I’m Tired All Day, Every Day — Can You Help?

Daytime fatigue can have a lot of causes. For many people, it’s often due to their sleep quality. But that’s only the beginning. 

Additional causes of daytime drowsiness include:

• Anemia
• Breathing disorders
• Heart disease
• Certain medications
• Low-grade depression or anxiety

Fortunately, the right treatment plan can help you feel your best again — and it all starts with expert care.

Our team provides comprehensive testing, treatment, and medical equipment you can trust at Northwest Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine in Algonquin, Illinois. 

If you feel tired all day, every day, here’s how we can help.

Expert diagnostic evaluation

Excessive daytime sleepiness affects up to 18% of the general population. Common risk factors include:

• Chronic sleep deprivation
• Poor sleep hygiene
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Restless leg syndrome
• Obesity
• Depression

However, it’s also common for people with breathing disorders to have this problem. Our team relies on noninvasive screenings to identify the source of your fatigue, including pulmonary function tests, chest X-rays, and sleep studies.

Pulmonary function tests

This assessment analyzes how your lungs function. For instance, how much air can fill your lungs, how they exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and their ability to inhale and exhale.

Pulmonary function tests can help identify lung disorders like asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Chest X-rays

As you might suspect, this test captures images of the structures and organs within your chest, including the lungs, airways, bones, and blood vessels.

We can use a chest X-ray to diagnose a variety of issues, from asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, and COPD to pleurisy, tuberculosis, and lung cancer.

Sleep studies

These screenings work to identify sleep-related restlessness or breathing disorders. Northwest Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine offers testing at our state-of-the-art sleep facility and methods you can use at home.

People usually associate sleep studies with sleep apnea. However, that’s just one of many sleep disorders these tests can detect. They can also diagnose periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder, and more.

Treating daytime fatigue

After your comprehensive assessment, our team can create a treatment strategy to address your unique problem. Treatment options for daytime fatigue vary based on the cause. 

For instance, sleep disorders like sleep apnea benefit from sleep medicine treatments. These options might include:

• Improving sleep hygiene
• Cognitive behavioral therapy or relaxation techniques
• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine
• Inspire® therapy

However, if you have a breathing disorder like asthma, COPD, or emphysema, we could recommend medications, a respiratory therapy program, oxygen, or breathing devices.

Whether you have a sleep or breathing disorder, our team monitors your response to treatment. That ensures we can adjust your strategy to improve your overall quality of life.

Why you shouldn’t ignore daytime fatigue

Feeling tired may seem like a minor inconvenience. However, if it happens day after day, or you feel so weary you can barely move, it’s essential to see an expert.

Additional signs you should see a doctor include:

• Being unable to engage in or enjoy activities you love
• Waking up feeling exhausted despite a good night’s sleep
• Lacking motivation to start the day
• Having bouts of exhaustion that come and go
• Having problems concentrating, focusing, and remembering
• Angering easily
• Becoming socially isolated
• Experiencing shortness of breath

Our team can restore your energy levels and help you feel your best again — but it all starts with a comprehensive assessment. Contact Northwest Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine in Algonquin, Illinois, to schedule a consultation today.