Lung cancer usually doesn’t cause early sign and symptom. Many times, the symptoms occur when the disease has become advanced, when it is less likely to respond the treatment. Interestingly, sometime it causes symptom that has nothing to do with the lungs. How about fatigue? Does this cancer make you tired, too?
This symptom is common, and many times is harmless or associated with minor problem. For instance, we usually blame too-busy lifestyle for the answer, and yap much of the time we are right! This every day tiredness usually improves after we take adequate rest and sleep.
Other lifestyle measures can help, too. These include eat healthy foods (especially wholesome foods), keep hydrated (drink more water), cut back on alcohol & caffeine, and reduce your stress (consider taking a vacation if necessary). But if your fatigue and tiredness don’t improve after following these changes, it’s better to seek a professional help.
Abnormal excess exhaustion can signal numerous different medical conditions. The following are some common problems associated with fatigue you need to know about!
Anemia
It is a condition of when you have lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin. As a result, the oxygen supply to the cells of the body is affected and you are easier to become tired.
Anemia, especially anemia iron deficiency is common in menstrual women. However, it also can affect post-menopausal women. Men can be affected, too. But in general, it affects more women than men.
Thyroid disorder
When hormones produced by thyroid become imbalance, this will wipe you out easily and your daily routines can be harder. In general, there are two major conditions that cause the imbalance of thyroid hormones; over-active thyroid and under-active thyroid.
Over-active thyroid (hyperthyroidism) causes excess production of thyroid hormones (greater than your body needs), making the metabolism speeds up. On the other hand, under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism) can make the metabolism slow down.
Both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can drain more energy, causing excess exhaustion in your daily routines.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Fatigue related to this syndrome can be severe and often strike suddenly. Even a daily task with little exertion can make you become exhausted easily.
It can be followed with other symptoms such as joint or/and muscle pain, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, or headache. Unfortunately, so far it still remains puzzling. The cause is not known yet!
There are also no specific tests to diagnose it. Doctor usually needs to rule out other similar causes (such as multiple sclerosis and lupus) before making the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Diabetes
If you have diabetes, your body will often experience difficulties in converting energy from foods you have eaten. Glucose (sugar) is difficult to be absorbed by cells of the body for energy, causing high amount of sugar in the bloodstream (high blood sugar).
As a result, you are easier to become exhausted and often experience lack of energy. However, diabetes is manageable. Though it is not easy to be cured, there are plenty of options for coping with diabetes!
Sleep apnea
Sleep is very essential to keep energetic throughout the day. If you have lack of sleep, your body cannot use energy effectively.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that can cause brief interruptions of breathing when you sleep. As a result, you are likely to have drowsiness and fatigue even though after a full night sleep.
Psychological conditions
As well as making feel blue, sad, and upset – psychological conditions (such as depression and anxiety) can affect you physically, too. In other words, these are not only about psychological symptoms, but also can cause physical symptoms such as making you feel drained of energy.
It seems that fatigue and tiredness are caused by any serious illness, particularly those that are painful. Even some quite minor illness can cause these symptoms, too.
What else?
Other conditions that can make you tired more easily include:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (a kind of arthritis with the abnormality of the body immune system).
- Restless legs (a syndrome that causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs, this can keep you awake at night).
- Glandular fever, an infection (viral infection) that often leads to fatigue. Other symptoms are swollen glands, sore throat, and fever. Fatigue associated with this infection can be chronic for several months.
- Celiac disease, a kind of allergy (food tolerance) – especially to a protein in wheat (including wheat products) called gluten. When it strikes, fatigue can be one of the symptoms.
- And so on!
Fatigue and tiredness in cancer is not normal. This usually also don’t improve even when you rest. And most patients with any cancer can experience these symptoms during the course of the disease, including for those with lung cancer.
There are several reasons of why and how lung cancer can make you tired easily. Even some cancer treatments can also have contribution!