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I turned 50 earlier this year. I'm a gardener d I still try to ride my bike, so generally fairly active. I'd like to lose a couple of pounds but I'm not overweight and I eat fairly sensibly but could do better. I avoid caffeine after lunchtime and rarely drink, I can go months without alcohol and mostly just drink alcohol free beer. Couple of weeks ago we were in Italy on holiday and since getting back I've been knackered. It was really hot in Italy and we like to get out and about, maybe we should've taken it easier. Once home I had a lot of work to do to catch up, kind of negates the holiday unfortunately.
Anyways is this just my lot, at my age with a physical life do I just accept being tired and try and fit in more rest, try and eat a bit better etc or would supplements help? I'm quite sceptical regarding this kind of thing l, see far too many influencers on Instagram hawking this kind of stuff but am keen to hear of others experiences.
Early 50's and my tolerance to processed food and alcohol has dropped
We try to cook from fresh food only these days. Sleep makes a big difference too.
I actually think exercise helps, but more endurance based steady exercise rather than max heart rate type stuff. Weight is also a big factor.
Personally Im not a fan of supplement's. If you are taking supplements it means your are not eating the right things. However as long as you acknowledge to yourself you are not eating the right things then its ok to use them. Its not always convenient or possible to get everything from 'real' food.
Why put shit in to your body and then try and offset it with a processed tablet is my thought these days?
OP.
If you can't shake it,request a blood test ( usually by a nurse) through your GP to check things out.
I did this a few years ago and it was really helpful.
I went thru this a few years ago. The GP has a "tired all the time" protocol to work thru which they did. various blood tests etc. What came back was that i was severely deficient in vit D at 20% of normal levels. I started taking vit d and can confidently say it changed my life. No more chronic fatigue and no more night sweats. How much is in my head is hard to assess of course.
Even tho you spend a lot of time outside ( as I did ) how much exposure to the sun does your skin actually get? I realised that I actually did not get much sun exposure as I generally wore long trousers, long sleeves and sunscreen. I started wearing shorts much more and allowing a half hours sun exposure before slapping on the sunscreen.
Vit D is cheap - it takes a week or two to get levels up I now take 1000iu when I remember ( *runs off to take some*) so maybe try that for 2 or 3 weeks and see how you feel
there is a school of thought that everyone living in Scotland should take Vit D all year round
It may have been exacerbated by getting dehydrated / electrolyte short on your holiday. On my big bike ride I rode myself into a fatigued state a month or so in but a days rest and electrolytes vit D and Vit E and I was back to rights again
I am 54 and have been suffering from fatigue for the last few years.
I had my bloods tested twice. The second time they did a far more comprehensive set of tests including my testosterone levels.
Everything came back okay.
I take a multivitamin, vit D & K, MSM, chondroitin and a few other things.
I have also been on a low dose of Sertraline for almost 10 years now.
The doctor thought that I was going back into depression and it did feel like the Sertraline had stopped working. He wanted me to increase my dosage. I didn't want to at first, but I have been on the higher dose for three weeks and things do feel a bit better.
Even the fatigue isn't quite so bad now.
However, I also think it is just part and parcel of aging as well.
I just don't have as much energy as I did 10 years ago.
My GP also suggested SSRIs tho I was not depressed at the time - in cases of fatigue with no obvious cause SSRIs can seemingly improve things. However the Vit D sorted me so I never took that step
GP here. If you have abnormal levels of fatigue persisting past six weeks duration, it's reasonable to come and see us and have some blood tests and possibly other investigations.
I've been taking magnesium threonate and L-Glycine (the latter gives you really vivid dreams 😂) before bed to help improve sleep quality. My OH has very different sleep patterns and needs so these seem to help me at least sleep more solidly 11-6 to get 7 hours seep rather than waking up when she comes to bed at 1/2/3/4am, even if I'd rather spend 9 hours in bed to get ~8 sleep. So they don't solve being tired directly, but they do solve a major cause.
Personally Im not a fan of supplement's. If you are taking supplements it means your are not eating the right things. However as long as you acknowledge to yourself you are not eating the right things then its ok to use them. Its not always convenient or possible to get everything from 'real' food.
I think people need to get over the idea that supplements are somehow cheating. For example B12, if you were actually healthy then your gut would produce it, but no one has diet that supports it anymore, it's basically impossible in the modern world*. Meat contains B12 because animals mostly do have the right diet still. Except even dairy cattle are now supplemented with B12. So if you're vegan, you probably need a B12 supplement. If you're not Vegan then meat and dairy is basically a B12 supplement.
