Everyone gets tired – some more than others. Sometimes, feeling tired can become a real problem in life, especially if you have low energy every day, as it can get in the way of being productive and living your life to the full. Naturally, if you feel tired all the time, you will want to find a solution so you can take your life back into your own hands.
Often, that means finding out what’s causing your persistent tiredness. In some cases, persistent tiredness can be a symptom of a medical problem, such as anaemia, low B12, low vitamin D levels, thyroid problems, and diabetes, and understanding the root cause can put you on a path to recovery.
That’s where blood tests come in. There are specific blood tests to get if you’re always tired, many of which can indicate common, treatable medical problems and deficiencies. Plus, you don’t even need to schedule an appointment with your GP for this (which isn’t always easy, considering long waiting lists and work hours). Instead, you can check many of the markers of low fatigue at home with a private test from Repose Healthcare alongside NHS care. It’s a quick, simple way to check your levels and find out any potential underlying causes of tiredness.
Want to learn more about the key blood tests to consider taking if you’re always tired? You’re in the right place. Keep in mind that this is for general information only – if you’re worried about your health, it’s always best to seek personalised and professional medical advice, especially if you are experiencing worrying symptoms.
Blood tests are used by medical professionals to diagnose a wide range of health problems, including health issues related to persistent fatigue. Some common tired all the time blood tests look at blood cells, nutrients, hormones, and organ function in particular. The results from these tests can help labs narrow things down by ruling out potential issues.
Fatigue is a symptom that has many different causes, which means getting just one type of blood test isn’t usually enough to determine the root cause. Instead, you need a full fatigue blood test panel, which involves a group of tests that can rule out various underlying health conditions by screening for deficiencies.
It’s normal and extremely common to get tired from time to time, especially if you’ve had a particularly late night or are experiencing a temporary illness like a cold. It’s important to distinguish between fatigue vs tiredness – tiredness becomes more problematic and is defined as fatigue when you have ongoing exhaustion that is not relieved by sleep. Sometimes, that coincides with other problematic persistent fatigue symptoms, such as:
If these symptoms last more than a few weeks and you’re always tired despite lifestyle improvements, you will probably be wondering about the signs fatigue s serious and when to see a doctor. In that case, the most sensible next step is blood testing.
It’s important to note that there are some more red-flag signs that require more urgent medical care. If you experience any of the following, seek an urgent GP appointment:
It’s a common occurrence to hear another person ask, why am I always tired, and complain about how tired they are feeling that day, as so many things can cause tiredness. A lot of these common causes of fatigue are due to lifestyle, including:
If a person’s tiredness is caused by any one of these lifestyle factors, then the problem should be solved by addressing it. For example, cutting back on alcohol intake could help you sleep better while also warding off hangovers.
At the same time, your fatigue may be caused by medical issues, such as:
You can only know the true cause of your fatigue if, after realising it’s not due to a lifestyle factor, you seek out a diagnosis. To get a correct diagnosis, you need a blood test, or what’s known as a diagnostic work-up. Keep in mind, there is no single “tired all the time blood test” – instead, it’s necessary to get a full fatigue blood test panel. Once a GP has the information from the blood panel, they use additional screening tests for fatigue while also taking into account your medical history and symptoms to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, which then means you can receive appropriate treatment to fight your ongoing fatigue.
At-home health testing makes this process all the easier, as you can simply do the screening tests for fatigue in the comfort of your own home and then meet with a healthcare professional who will interpret the results.
Here, we will dive into the specific blood tests to get if you’re always tired. You won’t necessarily need to get every single test to figure out the cause of your tiredness; that depends on your specific symptoms and advice from your GP. Instead, below, we outline the best blood tests for tiredness.
A common blood test for people who are tired all the time is a full blood count, which may also be known as an anaemia blood test. A full blood count measures your red blood cells, white blood cells, and haemoglobin in the blood, which can cast light on whether you have something like anaemia, another blood disorder, inflammation or any infection markers. Often, a GP will use an FBC test if you show some common symptoms of anaemia, which include:
Are you showing these symptoms alongside persistent fatigue? An at-home full blood count test can help screen for anaemia and other blood issues from home.
An iron deficiency is one of the most common and treatable causes of fatigue, and an iron deficiency fatigue test or ferritin blood test will show whether you are low in iron or not. To see if an iron/ferritin deficiency is the problem, it’s important to first look at the most typical symptoms, which include:
Repose offers ferritin and iron (TIBC included) tests, which will help you discover your iron profile and determine whether you have iron deficiency anaemia.
B12 is a crucial vitamin responsible for forming healthy red blood cells, helping food convert to energy, creating DNA, and supporting brain function. As such, a B12 deficiency can lead to an array of unpleasant symptoms, such as:
So, there is a clear link between low B12 and being always tired. A vitamin B12 home blood test can check your levels quickly from home, showing you whether your symptoms are caused by this specific deficiency.
Much like B12, vitamin B9 is also a crucial vitamin and plays a significant role in red blood cell formation and energy levels. Some of the key symptoms of a folate deficiency include:
An at-home Vitamin B9 folate test kit can measure your folate levels and help rule out deficiency.
