Asthenia and a feeling of permanent intense fatigue: what to do?
Written by: Loris Vitry (holistic coach)
Validated by: Cathy Maillot (Osteopath)
Caution: If you have any medical questions or concerns, please speak to your doctor. Even if the articles on this site are based on scientific studies, they do not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Getting tired can happen at any time, especially after prolonged physical or intellectual efforts.
However, when it is brutal and sets in over several months, it is important to react and not to neglect it.
Indeed, it can have quite serious consequences and can be caused by a physical illness.
However, there are always solutions and it is possible to reduce or even lessen the effects of intense fatigue.
What is asthenia?
Asthenia is an abnormal feeling of tiredness.
Generally, there are two types of fatigue:
- Normal fatigue: it can be the result of emotional stress or prolonged exertion, in this case we speak of a physiological phenomenon that can be resolved with restful rest.
- Abnormal fatigue: this is a pathological phenomenon that occurs for no apparent reason, because the person who suffers has not made any effort that could lead to their condition.Besides that, restful rest is of no use in this case.
Usually asthenia is one of the frequent reasons for seeing a doctor.
It can be caused by a physical or mental illness (chronic stress, anxiety, depression, etc.).
Whatever the case, it is distressing and negatively affects the life of the person suffering from it.
When this happens, it is important to react quickly and consult a doctor who can make an adequate diagnosis that will:
- Determine if fatigue is pathological or not.
- Determine if it continues over a long period.
- Determine if it is happening in a brutal way.
What are the causes and consequences of asthenia?
There are many causes of intense permanent fatigue.
As we mentioned earlier, they can be psychic and organic.
Psychic causes
The psychic causes of asthenia are generally of the order of anxiety disorders, chronic stress or depression.
When it occurs due to functional factors, asthenia makes itself felt on the physique.
Organic factors
The organic causes of permanent intense fatigue are numerous:
- Infectious causes: several infections can be at the origin of asthenia. These include: hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis, infectious mononucleosis, Lyme disease, etc.
- Cancerous causes: it can happen that cancers also cause feelings of intense fatigue. Indeed, when we know that cancer treatments are tedious and sometimes difficult to bear, they can be responsible for asthenia .This is the case with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and opioids.
- Metabolic conditions: Metabolic diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, malnutrition and many more can lead to asthenia.
- Neurological causes: diseases such as multiple sclerosis, myopathies, Parkinson’s also lead to asthenia.
- Anemia.
- Cardiovascular disease: such as low blood pressure and severe heart disease, heart failure, stroke, etc .; are also responsible for asthenia.
- Sleep disorders: apnea, early awakenings, insomnia, etc.
- Endocrine diseases.
The consequences
As you would expect, asthenia has many health consequences for the person who has it.
First of all, it affects the quality of life.
This is because a constantly tired person can no longer go about their business normally.
On top of that, it can be accompanied by a feeling of depression caused by stress.
If not taken care of quickly, it can lead to total burnout and have even more serious consequences.
Indeed, an intensely tired person can be at the origin or the victim of accidents, fractures or falls.
When to see a doctor?
Due to stress, you may not realize that your fatigue lasts for a long time.
However, it is important to see a doctor when the signs of fatigue go beyond 3 or 6 months.
In addition to this, any fatigue that is accompanied by a physical or mental symptom should be reported to a doctor.
The latter will be able to carry out an in-depth assessment and find the cause of the disease.
These may include:
- Fever;
- Muscle and joint pain;
- Nausea;
- Unusual pallor and weight loss;
- Anxiety or depression;
- Trouble sleeping, and a few other signs that you find unusual.
At the time of the consultation, the doctor usually asks the patient questions, in order to determine the state of general fatigue.
Therefore, it is important to take note of the times when you feel most tired and communicate them to your doctor.
Depending on the questions you will be asked, the doctor will be able to find some answers.
These will allow him to discover the functional causes of fatigue.
Asthenia: what solutions?
The treatment for severe fatigue mainly depends on the cause found.
Indeed, the doctor bases himself on the origin of the disease (psychological or organic causes) in order to propose an adequate solution.
If it happens that no cause is detected, the treatment offered is simply that with anti-asthenics.
These are drugs that help reduce fatigue.
These stimulants generally contain trace elements, vitamins and amino acids to restore strength and vitality to the tired person.
If necessary, the doctor may also prescribe antidepressants, if the cause of the asthenia is more serious.
How to prevent it?
While general fatigue is felt regularly, it can be prevented and prevented from becoming more severe.
You can do this for example:
- Avoiding Stressful Situations: Whether emotional or caused by external factors, stress can worsen the feeling of fatigue, which is why it is important to minimize exposure to stressful situations.
- Take time to rest.
- Improve your quality of life by changing your eating habits.
- Take food supplements to boost your metabolism.
- Practice regular, gentle physical activity, etc.
Whatever its origin, asthenia should always be the subject of a medical consultation.
Rest assured, there is nothing to worry about, as a correct diagnosis will allow the doctor to put you on the right treatment.
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