How to Describe Tiredness & Fatigue to Doctor
Fatigue and tiredness can be important symptoms to signal a deeper problem. They are clues that your doctor can use to pinpoint other possible pathologies, narrow down options and suggest future testing or treatment. For this reason, it is important to be able to efficiently and accurately describe the character of these symptoms to your doctor
Instructions
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Tell your doctor how long this problem has been affecting you. Did it come on suddenly? Has it worsened slowly? Or did it rapidly progress to the state you are in now? Was there an event---such as illness, life stress or environmental change---that you can pinpoint which may have triggered the initial feelings of fatigue?
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Describe the intensity of the fatigue. Rate your symptoms on a scale of one to ten, one indicating slight fatigue and ten indication severe tiredness that interferes with daily life.
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Indicate the time frame it usually occurs in. Is there a pattern as to the time of day which the fatigue is worse? Does it occur during certain activities, in certain locations or after eating certain foods?
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Inform your doctor of any other symptoms. Is the fatigue an isolated problem or do you have other physical or psychological issues that have also been troublesome.
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List any medications, vitamins or herbs you are taking. Many of these can cause or contribute to feelings of fatigue and tiredness.
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Tips & Warnings
It might be helpful to keep a journal for a couple of weeks before visiting your doctor. Record what you eat, how many hours a night you sleep, your activity level and the intensity and characteristics of the fatigue. This will allow your doctor to pick up on many patterns in your symptoms that might have not been obvious otherwise.
