In the busyness of life, taking care of your health can fall off your priority list. If you aren’t eating a nutritious diet, prioritizing good sleep, managing stress levels, or seeing your primary care provider regularly, your health can start to suffer. And it could be in ways you don’t even realize.
Because caring for your health is so essential to your overall well-being, our team of internal medicine experts at Clover Internal Medicine Associates in Fort Worth, Texas, wants you to recognize the body’s way of asking for your attention.
Let’s explore five of those warning signals in this month’s blog.
A persistent feeling of moderate to severe tiredness is known as fatigue. While we all feel tired from time to time, fatigue can make it feel impossible to get out of bed or make it through your day.
Constant, long-lasting fatigue is a sign that something is off in your body. While a wide variety of things can cause chronic feelings of tiredness, common culprits include:
Because fatigue can have multiple triggers, it’s always best to consult our team to identify the root cause.
Getting sick is common during the winter months, which is why it’s called cold and flu season. However, if you’ve been contracting viruses or bacterial illnesses like strep back-to-back, there could be something else at play.
For instance, when you develop a virus, your immune system produces antibodies to tackle the current illness and prevent future infection. However, if your immune system isn’t functioning properly, it may not have the ability to fight off germs.
Chronic stress, poor nutrition, or an underlying condition can affect your immune response. We encourage you to schedule a visit if you are experiencing frequent illnesses.
It’s normal for your weight to fluctuate about 5-6 pounds from day to day or even at different times of the day. However, if you’ve noticed significant changes in your weight, whether you’re losing or gaining, it could point to a health issue.
Unexpected weight loss can point to many serious diseases, including cancer, infections, and autoimmune disorders. If you’ve recently lost more than 10 pounds without making any changes to your diet or exercise routine, it’s best to have it checked out.
Unexpected weight gain can also point to underlying health conditions, such as hormone changes, poor sleep, heart failure, or a thyroid disorder. If you’re gaining more than 5 pounds per week without any diet or exercise changes, don’t hesitate to schedule an evaluation.
Many of us feel forgetful or distracted on occasion. However, if difficulties concentrating and confusion have been plaguing you more than usual, you might be dealing with what’s known as “brain fog.”
Brain fog describes the feeling of a clouded mind, causing you to lose your train of thought and feel mentally exhausted frequently. This mental cloud can happen for various reasons, including:
If you frequently struggle to collect your thoughts or think clearly, our team can help you identify potential causes and develop a treatment strategy.
Frequent heartburn, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and other bothersome digestive issues can signal a problem with your gut health. We can help by assessing your diet, sleep patterns, and other lifestyle habits that can affect digestion. Interestingly, your gut health also plays a pivotal role in your mood, immune response, and other essential functions.
If you’re feeling less healthy than usual or haven’t had a physical exam recently, we invite you to schedule an appointment at Clover Internal Medicine Associates today. Call our office or use our online booking feature.
