A GP has warned those who often find themselves exhausted to watch out for two, red flag signs that could indicate an underlying, debilitating illness.
While feeling especially tired for periods of time is usually not a cause for concern, if it continues for longer than several weeks, seek medical help, urges Dr Milli Raizada, an NHS GP specialising in hormone health.
It’s also essential to see a doctor if the tiredness is prompted by mild physical activity, like walking up stairs or a yoga class — a phenomenon known as post-exertional malaise.
Both are signs of the life-wrecking disorder chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), according to Dr Raizada.
The condition, which affects around 250,000 people in the UK, is characterised by excessive sleep problems and difficulty thinking, concentrating and remembering.
Many patients find it almost impossible to live a normal life, as symptoms limit their capacity to work and carry out everyday activities.
But according to the Royal College of Surgeons, just 10 percent of those living with the condition receive a diagnosis.
That may be because some of the telltale symptoms are often overlooked, says Dr Milli Raizada.
‘Prolonged, unrelenting fatigue lasting more than six months meets the diagnostic criteria for CFS/ME, but even tiredness that persists for a few weeks should not be ignored,’ she told Huff Post UK.
‘Early assessment and blood tests can help identify or rule out potential causes.’
Other symptoms of the condition — which blights comedian Miranda Hart — can include cognitive difficulties such as memory problems and poor concentration.
‘Muscle or joint pain, unexplained headaches, dizziness or heart palpitations’ may also accompany the exhaustion.
The same goes for ‘frequent sore throats or swollen glands, suggesting immune dysfunction,’ Dr Raizada added.
There is no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome, but doctors can try a series of medications to target symptoms, including antidepressants, as well as physiotherapy and counselling.
The NHS says energy management can be one of the most effective treatments – offering guidance on how to get the most out of your available energy without worsening symptoms.
Last year, comic and actor Miranda Hart recounted her three-decade battle with chronic fatigue syndrome that ‘left her bedbound and without joy’.
Initially diagnosed with agoraphobia, the 51 year-old later learned that undiagnosed Lyme disease had developed into chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
In her memoir Miranda said she struggled to deal with the ‘unnerving neurological symptoms’ she first experienced when she was 14.
She explained that it got ‘considerably worse’ when she headed into her 40s along with increasing fatigue.
Recalling when she received her diagnosis she also said: ‘I got off that Zoom call, pulled my laptop shut and sat there, still and aghast.
‘So many emotions, I was shocked, but I also immediately felt a deep well of sadness and disappointment.
‘For over three decades I’d KNOWN there was something wrong.
‘I recalled all the times I’d told different doctors, ‘I feel toxic and poisoned, or, It’s like I have flu every day but I don’t have a temperature’.
‘(It’s amazing how the body can sometimes literally tell us what’s going on.) I felt anger rising at the times l’d been told I must have agoraphobia.
‘I would try and treat it as such, when, as it turned out, it was the lack of energy and the extreme light and sound sensitivity that made my body crash when going out to be in any kind of activity or stimulating environment.’
