You Don't Have To Accept A Life Of Fatigue

For so many people, living with fatigue is a daily battle. The extreme tiredness, sluggishness, difficulty waking up and ironically difficulty staying awake, the struggle to concentrate, the lack of motivation to exercise or the prolonged exhaustion after a workout, it is these characteristics of fatigue that can plague most individuals diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, hypothyroidism, and other chronic health conditions.

When we’ve learnt to live with fatigue it can feel so difficult to see a way through.

Yet, a diagnosis doesn’t resign us to this lifelong battle.

We don’t have to accept a life of fatigue.

Fatigue is multifactorial and is linked to many other underlying health factors, rather than just being a common symptom of hypothyroidism. Try to see fatigue as the tip of the iceberg on the surface, and all the potential underlying causes are hidden in the depths of the water beneath.

Getting to the root causes of fatigue is the key.

Some causes of fatigue may include -

  • Blood sugar imbalances

  • Adrenal issues (HPA axis dysfunction) – for example, low cortisol and DHEA-S

  • Anemia – low folate, B12 and ferritin levels

  • Chronic stress

  • Poor gut health – low stomach acid, intestinal permeability (leaky gut), bacterial/fungal/parasitic infections and dysbiosis (gut flora imbalance)

  • Lack of sunshine and Vitamin D deficiency

  • Low T3/High Reverse T3 – important to have a full thyroid profile tested, a “normal TSH and T4” reading won’t show this

  • Immune system activation (food, infections and pathogens, or environmental toxins, chemicals, metals triggering the immune system)

  • Poor detoxification and methylation

  • Nutrient deficiencies – B vitamins, Essential Fatty Acid deficiencies, minerals (zinc, magnesium) antioxidants, CoQ10

  • Poor nutrition – underlying food intolerance, food sensitivities, macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies or imbalances

  • Overexercising – particularly with improper recovery and when already experiencing HPA axis dysfunction

  • Low IgA – low levels of SIgA (immune antibody) will result in greater likelihood of pathogen presence (i.e., bacteria, virus, parasites)

  • Post-viral fatigue onset – e.g., Epstein Barr Virus

  • Low-grade, ongoing inflammation


Whilst this list isn’t exhaustive, it shows the depth of investigation that is often required when fatigue is an ongoing symptom in our lives. It also highlights why a current medication regime or a certain supplement may not be improving your energy levels as you had hoped it would.

For some it may be addressing certain lifestyle habits that bring about the greatest improvements. For others, it may be treating a chronic gut issue. Or, it could be testing and correcting a particular nutrient deficiency that begins to shift our energy in the right direction again. 

Rather than feeling like we have to endure a life of fatigue, with the appropriate support and individual interventions we can begin to take back control of our health and most of all, regain our sense of vitality for life.

It is thriving, rather than simply surviving, that is our true nature.


Melissa BriggsComment