The thyroid blood test for being tired all the time is another common test for people who have persistent fatigue. Your thyroid, which is found in your throat, produces specific hormones such as T3 and T4, which manage your body’s energy levels and help with things like growth and healthy bones. An underactive thyroid causes symptoms related to fatigue, including:
The Thyroid Profile 3 test from Repose is particularly helpful for looking at your FT3, FT4, and TSH levels to see if you have underactive thyroid fatigue, also known as hypothyroidism. This at-home Thyroid blood test kit can check whether your thyroid profile is in a healthy range.
Both high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) and diabetes are linked to fatigue and tiredness. As well as this, they can cause:
The HbA1c test for tiredness or diabetes blood test for fatigue is a slightly longer test that involves measuring your blood sugar over a period of two to three months, as blood sugar can spike and go back down, and it’s all about taking an average to determine what’s going on with your glycated haemoglobin, and whether your blood sugar control is good or whether you have prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes.
Travelling to and from a GP for every single test can be time-consuming and interfere with your daily life, which is why the Repose at-home HbA1c test is available for your convenience.
Both liver and kidney issues can lead to fatigue along with some other symptoms:
If you are showing any of these symptoms, getting either a liver blood test for fatigue or a kidney test for tiredness can clear things up. Keep in mind that if there are any abnormal findings on your liver function test or with your kidney function and urine test, you will need to seek a medical follow-up.
At Repose, you can get relevant blood and urine liver-related tests to see if there’s a problem, but doctors may request more testing to understand what’s going on with your organ health and energy.
Another common cause of tiredness is hormonal changes or hormone imbalances, with the biggest hormonal changes occurring during puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause. However, there are times when hormonal changes occur outside of these events, too – for example, men may experience lower testosterone that causes symptoms affecting stress and energy levels.
There are many hormone blood tests for fatigue that can help you pinpoint whether there are hormonal factors at play, including tests that monitor testosterone, DHEA-S, cortisol, and selective reproductive hormones. Here at Repose, we offer several single hormone tests – it’s best to choose an adrenal fatigue blood test based on your specific symptoms and clinician recommendations.
In some cases, inflammation and gut-related issues like coeliac disease can be a hidden cause of fatigue. If other tests don’t show a cause, it helps to get a CRP blood test for fatigue to assess inflammation or cardiovascular risk. Coeliac disease and other gut-related conditions can lead to fatigue due to poor absorption; when the body cannot properly absorb iron, B12, and folate, energy levels deplete.
Repose offers full screening for coeliac antibodies, such as tTG-IgA, Endomysial IgA, and Gliadin IgG. The hs-CRP test is a blood test that measures low levels of inflammation in the body. The results from these tests can be used as part of a diagnosis, but do not lead to a diagnosis alone. You can use the results of these tests to help reach a diagnosis from your GP.
Looking at all of the tests available, you might wonder – which is the best blood test for tiredness? Which should you prioritise, first-line vs advanced tests? While you should consider other symptoms and ideally speak to a GP if you’re showing worrying symptoms, there is a generally sensible order to follow, and Repose enables you to pursue personalised testing specific to your systems.
First-Line Tests: The first-line tests are for individuals experiencing unexplained fatigue. These usually include FBC, iron/ferritin, Vitamin B12, folate, Vitamin D, thyroid, and HbA1c tests.
Add-On Tests: If the other tests come back with no problems found, it’s time to try some of the add-on tests, including tests for liver/kidney health, hormonal levels, inflammation, and coeliac/gut health.
Of course, the best order changes from person to person. It mostly depends on the other symptoms you have. For example, if you have persistent tiredness alongside dizziness and pale skin, a full blood count to check for anaemia is likely the best step. It helps to work with your GP to figure out the best order, using Repose tests to support the process.
Are you wondering how the blood tests from Repose work? It’s a simple, five-step process that takes the stress out of getting tested.
The first step involves finding the blood test you need on the Repose website and placing the order. These at-home blood tests for tiredness UK offer insights into a range of potential problems, so it’s important to choose the blood test that makes the most sense for you and your symptoms.
All of the Repose Healthcare home blood tests are sent and tracked. That means you can monitor where the test is at any time, and you’ll know exactly which day it will arrive.
Once the blood test arrives, it’s time to collect the sample at home. It’s usually a very simple process of pricking your finger, and you can either do this yourself or get a trusted person to help you. All kits come with detailed instructions to help you.
Once you have collected the sample, you will simply repost the sample straight to an accredited UK lab.
Finally, you can check your results online in just a few short days. You can then choose your next best step depending on the results found.
With these at-home finger-prick blood test kits, you can quickly and easily gain insights into your health and the potential driving factors behind your fatigue. It’s convenient, private, and we are able to send the kits all around the UK, offering an extremely fast turnaround, so you don’t have to wait too long or be left in the dark about your health.
Remember – it’s important to share your results with your GP if they indicate that anything is out of range.
