Has Hepatitis C, Thyroid Problems As Well As Fibromyalgia. Why Is He Always Tired? Does He Have Lack Of Energy?

Posted on Mon, 25 Jun 2012

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

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 Answered on

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : My dad is 62 and has Hepatitis C and severe thyroid problems as well as Fibromyalgia. He's heavy set and doesn't eat very well.
He sleeps during the day and is awake at night. When he's awake at night, he watches movies or is on the computer. He rarely goes out because he has a severe lack of energy constantly.
He's currently been asleep for 17 hours. I woke him up briefly just now to ask him if he was okay. He says, in a very dream like state, that he feels fine but is just really tired. He also told me that he's been asleep from 5am till 11pm. It very much looks like he's not about to wake up and start his "day XXXXXXX

Should I be worried?

Answered by Dr. Ketan Vagholkar (4 hours later)

Hi.
Thanks for writing in.
Yes there is cause for concern.
Your father has two main problems
1. Increased somnolence and 2. Loss of apetite.
1. The increased somnolence can due to decresed thyroid gland function . Therefore you need to get his thyroid hormone levels done. Accordingly treatment can be started. Another possibility for increased sleepiness could be deteriorating liver function.
2. Hepatitis c induces cirrhotic changes over a period of time. This can lead to loss of apetite and decreased energy levels. For the assessment of this symptom you need to get Liver fuction tests and ultrasound of the abdomen done.
I hope this answers your doubt.
With regards

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