Just recently I have noticed that I am always tired. Morning, noon and night.
I thought that it was because of my job. I teach full time at a kindy so I am on my feet all day. However I go to bed at 10pm and get up at 7am so I am still getting 9 hours sleep.
I also ear fairly healthily and swim and ride my bike once per week. Overall my life here is pretty similar to my previous life in Australia.
I have also been here 6 months now so this shouldn’t be a “Fresh off the boat” syndrome.
Does anyone have any insights? Anyone else suffering?
Maybe a bit of depression? I used to feel that way in Taiwan a lot too, and I’m normally totally full of energy. It stopped as soon as I left Taiwan and I became ‘myself’ again. Looking back, I think I was mildly depressed the whole time I lived there.
I don’t know if you’re female, but if you are, sometimes your hormones levels will suddenly change. This can be extra noticeable if it changes how your birth control interacts with your body.
Lethargy is a symptom of hepititis B, which is pretty widespread in Taiwan. Get a blood test and see if you have it. Most locals have natural antibody so they’re immune. Most foreigners don’t. It’s not the end of the world if you’ve contracted it. You’ll need to be treated and just rest it out, and after that, you’ll have the antibody and be immune. You can then eat at the dirtiest streetside food stalls and exchange bodily fluids with the locals to your heart’s content.
I also have a problem with fatigue. However, my wife tells me that I have a teeny problem with sleep apnea. Also, the air quality is bad, and the sun only peeks out a few times a week.
Think also about parasites. Parasites will take you down real fast, so a blood test and stool sample test are a good idea. And, get a thorough blood test. I didn’t find out that my thyroid had stopped working until I was almost 30. A blood test earlier could have saved me a lot of grief.
Join the club. I’ve been tested for everything, thyroid, Hepatitis, whatever, you name it. I suffer from what I call “weekend sleep disorder”. On weekends, I can sleep 12 hours straight, get up for a couple of hours, and just keep on sleeping.
I blame it on distorted circadian rhythms now. Or jet lag.
if you can rule out major depression then it probably has to do with spleen, chi, kidney, or blood deficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome can be easily taken care by professional TCM provider, even if the fatigue is due to Heptitis B, I would suggest you to seek help from a decent TCM doctor, don’t get ripped off though.
I complained for YEARS that I was always tired. People, including doctor people, would always say, “Well, you’re a single mom,” or “you’re a full time student.” Yep, I was a full time student, full time employee, full time single mom, under a LOT of stress.
But it didn’t let up for a very, very long time. And the fatigue got worse and worse.
FINALLY, after tearfully begging the doctor here to take me seriously, he did some blood tests and found tha my adrenial function was almost too low to sustain life!
Don’t take your healt for granted. Your body is trying to tell you something. Hopefully, there’s an easy fix for your, but do at least keep trying until you find out what’s really wrong.
I’ve gone through the exact same issue with my doctor. I was advised the common possibilities (from memory in no particular order) are as follows:
Depression - You might not feel it, but its possible, ie are you constantly unhappy with your job?
Your getting old
Not enough exercise
Hepatitis B
Celiac disease - aka your body is allergic to wheat, affects 1 in 10 people
Allergy to fructose! (i know WTF!)
Allergy to something else.
Although if you are in taiwan and dont have your Hep B shots, that is something I would get tested for. It needs to be treated as some people can’t get over it naturally.
I would strongly recommend a quite difficult temporary diet where you cut out all gluten (wheat) and sugar. Just eat meat and vegetables seasoned to taste.
Exactly! Cmpletely eliminating sugar (the kind that is added to some food, not the one that comes naturally n fruits) goes a long way toward maintaining good health. Then there is the issue of essential fatty acids (eat some fatty fish once in a while or, if that is not to your liking, add flax seeds or flax seed oil to your diet), and also the matter of physical exercise: cycle or walk at least an hour a day… In addition, modern people tend to suffer from chronic low-level constipation due to a diet that does not have enough fiber content (this also means a build up of toxins in the body) and a sedentary lifestyle (meaning they sit most of the time) = most people don’t even know that digestion taking as long as two or three days is NOT normal (natural).
That’s not how it works, locals don’t have any better immunity than foreigners and hepatitis is really only common among the elderly. It is possible though that it is related to hepatitis so one should always check it out.
Working as an English teacher is very tiring along with the humidity…so I wouldn’t rule that out either.
[quote=“Icon”]Join the club. I’ve been tested for everything, thyroid, Hepatitis, whatever, you name it. I suffer from what I call “weekend sleep disorder”. On weekends, I can sleep 12 hours straight, get up for a couple of hours, and just keep on sleeping.
I blame it on distorted circadian rhythms now. Or jet lag.[/quote]
