Tiredness or feeling tired, fatigue or exhausted is a very common complaint that doctors deal with. The main reason patients come to see a doctor with feeling tired is because they want an answer to something they have experienced for months or years.
Generally speaking, you usually fill tired for just a few days after a mild infection or a short-lived stressful period. And if that it the case, the feeling of tiredness or fatigue usually resolves within 10 days.
One thing that is important to know is that it is very challenging for a doctor to deal with a complaint “I am tired” during a standard 15 minute consultation. In fact you want a doctor that takes their time, because to know the root cause of tiredness is the start to recovery.
In the majority of cases, you may be told to wait-and-see how your symptoms progress. This can be advised, if a structured history is taken and there are no red flags or warning signs. We will discuss warning signs with you in the event that you feel tired so you always know when to connect with a doctor.
When is a physical examination and further work-up like blood tests done? We recommend a house-call in all men and women with over 3 months of tiredness and over the age of 45 years with risk factors. Provided that risk factors are well known to our doctors and well managed but yet you still feel tired, we will come to your home to reassess the situation.
The goal of our extensive, personalized analysis is to avoid tiredness from lingering in your life. Studies have shown that people with tiredness are more likely to die within a period of 10 years, this is most common in the those who are 75 years and above.
Other reasons not to accept tiredness as part of your every day life are
- it can turn into a permanent medical condition with serious consequences to your ability to function
- various negative effect on your surroundings, finances, not to mention your loved ones
- causes can be identified such as anxiety, post-surgical complications, food allergies, fear of cancer and even hormonal imbalance.
Hence, tiredness is
- not very specific, meaning that it has broad meaning
- linked to many different factors that lead to changes in your body, your mind or even in your surrounding
At Expat Health Clinic, we will not stop until we have identified all these various factors and recommend a suitable recovery pathway that aligns with your goals, beliefs and wishes.
