BBC Morning Live’s regular GP, Doctor Punam Krishan, advises that if you experience TATT, which stands for Tired All The Time, you should see your GP right away. Speaking on the show, she highlighted that this is one of the most “common” complaints she encounters in her practice.
Dr Krishan explained that phrases like “I feel exhausted, I feel fatigued, and I’m tired all the time” are ones she hears frequently. And because of this, she is urging people experiencing persistent fatigue to ask themselves a few questions to help them get to the rppt cause of the horrible feeling.
She asks people to ask themselves “why is this happening?” with the NHS GP stressing while life’s stressful events can cause temporary tiredness, this type of fatigue should resolve within a few days.
Why am I always tired?
“The important thing if it’s something that’s persisting you must speak to your doctor and let us get to the root cause of why it’s happening”, Dr Punam said. She lists children, the loss of a loved one, relationship issues and financial struggles as to why you could be tired.
She also noted that what you eat and drink can affect how you feel. If you don’t feel like any of these could be the cause of your fatigue, Dr Punam suggests: “There could be psychological issues that can impact your fatigue” such as if you are someone who suffers from anxiety, depression or mental health issues.
She urges people to think: “Are you on any medication things like sedatives, pain medication, certain antihistamines” as she notes “some of the side effects of those can make you exhausted.” In addition to this, there are physical causes you need to consider such:
- heart disease
- menopause
- other hormonal issues
- kidney disease
- diabetes
- thyroid disorders
- pregnancy
- chronic fatigue
- cancer
- ME
- Covid
- Lyme disease
“All these changes in your life can cause issues of tiredness, and of course we can forget there are some serious issues as well like certain types of cancers, so getting to the cause of that is really important,” she stresses.
How can a doctor help me?
The doctor said she, like many others, have a plan in place to get to the bottom of your issues, She explained: “The first thing I would want to know is your social history. “What is life like for you at home and at work. What are you putting into your body? What’s your day like? Alcohol levels? Are you getting enough exercise.”
Once these issues have been addressed and no “reversible causes” remain, she explains that doctors would then proceed with further investigation, typically starting with blood tests. One such test is known as TATT, which stands for Tired All The Time. These blood tests assess potential factors such as hormonal imbalances, endocrine disorders, diabetes, and vitamin deficiencies, all of which can contribute to fatigue.