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Why do I feel hungry and sleepy most of the time?

I have just recently turned 18 and I am an athlete. However, recently I have been feeling extremely hungry, I have lower back pain, tightness is my knees and I’d like to know the reason. I take naps after school and eat meals throughout the day as well. Could growth be a factor ?
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Avatar universal
Could be Kidney Failure .
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Avatar universal
I'd check with a doctor to see if there are any metabolic/thyroid issues going on. Low back pain and fatigue can each have a lot of different causes and could be related or unrelated, but should be checked out as well. How's your overall energy level in between? Do you feel full after eating, but then get hungry more quickly, or need to eat more to feel full, or never feel full?
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Also, have you traveled or had any GI symptoms since onset of this? Any abdominal pain/discomfort?
207091 tn?1337709493
Growth could be a factor, but what are you eating? Are you eating good, healthy, filling foods that will sustain you through your day? If you're like a lot of teens, a lot of what you eat may be junk and empty calories. As an athlete, that may not sustain you. It could also be affecting your blood sugar, with spikes and crashes.

The back and knee pain should be checked by a doctor, though, especially since you're an athlete and active. While you're there, talk to them about your hunger and fatigue. They may want to rule out some things, especially if you're eating well.

Let us know what happens.
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3 Comments
Thank you for your response! To answer your question I do eat well and stay away from junk food intake. I also stay careful to my sugar intake and I intake plenty of protein and fluids and vitals that are profitable to my body as well! I do also feel like my bone density has increased! Thank your for your help!
Make sure you eat plenty of colored vegetables.  Those are where the electrolytes and minerals and antioxidants hang out.  As for the knee and back problems, if you get something like that at such a young age it could indicate overwork, it could indicate your form doing whatever it is you do athletically isn't right, it could be not working on your flexibility.  There are all kinds of sports medicine practitioners -- physical therapists, chiropractors, trainers, etc. who can watch you as you move if you can afford it to see if you're putting undue stress on yourself through things like poor posture, improper stride, etc.  Usually this gets  you when you get old, so assuming it's not an injury it might be an opportunity to learn how to avoid ending up in pain all the time like us older folks who were athletic when young and nothing bothered us.  
Oh, and who ever heard of an 18 year old who wasn't hungry?
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