Exhaustion is also a symptom of ...(body wise)

NOT TIRED EVER? THEN YOU'RE EITHER 22, OR ABOUT TO BE A BILLIONAIRE BECAUSE YOU know something the rest of us are willing to pay good money to find out. Most women are far too familiar with doing a sort of caffeinated, sugar-buzzed dog paddle to make it through the day before sinking into bone-weary collapse. A big part of the problem is lack of sleep--we're either too busy or unable to get enough. Seventy-five percent of adults have sleep troubles, according to a 2005 National Sleep Foundation poll. And then there are the other usual suspects--stress, eating poorly, not enough exercise--to suck any remaining spring from the step. But if you are exhausted most of the time, and rest doesn't restore your energy, "something more than just the chaos of modern life may be wearing you down," says Rick Kellerman, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians and chair of the department of family and community medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. Aside from chronic fatigue syndrome, the following four conditions are worth asking your doctor about if you can't shake your lethargy:

* ANEMIA. There are many causes of anemia, a condition in which the number of red blood cells, or the amount of hemoglobin they contain, is low, and they don't deliver enough oxygen to the body's tissues. The most common culprit for women between the ages of 15 and 50 is lack of iron (a component of hemoglobin), often caused by heavy menstrual periods. Symptoms include pale or greenish complexion and dizziness when you stand up. "A simple blood test can pinpoint anemia," says Kellerman. "And it's usually very easy to treat with iron supplements." You can also boost iron by eating red meat, egg yolks, legumes, fish, poultry, and whole grain bread. Other causes of anemia include hemorrhoids, vitamin B-12 deficiency, and stomach ulcers.

* HYPOTHYROIDISM. "When your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormone, which is called hypothyroidism, your body functions at a slower rate than normal, making you feel both mentally and physically sluggish," says ...