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a doctor would ask.
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques to assess the symptom: Lethargy. These will include a physical examination and possibly diagnostic tests. (Note: A physical exam is always done, diagnostic tests may or may not be performed depending on the suspected condition) Your doctor will ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to openly share any pertinent information to help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.
It is also very important to bring an up-to-date list of all of your all medical conditions, medications including dosages, and names of numbers of any specialist you see.
Create your printable checklist by answering questions that your doctor may ask below:
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Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
Why: Lethargy is a fairly imprecise description of the feeling or slowness, sluggishness, tiredness, or lack of energy. Lethargy in common usage may mean many things, including fatigue, drowsiness (sleepiness), lethargy, tiredness, malaise, listlessness, or weakness (including muscular weakness).
Why: Intermittent fatigue may suggest myasthenia gravis. Constant lethargy may be due to any of the other disorders, however if not associated with weight loss should consider a psychiatric disorder.
Why: e.g. not getting enough sleep, sleep debt, shift work, jet lag and boredom.
Why: e.g. insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy. Sleep disturbance is a common cause of lethargy.
Why: questions specifically about relationship, family, children, social support, occupation, general physical health and financial stresses. Stress related to lifestyle is the commonest cause of lethargy.
Why: a viral infection or post-viral infection are common causes of lethargy.
Why: Lethargy is a feature of pregnancy, especially in the early stages.
Why: e.g. chronic aspirin ingestion may cause chronic fatigue and lethargy; many other drugs have the capacity to cause tiredness, fatigue and lethargy such as anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antihistamines, antihypertensives, anti-anxiety medications, steroids, digoxin and pain killers.
Why: e.g. caffeine abuse may cause chronic fatigue and lethargy.
Why: e.g. alcoholism and cocaine abuse are associated with chronic fatigue and lethargy; drug withdrawal (especially from illicit drugs such as amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine and heroin) may cause lethargy.
Why: e.g. fad diets or skipped meals may cause lethargy.
Why: may help determine risk of syphilis and HIV infection.
Why: must consider cancer, hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition, gut malabsorption and chronic infectious disease (e.g. tuberculosis, subacute bacterial endocarditis).
Why: should consider tuberculosis, subacute bacterial endocarditis, toxoplasmosis, infectious mononucleosis, brucellosis.
Why: most likely cause is a type of anemia such as associated with malabsorption syndrome, iron deficiency, pernicious anemia or anemia due to blood loss.
Why: may suggest hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus, hyperparathyroidism and chronic renal failure.
Why: suggests left ventricular heart failure.
Why: suggests left ventricular failure.
Why: e.g. sadness, crying spells, lack of interest in activities, poor energy, poor concentration and attention span, poor sleep, reduced libido, poor self esteem and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
Why: e.g. nervousness, shakiness, tremor, tiredness, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration, heart palpitations, racing heart, sweating, dizziness, diarrhea, lump in throat and frequency of urination. Range of somatic (physical) symptoms? - e.g. tiredness, headache, constipation, indigestion, weight loss, dry mouth, unusual pains or sensations in the chest and abdomen - not uncommonly occur with depression and tend to mask a diagnosis of depression. Depression can be associated with many illnesses but it is important to realize that these somatic symptoms may be the presentation of depressive illness. Depression is a common cause of lethargy.
Why: e.g. extreme exhaustion (with minimal physical effort), headache (or a vague "fuzzy" feeling in the head), aching in the muscles and legs, poor concentration and memory, excessive sleep, waking feeling tired, emotional lability, aching joints, sore throat, tender swollen lymph nodes and depressive-like illness.
Why: e.g. frequent urination, excessive thirst, weight loss, lethargy.
Why: e.g. husky voice, tiredness, weight gain, constipation, cold intolerance, loss of hair.
Why: e.g. lethargy, painful joints, impotence, bronze discoloration of skin.
Why: e.g. weakness, frequency of urine, excessive thirst, lethargy.
Why: e.g. pigmentation, tiredness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea.
Why: e.g. loose bowel motions, intolerance to heat, sweating of hands, muscle weakness, increased appetite, weight loss, heart palpitations, emotional lability, lethargy.
Why: e.g. palpitations, hot flushes, night sweats - lethargy is a common symptom in menopausal women and is often associated with these other symptoms.
Why: e.g. loud snoring, daytime sleepiness and lethargy, unrefreshed sleep, restless sleep, morning headache, nocturnal choking, reduced libido.
Why: e.g. coarse hand tremor most marked at rest, rigidity of limbs, slowness in initiating and executing movements and speech, expressionless mask-like face, lethargy and dementia.
Why: e.g. easy muscle fatigability especially eyelids, neck, shoulders, lower legs and trunk, droopy eyelids, double vision, weak voice.
The following list of conditions have 'Lethargy' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.
Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Lethargy or choose View All.
The following list of medical conditions have 'Lethargy'
or similar listed as a medical complication in our database.
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