At GuideTreatments.com we believe that symptomatic treatments should be reserved only for short term. It is vitally important to diagnose the underlying condition with robust assessment and investigations.
Common conditions to consider:
Condition |
Common clinical features associated with weakness/fatigue |
| Anaemia | Dizziness, fatigue, palor, chronic blood loss and laboratory evidence of low heamoglobin |
| Type 1 or type 2 diabetes | Polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia and abnormal glucose tolerance test |
| Hypothyroidism | Fatigue, weight gain, intolerance to cold, dry skin |
| Abnormal uterine bleeding | Increase in frequency of menstrual cycle (less than 21 days) |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | Chronic pain, bloating, flatulence, altered bowel habits but not evidence of infective or inflammatory pathology |
| Hypoparathyroidism | Cramps, weakness, fatigue and reduced serum calcium and parathyroid hormone |
| Crohn’s disease | Diarrhoea, lack of appetite, weight loss and positive laboratory evidence and colonoscopy |
| Coeliac disease | Diarrhoea or constipation, fatigue, weight loss, malabsorption, sensitivity to gluten containing foods along with endoscopy and laboratory evidence |
| Hypoglycaemia | Prolonged fasting, overactivity, sudden changes or non-compliance to anti-diabetic medications |
| Addison’s disease | Weight loss, changes in skin colour, fainting and associated laboratory evidence |
| Lyme disease | Fever, circular skin rash (erythema migrans), arthralgia, fatigue, joint pains, history of tick bites |
| Congestive cardiac failure | Pedal oedema, irregular rhythm and 2D echo evidence of reduced ejection fraction |
| Rheumatic fever | Fever, skin rash, palpitations, swollen lymph nodes, cardiac murmur and positive throat swab for haemolytic streptococci |
| Fibromyalgia | Generalised pain, fatigue or low mood but without any clear other pathology |
Note: Any generalised or significant illness can lead to weakness or fatigue and hence a detailed history, examination and investigations is needed.