Lack of Energy: Not a Normal Sign of Aging

My mom is 80 yrs old...has type 2 diabetes, atrial fibrillation (has had a dual lead pacemaker put in), high blood pressure, and depression. She has had numerous bouts of pneumonia 98% of required hospitalization. Plus a really bad infection in her colon, which we almost lost her from. She has low vision and diabetic retinopathy. She is constantly telling the heart doctor, her internal medicine doctor, and well every single doctor she has that she is tired all of the time, napping, no energy, etc. One gave her medicine for depression, another found she was anemic and treated that, and another has given her something to help her sleep at night. All doctors know what medications she is taking, but yet here she is constantly complaining of being tired, etc. and nothing more has been done or found. I don't know what else to do for her...I will be printing this article off and showing it to her internal medicine doctor at the next visit.

Sarah Henry

over 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing your three interesting -- and very different -- examples of excessive tiredness masking an underlying problem.

Donnalee

over 3 years ago

My father who just turned 90 has been going through this for about a couple of years - about the time he told me he'd been told he had a high platelet level and had been put on hydroxurea; he thought he would be taken off when his levels went down but the doc said he was now on it for the rest of his life for risk of stroke; however, I found out the risk is not the great (I do realize the consequences could be though if he did have one; but do we want to have this kind of life?) but he listens to the doc (or did until he quit; now he doesn't have one so we're waiting; in the meantime he's still taking the meds)

This is so important! My mom was uncharacteristically tired and napping a lot -- we didn't add it up. Figured, oh, getting old. By the time she collapsed from dehydration (and then got proper medical attention) it was too late. Inoperable cancer was diagnosed and she was gone within months.

BettyC

over 3 years ago

My husbands parents moved in with us in March of this year. We have the same problem of napping a lot but still too tired to do anything. I approached my mother-in-law, Dot, about it calling it disappointment rather than depression. She said that she is very disappointed at not feeling well and not being able to do very much. We talked about that zapping her energy and appetite and she agreed but whether or not there will be any change remains to be seen. She has not been willing to admit to depression but calling it disappointment worked. Now we just have to fix it.