Child is tired all the time. What to check?

[Anonymous]

Is she a vegetarian? Mine had very low energy until she started focusing on eating more protein. Meat or fish could make a big difference in her energy level.

[Anonymous]

Just take her to the doctor! They will know what tests to run. They will rule out mono, infection, vitamin levels, iron, thyroid, and possibly autoimmune. It’s not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just take her to the doctor! They will know what tests to run. They will rule out mono, infection, vitamin levels, iron, thyroid, and possibly autoimmune. It’s not rocket science.

DP, but our doctor hasn’t been all that helpful for my ds after the regular labs showed nothing. And in hindsight I was anemic all through high school and my twenties and it went undiscovered by my doctors. So stop with the eye-rolling. It’s perfectly appropriate for op to try to figure out what might be wrong and to advocate for her dd.

[Anonymous]

Is this a new thing or persistent? My kid had mono recently. She was mostly fine, but exhausted by things that didn't normally wear her out.

[Anonymous]

She needs to go to the doctor again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to mention the obvious: If she sleeps with her phone nearby, she's on the phone at all hours, and not sleeping. Ask me how I know.

Yeah, all devices out of room.

[Anonymous]

POTS

[Anonymous]

Phones
Tablets
Laptops
Internet
Wifi use

Read up on sleep hygiene. If you're doing all the right things, including no devices at least two hours before bedtime, getting the upper end of the recommended sleep, then ask the doctor for blood tests and potentially a referral to a sleep clinic in case of apnea.

Do you have a good sense of how long it takes them to fall asleep, if they stay asleep the whole night, what time they wake up, and the total number of hours rest? Are they getting sufficient exercise in the day? Daylight exposure? Do they sleep on weekends or when they can, indicating a sleep deficit? Do they snore?

[Anonymous]

My extremely tired teen had extremely low vitamin D (despite plenty of outdoor time) and borderline low b12. Easy fix and has made a ton of difference!

[Anonymous]

Vitamin D

[Anonymous]

Lyme and other tickborne illnesses are difficult to diagnose because the tests are not very accurate, so I wouldn’t start there. But they can cause a lot of fatigue, so if the other testing and sleep hygiene measures aren’t addressing the issue, I’d ask the doctor to have Lyme testing done through Igenex, which is the best lab in the country for tickborne illnesses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phones
Tablets
Laptops
Internet
Wifi use

Read up on sleep hygiene. If you're doing all the right things, including no devices at least two hours before bedtime, getting the upper end of the recommended sleep, then ask the doctor for blood tests and potentially a referral to a sleep clinic in case of apnea.

Do you have a good sense of how long it takes them to fall asleep, if they stay asleep the whole night, what time they wake up, and the total number of hours rest? Are they getting sufficient exercise in the day? Daylight exposure? Do they sleep on weekends or when they can, indicating a sleep deficit? Do they snore?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to mention the obvious: If she sleeps with her phone nearby, she's on the phone at all hours, and not sleeping. Ask me how I know.

+1 with the computer: I found out she was watching tiktok on her computer

[Anonymous]

Agree with ferritin and celiac. Plus Lyme and mono.

Basically there are basic tests doctors run reflexively but they don’t always think to run more obscure ones.

Is she pale? Bloated? Gassy? Does she have unexplained vision issues?

[Anonymous]

I have one kid who is tired due to ADHD and sleep apnea; and another kid who is tired due to an autoimmune disease.

Maybe more extended labs should be done, OP. The ped could check for some known general markers of inflammation.