<p>I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and anemia during high school because of serious exhaustion, along with other symptoms. Your daughter’s symptoms seem really similar to me. For me, in addition to exhaustion, I gained weight really quickly in comparison to what I was eating, I was pale and my skin was dry, my period was off, and I was really depressed, anxious, and irritated. Depression masked the hypothyroidism because I was in therapy and kept thinking I would get better but it turned out that I couldn’t overcome the depression until my thyroid was under control. </p>
<p>The hypothyroidism really isn’t hard to treat, but finding a good endocrinologist can be very difficult.</p>
<p>Don’t know where your daughter lives, swimcatsmom, but just getting out in the sunshine can help a lot. When daylight savings time starts, it’s dark by 4:30 p.m. on the east coast at this time of year. If like most college students, your daughter goes to bed late and gets up late in the morning, she could be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).</p>
<p>Hang in there. She will get this figured out over the holiday break.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that your daughter is dealing with this, Swimcatsmom. As a fellow college student with finals, I know how busy and stressful it can be. If she’s having a little better luck sleeping, I would suggest a schedule where she goes to bed around midnight and wakes up by 8 AM every day. (That’s probably as “normal” a sleep schedule as it’s going to get for a college kid!) She can take a nice walk in the morning while eating breakfast, thinking through her plan for the day, or just listening to her iPod. Then she can devote herself to working all day and hopefully sleep at night. I’m not prone to depression, but whenever I’ve managed to do this I’ve felt worlds better than writing a paper until 5 AM and then sleeping until 1 PM. Walks are good, and she can feel productive at the same time if she wants to think about work while she does it. It’s good that she’s recognized her depression and wants to see her doctor. Please keep us informed.</p>