For The Last Week I Have Been Sleeping Up To

Posted on Fri, 18 Jan 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : For the last week I have been sleeping up to 16 hours at night. I have low energy when awake. No other symptoms. I am a female 75 years old.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
viral infection may be present

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

One of most common reasons for acute/recent onset of fatigue is an infection, particularly a viral infection (since viral infections are more common).

If the symptoms occur for a long period of time then anemia (low blood count) and hypothyroidism (low levels of thyroid hormone). An ESR can also be helpful, it goes up if there is any inflammation in the body- infection, allergy, trauma, cancer
If the symptoms continue or worsen then blood tests may be needed to check these levels.

Uncontrolled chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease or other chronic conditions- can also cause fatigue

For now, the main aspects of treatment consist fluids and rest and monitoring for any specific symptoms such as pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, cold symptoms.
If any discomfort occurs, can consider the use of paracetamol/tylenol.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar