This is a question I have been trying to answer for over a year. Some of my doctor’s have said it’s depression, which could have continued since I was diagnosed with PPD after having my second child. Other’s have told me to get out and exercise more and then you will get more energy and thus feel better. But . . when you don’t have enough energy to think about exercising it’s really hard to get into that habit. So fast forward a year and yes I am exercising and yes I am loosing weight but guess what??? I’m still exhausted, run down, tired all the time, etc. My family doctor (who I love) isn’t quite sure what to do. So I went to a Chiropractor’s office just down from me because their thing is health and wellness. They have multiple options to work on the total health of your body and not just straightening your bones. So I had my first visit a few weeks ago where they took a bunch of x-rays and body scans. I came back this morning for my report of findings and to have an appointment with the nutritionist. The short answer is that I am all jacked up.
The long answer is that my posture is out of alignment and that is probably contributing to my headaches and other things that I can’t remember. The nutritionist has based on her body scan and testing that my digestive system is a total mess (I did tell her that and she confirmed it) and my adrenals (the little glands on top of your kidneys) are not functioning properly which is causing me to be fatigued and everything else i’m feeling. This is why I can run a 5k on Sunday morning and then take a 2 hour nap when I got back to my parents house. So I’m going into the chiro 3x’s a week and I have a few supplements that hopefully in about a week I should see some improvement. I check back with the nutritionist in 2 weeks to see how I’m doing.
There are some details I’ve left out because I can’t remember exactly what they said or I don’t know how to explain it to all of you without confusing the heck out of everyone.
So in short, I need to work on my posture, take my supplements, drink lots of water, de-stress and probably start yoga or meditation and keep on this journey to get me fit and healthy.
ETA: I know that it took me a while to get all jacked up and it’s going to take me equally as long to get all this straightened out. Also when I say “in a week I should feel better” I don’t mean – I’m great and all fixed, more that I should feel some slight improvement over the current state that I am in. Just figured I needed to add that little clarification.
this mom's gotta run 
Maybe seek out a Naturopath, too. My Adrenal and Lymphatic system was down the toilet, among other things… and the dreaded Lyme disease was the cause. Not that you have Lyme, just the Naturopath may be able to determine the CAUSE of the systemic mess. Just a suggestion… keep goin’, Momma!
Thanks E, you know I will keep looking if this doesn’t work.
Hang in there Anna. You’re smack in the middle of a major lifestyle change. It took a long time to get jacked up. It takes a long time to get un-jacked. Been there, done that, doing it again. It just takes time, patience and constant self-awareness.
You might want to look into Kripalu Yoga. It’s gentle. Your form doesn’t have to be perfect. There’s a major focus on breath and posture. It’s incredibly relaxing. It doesn’t take a lot of time to feel the benefits. You don’t have to take a class (though you might want to if you’ve never done yoga). Most of the poses are performed more like stretches, but it’s not athletic at all. It’s basically about getting control of your mind, breath and movement. It’s a perfect compliment to the tough discipline-related mental work you’re already doing with the running.
You might also want to consider some meditation + mantra work. Also an amazing tool. I can send you some resources on that if you’d like. The feel-good English-language mantras never worked for me (maybe I know too much about language – lol), so I had to go the Sanskrit route. Fortunately, you don’t have to be Buddhist to appreciate them. The sounds are amazing and really do create a resonance in your head that makes meditation so easy. Just something to consider.
You’re on the right path – your path! You’ll get to wellness and clarity. You’re doing what you need to do. Just stay aware of your mind and body and keep moving forward!!
you know i always am open to more info. oh I know it took me a while to get this way and it’ s going to take me a while to get it straightened out.