Should people eat a balanced diet, absolutely yes. Should people make others feel guilty for taking a pill to make themselves healthier, absolutely not!
*the bacteria that produce it are found in soil, so the correct diet would be raw unwashed plants and root-veg.
*the bacteria that produce it are found in soil, so the correct diet would be raw unwashed plants and root-veg
So my kid has the right idea in eating soil, huh?
This will always be a very individual thing so one persons experience will be very different to others, but I'll give you mine.
I'm 53 now. From Christmas 2022 I had a run of illness - chest infections, colds, probable covid and confirmed covid over Christmas '23. From spring '24 I was regularly getting badly out of breath just walking around the house and the fatigue was crippling. I eat well, drink very, very occasionally have never smoked or taken drugs and exercise carefully but even riding an ebike for 15 minutes left me utterly fatigued for days.
In September last year I couldn't function at all, the brain fog left me unable to drive and even walking into the kitchen from the living room resulted in me on my hands and knees struggling for breath for several minutes.
My GP did blood tests, ECG and chest x-rays and everything was normal. The last conversation I had with him was "We think it's long covid, you'll get better in time. Probably. There's nothing we can do so you don't need to see me again". In other words go away and leave me alone.
So I go to Dr Google for long covid support and of course for every "cure" there's lots of others saying the cure did nothing for them. However a few things did come up, notably B12, Iron and Omega 3 and 6 so out of desperation I ordered £50 worth.
Within 5 days I was on the phone to my manager asking of I could come back to work. I did a month of short days as I was still very tired, but functioning as long as I could finish work early afternoon then go home and sleep. After a month I read that as B12 is water soluble you could increase the dose safely as you just urinate it out if you don't need it. I doubled the dose and a week later I was climbing a pathless Corbett wading through snowy heather. This year I've been properly back on the hills both on foot and on my non ebike - my Flaremax has been up 4 Corbetts this year, and I've done another 30ish without the bike.
I still do the B12 now with a low dose of iron as you have to be careful with that and the Omega's along with vit D which I've taken for a long time and I'm generally pretty healthy now.
So is it the supplements? Would I have got better anyway? Is it placebo? I've no idea, but for what it costs I'm sticking to it.
As I say, this is entirely an individual thing and my GP told me that I wasn't deficient in anything but something changed when I started on them.
Good luck!
I agree with getting yourself checked out, if just to rule things out.
I thought my fatigue was due to getting older/related to another medical condition I have and I put off going to the GP for too long. when I did eventually go they discovered I had a kidney issue causing a few problems I had dismissed. Glad I went now.
And I totally agree with TJ regarding vit D.
OP is unlikely to be vit D deficient if they're a gardener by trade , eh?
Agree with getting checked out before necking a load of supplements.
The only thing I take is cod liver oil, as my dietician GF says it's the only thing most people will really benefit from (contains vit D BTW)
OP is unlikely to be vit D deficient if they're a gardener by trade , eh?
Not so - if he is wearing a long sleeved shirt and trousers and anyway in Scotland we do not get enough sun a lot of the year to make vit D. Its now recommended everyone in Scotland should vit d supplement particularly in winter adn your need for supplementation increases as you get older
Its cheap enough and with so few side effects its worth trying IMO
From NHS inform
Everyone in Scotland should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D particularly during the winter months.
https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/healthy-eating/nutrition/vitamins-minerals/vitamin-d
https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/food-and-nutrition/eating-well/vitamin-d
I don't think I'll bother the doctors at the moment. We have some multi vitamins and Berocca in the medicine cabinet so I think I'll start with trying one of those first and if there's no improvement then I'll go to the docs for tests. I don't wear shorts for work and never go "taps aff" apart from when I went in the sea on holiday but there's been no shortage of sun for the last few months.
As a matter of course I would only take supplements if a particular deficiency is identified through tests that you can get through your doctor.
I would advocate making small changes to improve diet (eat healthy fat, protein with every meal, whole grains etc) and knocking off the pounds you have said you’d like to lose. Making some notes that you can refer back to can help you determine what is working to make the changes you want to see.
I nap for a few minutes (5-10) everyday and that helps keep my energy up.
i generally ignore any ads that promote supplements unless there is a deficiency, a balanced diet is all you should need but the points raised already about vitamin D are valid
I put generous amounts of yeast flakes in our evening meal (often vegan tortilla wrap surprise), which is apparently good for B12, but it hasn't made obvious improvements to energy for better half or I with our long covids.
