Fatigue

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

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• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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• Older Adults
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Summary

Everyone feels tired now and then. Sometimes you may just want to stay in bed. But, after a good night's sleep, most people feel refreshed and ready to face a new day. If you continue to feel tired for weeks, it's time to see your doctor. He or she may be able to help you find out what's causing your fatigue and recommend ways to relieve it.

Fatigue itself is not a disease. Medical problems, treatments, and personal habits can add to fatigue. These include:

• Taking certain medicines, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, and medicines for nausea and pain
• Having medical treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation
• Recovering from major surgery
• Anxiety, stress, or depression
• Staying up too late
• Drinking too much alcohol or too many caffeinated drinks
• Pregnancy

One disorder that causes extreme fatigue is chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This fatigue is not the kind of tired feeling that goes away after you rest. Instead, it lasts a long time and limits your ability to do ordinary daily activities.

NIH: National Institute on Aging

Start Here

• Fatigue (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Feeling Fatigued? Finding Possible Causes (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• IBD and Fatigue (Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America)

Specifics

• Cancer Fatigue: Why It Occurs and How to Cope (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Fatigue (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Fatigue and Multiple Sclerosis (National Multiple Sclerosis Society)
• Fatigue Fighters in Sjogren's Syndrome (Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation) - PDF

Genetics

• Corticosteroid-binding globulin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Fatigue (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Assessment of Sleep Among Lebanese University Medical Trainees During Clinical Years...
• Article: Burnout and fatigue amongst internal medicine residents: A cross-sectional study on...
• Article: A comparison of brief versus explicit descriptors for verbal rating scales:...
• Fatigue -- see more articles

Older Adults

• Fatigue in Older Adults (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Coping with cancer - managing fatigue (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fatigue (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish