

Computer monitors and phone screens are a big part of my life and not avoidable as they are part of my career path. I did try some blue light filter glasses for a short period, and while they seem to help the burning sensation in the eyes, I don’t feel any better. 

I’m 20 years old, and sleeping my life away. Every day I get more worried that there isn’t anything I can do. I want to be awake, so I can start doing more. Please help me...

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Dry mouth implies mouth breathing.  Do you snore?  My guess is you might want to get rechecked for sleep apnea.  Go back to your sleep doctor and try to find some alternative reasons for your tiredness.  Chronic fatigue syndrome?  Ever get bit by a deer tick?
    • Posted

      I am not sure about a deer tick, though it is definitely likely, considering I get bit by ticks quite often, due to my job being outside. How would I check for something like this?

      Thanks very much for your response smile

    • Posted

      Lab tests could be run for presence of antibodies to the agent for lyme disease.  Usually when you are bit by a tick, it forms a bullseye pattern on your skin.  If you have noticed this at any time, lyme disease could be a likely option.

      Also, I agree with the poster below that you should get your thyroid checked out.

  • Posted

    I noticed you said your parents had thyroid problems, have you gotten a full blood test to see what your TSH levels are? Maybe it could be hypothyroidism 

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