I felt surprisingly good on the bike two weeks ago and did at least a couple of days of relatively hard but short intervals (sub 15mins length) without obvious PEM.
But the following week, I did a just over 20min TT on Zwift and I've felt much more tired since. Last Saturday I did the Tiny Races and I can'tr recall ever feeling so bad during them while trying properly.
So besides one Zwift TT this week, I'm making a conscious effort to make this week a recovery (and hopefully positive adaption) week.
I have a few supplements in the cupboard (multi, C, D, iron), but I've not been good at taking them anything close to daily this year, I've also had two respiratory infections totalling ~6 weeks since April. Up until April, I thought I was feeling slightly less fatigued, but it's been a struggle since, although the ebike bought in April has helped me get out.
I'm not vegan, better half is, maybe I should try and eat more eggs/meat/fish than I usually do these days. At 50+, apparently 100g protein should be target as body less efficient at making use of what goes through intestine.
Eat liver weekly.
Couple of weeks ago we were in Italy on holiday and since getting back I've been knackered.
Are you sure you have not got Covid? I got it at the airport in Cyprus coming back a few weeks ago, one of the symptoms is fatigue. Worth a test.
I'm much of the same mind as Dunc in the first reply. I'm vegetarian, so I take a multivitamin 'just in case.' Worst case scenario, I've wasted a couple of quid on a handful of Smarties I didn't really need.
That said, I'm off them at the moment whilst other things are being investigated.
Eat liver weekly.
I hear it goes well with fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Lamb's liver stir fry and Chianti may well hit the spot!
For those of us north of the border, we only get enough vitamin D from the sun from May to August, so supplements are no bad thing.
I’m 60, weight had crept up in recent years, lower energy levels and snoozing in the evening. A low level cancer diagnosis forced me to look at options given that the only NHS treatment options were surgery and radiotherapy with fairly significant potential side-effects for a relatively benign condition. Cut all the sugar and rubbish out my diet and been taking quite a few supplements and vitamins.
I’ve lost 7kg, my energy levels are back up a recent blood test was going in the right direction. I’ve always been a bit sceptical of just taking ‘vitamins’ but having done some research, there’s quite a lot of evidence to show that supplements can be quite beneficial for certain conditions.
I would certainly be looking at getting a blood test to ensure everything is OK, and if not what measures you can take to address them.
Vitamin D supplementation is something I will be looking at come the autumn - I have been taking the Wellman 50+ vitamin supplement since the beginning of the year (usually 3 for 2 at Tesco) and have been feeling a bit perkier, though I have other issues and medications that probably don't help either
I don't think I'll bother the doctors at the moment. We have some multi vitamins and Berocca in the medicine cabinet so I think I'll start with trying one of those first and if there's no improvement then I'll go to the docs for tests. I don't wear shorts for work and never go "taps aff" apart from when I went in the sea on holiday but there's been no shortage of sun for the last few months.
I would "bother" your GP. From what you have described, this tiredness is out of character for you and doesn't appear to be resolving. When I began to be fatigued at 53yo, it turned out to be advanced prostate cancer! I'm so glad I hadn't put off my visits to the doc's any longer.
FWIW, I am a fan of targeted supplements, ie., get private tests done and work from the results, although others will say there isn't much evidence for supplements. Stick to a mainly plant-based diet with plenty of hydration, and keep exercising... loads of evidence of the benefits of exercise on combatting fatigue.
Tiredness is not out of character, my eldest is 22 now so I've been tired for at least all of that time but I have felt a bit more tired than normal. To give a bit more detail, it was 35°c most days in Italy and not much cooler at night. I then worked 7 out of the next 8 days when I got home and on day 9 did about 4 hours of trail building.
I can't remember exactly when it happened but when my dad was about my age, maybe a bit younger he was knocking in fence posts and complained of feeling tired. Eventually my mum persuaded him to go to the docs for tests which confirmed he was just getting older and couldn't do as much as he used to. I think that's my problem to. I'll give the multivitamins a go and then if there's no improvement I'll go and get tested.
It’s a curious thing the supplements thing, and in the somewhat unregulated world of SM, mainly Instagram, I’m bombarded with adverts for either mushroom (Lions’ Mane?) gummies or supplements that can reduce stress, brain fog and offer an abundance of increased energy levels. All seems mostly medically unproven, but I noticed that Ben Shepherd was promoting one brand, citing amazing energy improvements.
As a 55 year old, it’s hard to not be too curious to see what they can do for you, especially when you have a TV trusted personality endorsing it, rather than just an influencer.