Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other chronic conditions include tiredness as a symptom. Sometimes, tired isn't an accurate descriptor. Tired does not capture the full body exhaustion, bone-tired, can't-sit-upright-feeling, bone-weary, tuckered-out sensations, but it is a strange poverty of English that so few words or expressions exist for tired.
There's the expression dog-tired from old English which conjures images of splayed hunting dogs too tired to stand or eat, huffing and panting with tongues dangling out of their mouths. While I am not a Bloodhound, this description rings true after hunting for groceries at a big box store through the maze of aisles and gauntlet of displays.
Drained could be descriptive of having had energy at some other point in time and then finding oneself without it after some mechanical process by which it was taken. Although energy is in short supply with rheumatoid arthritis, I do feel drained of it after having spent time in the sun or mid-summer heat as if simply cooling my body with sweat is too much work.
Sleepy means ready to sleep and may overlap with tiredness, but the two words don't have the same meaning. Sleep issues accompany many chronic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, but interestingly, a feeling described as sleepy is elusive. Wakefulness due to pain is far more likely than a sleepy, dreamy, drifting-off sensation.
Fatigued is a word that seems reminiscent of a description found for a 100-year-old bridge with rust damage that has caused a weakening of the overall structure. Has rheumatoid arthritis fatigued my structure? Maybe, the the medications for the illness have mightily contributed as well.
Pooped is an adjective that is just unflattering to use in any context that doesn't include a 2-year-old and a potty chair.
Run-down is a phrase used for dilapidated buildings or neighborhoods, but also for people who have worn themselves out and as a result, leave themselves open to illness.
Jetlagged can be a frustrating type of tired experience after crossing time zones, but often the excitement of landing in a new city can mitigate the overwhelming desire to lie down and rest. Feeling jetlagged after 8 hours of sleep causes cognitive dissonance and dispiritedness that are not easily resolved.
Exhausted is probably the most accurate descriptor because it assumes there were some resources at some point and they have been completely and totally depleted to the point there is nothing left. However, if someone is able to say, "I am exhausted," that person still has the resources to identify and label the feeling. On some occasions, indicators of exhaustion include silence, languor, and routine.
What feeling is beyond exhausted? What is the accurate adjective for a person who is so tired, so exhausted, that s/he cannot make decisions or even engage in dialogue?
Which descriptor of tired includes constant pain that erodes resources more quickly or even with exponential speed?
Which vocabulary or combination of words means prostrate and without ability to adequately replenish one's own resources?
Oh wait. I know! Rheumatoid arthritis.
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