Do you feel tired and without strength? 5 possible causes

When the body lacks strength

Tiredness or the feeling of fatigue is a symptom that may be a reflection of a large number of organic pathologies, but also an indicator of psychological alterations, social conflicts or exposure to environmental pollutants.

However, it is a difficult symptom to diagnose. because not even the same people who suffer from it can clearly specify at what point in their lives it started; even when the cause is some organic disease, it can start slowly and insidiously.

Since there are many causes of biological origin, we are going to focus on the most frequent in the female sex depending on age, although the multiple psychosocial and environmental causes that can also cause fatigue must always be taken into account.

Possible Causes of Chronic Lack of Energy

Before the age of 50, The most frequent causes of tiredness are anemia and deficiencies in iron stores, excessive menstrual losses or the appearance of autoimmune diseases and alterations in thyroid function.

Instead, from the age of 50, Most of the symptoms of tiredness are due to anemia caused by vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiencies, rheumatic diseases and diabetes.

In recent decades, a new disorder has been described that can affect all people regardless of their age: chronic fatigue syndrome.

Does exercise tire or rest? Find out in this video.

1. Iron deficiencies

Iron-deficiency anemias and iron deficiencies are the most common reason for women “always tired” worldwide.

The main symptoms of iron deficiency, even if the levels of red blood cells and hemoglobin are normal, are:

Fatigue, which can become so pronounced that it is confused with chronic fatigue syndrome. Generalized muscle pain and weakness. Cold throughout the body, especially in the hands and feet. Daytime sleepiness and nocturnal insomnia. Tachycardia and palpitations, Dyspnea (breathing difficulty) and a feeling of suffocation with physical exertion or sports. Pain in the tongue (with inflammation, shine and redness), atrophy of the taste buds or repeated thrush. Paleness of the skin and mucous membranes. Common infections in the skin, difficulty in wound healing, increase in acne and increase in pimples and boils. Also photodermatitis due to sun exposure and generalized pruritus. Hair loss and dry scalp. Fine hair difficult to comb and with open ends, Nails with white spots that open in layers…

This extensive list of symptoms is explained because iron plays an essential role in the Krebs cycle (central element of metabolism), which needs the iron ion that gives ferritin.

Its deficiency translates into increased anxiety, phobias and fears, and loss of memory and ability to concentrate.

A normal iron store is very important for the musculature of the whole body, especially the heart, and for the balance of the brain. The substantia nigra, the striatum nucleus and the areas of the limbic system are the richest in this mineral.

2. Anemias of vitamin B12 or folic acid

In addition to that caused by a lack of iron, there are two other types of anemia: due to a lack of vitamin B12 and/or folic acid (macrocytic) and an intrinsic factor in the stomach (pernicious anemia).

They occur in 1.9% of people over 60 years of age and their prevalence is higher among women than among men, in a ratio of five to one. It also presents with fatigue, exertional dyspnea, tachycardia and irritability.

Deficiencies of vitamin B12 and folic acid are due to nutritional or absorption deficiencies.

In the case of folic acid, This can be interfered with by some drugs, such as those indicated for epilepsy, arthritis (methotrexate) and hormonal contraceptives.Vitamin B12 deficiency It occurs in stomach and intestine diseases, which reduce its formation and absorption. It happens, for example, to those who have had half their stomach removed due to cancer or to combat severe obesity, or to those who suffer from chronic atrophic gastritis caused by the presence of gastric antiparietal antibodies (the parietal cells of the stomach secrete a necessary substance for the body to absorb vitamin B12).

In recent years we have detected a new type of anemia among young women and men who have stopped eating meat and follow a diet based on pasta. These supposedly detoxifying pseudo-diets perpetuate anemia and fatigue.

Vegetarians make up for this with supplementation, knowing that their diet is lacking in essential amino acids and vitamin B12.

3. Autoimmune diseases

Almost all autoimmune diseases start with tiredness and pain, that are established slowly and progressively, which is why they are confused with other states of discomfort and are difficult to diagnose.

Some of the autoimmune processes interfere with brain function, causing depressive syndromes due to neurotransmitter deficiency.

Their frequency varies greatly. There are very common disorders, such as thyroiditis, which affects 25% of the female population, and others that are less common, such as lupus erythematosus (one case per 500/1,000 women).

The fact that these diseases are introduced in a sneaky way and the long period that usually elapses until their diagnosis, which can be several years, it also contributes to creating a depressive statesince women have to live and work with fatigue and pain, which leads to a low quality of life.

An excess of estrogens due to the presence of environmental chemicals (insecticides, solvents, anesthetic gases and other endocrine disruptors) is a stimulus for the appearance of autoimmune diseases.

4. Hypothyroidism

The most common autoimmune thyroid pathology is hypothyroidism.which manifests itself, even if it is mild, with:

Tiredness and muscle pain (myopathy). Feeling of intense cold. Constipation. Dry skin, especially on elbows and heels. shorter menstrual periods.

Due to the effect of thyroid hormone on the central nervous system, and particularly on serotonin, its deficiency is related to increased appetite in the middle of the afternoon, and memory loss and ability to concentrate.

Also the tendency to depression that presents resistance to the usual psychotropic drugs, and that can only be corrected with the administration of thyroid hormone until function normalizes.

By studying the correlation between thyroid hormone deficiency and quality of lifewe have found that women with hypothyroidism:

They had difficulties to develop active leisure activities.They had the ability to finish their usual work, but at night they couldn’t do anything.They had problems with alert behaviorthey stumbled, they had frequent and repeated forgetfulness.They felt difficulties in psychosocial relationships and in their own emotional behavior.

All these aspects improved after the treatment with the necessary doses of sodium levothyroxinewhich normalized the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

Many women who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia actually have a hypothyroid myopathy that can be treated and improved. The same goes for fatigue.

5. Diabetes

Excess glucose in the blood in adult life, The so-called type II diabetes is one of the causes of tiredness in women of all ages, but especially in those over 50 years of age.

When you have type II diabetes, sugar stays in the blood because the body does not produce insulin (the hormone that helps glucose enter cells) or does not use it efficiently.

Since the cells are not getting energy, the cells are “hungry” and “tired”.

People with type II diabetes always have a feeling of hunger, especially after meals with carbohydrates, which increases obesity, thirst and the need to urinate frequently.

Symptoms can appear even with small changes in blood glucose tests after meals. So, It is essential to reduce the intake of carbohydrates and make it more proportional to that of protein.