Hi everyone.
I've felt like this off and on for 2 years now. Lethergic, aching and weak muscles, aching joints, brain fog. My eyesight goes fuzzy when I get tired and I find it hard to find the right words, feel dizzy off and on especially when I shut my eyes when stood up.
I have hypothyroidism, but only take 75 a day for it so presumably isn't that bad, recent blood results came back as 'normal' according to the receptionist. I also have hypermobility, but my doctor says that wouldn't cause any of my symptoms other than the fact my joints pop out of place and feel stiff and sore, and they can't do much about that. I've had lots of blood tests that apparently ruled out everything else and the doctor just looks at me when I say how tired I am. She thinks it's because I have three young kids mostly, and yes sometimes I'm tired from them, but when I feel like this it just isn't the same, it isnt.
I'm starting to feel like I'm just lazy. Like I could feel better if I just tried and it's all in my head. I take lots of caffeine tablets and painkillers and then clean the house and stuff just fine, so it is possible. Does anyone else feel this way but doubt themselves too?
Sorry if this makes very little sense, I fear i'm a little garbled today.
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
General health
So very tired of feeling so very tired!
mrstigs · 22/03/2014 17:16
This reply has been deleted
Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.
Hello mrstigs. I'm sorry things are so hard for you at the moment. I was like this 2-3 years ago, when I had 'sub-clinical' (borderline) hypothyroidism, borderline anaemia (score 16 on a normal range of 15-295) and vitamin D deficient. If you haven't had those things checked out already, you should. Either one of those could explain your extreme tiredness by itself.
But as well as that, I am also hypermobile, and that was the point at which (for some reason no-one quite seems to understand) my 'simple' hypermobility turned into hypermobility syndrome (HMS). Doctors are notoriously badly informed about it, so it's not surprising your doc isn't giving you good info (mine didn't either), but she's not.
If you are hypermobile and score 5+ on the Beighton score for bendiness, and have had pain in several joints for a few months, then you meet the diagnostic criteria for HMS. It is a general soft tissue disorder, and can (tho doesn't always) cause all sorts of problems, anywhere in your body where there is soft tissue. I found that all sorts of apparently random problems I'd had were/are all linked with HMS, including piles and palpitations and trouble sleeping - and oddly also a resistance to local anaesthetic. 
You can find more info on the Hypermobility Syndromes Association website. They have a lively Facebook page too, where you can ask an anonymous question (if you want) and get other people's advice and opinions.
If you think this sounds like you, ask your GP to refer you to a rheumatologist. Even some rheumies are ill-informed, so it's worth doing some research to find ones more familiar with HMS (the HMA website has a list).
Good luck! :)
everything rockinD said 
i felt crap on 75 and am fine on 100.my tsh was 4.5 on 75 and now is 0.3
i also had low iron so get all the usual checked too: ferritin, b12, vit d
Thanks everyone. I've been to my doctors so many times, I just feel so awkward about going back again. I feel like they think I'm just whining and it's not a big deal. But I will, better to have her thinking I'm a pita timewaster but do something to make me go away than feel crap all the time. 
I'll phone and ask for my results tomorrow and make an appointment. I'll also print off some info on hms and see if she'll look at that. She doesn't know much about it I think, when I told her I was diagnosed at 18 with hypermobility she asked what it was, then just said 'oh, being double jointed? Well that shouldn't really cause you any problems'. I didn't have the nerve to press it any further so I just left it.
Thanks again everyone for responding. I felt so very fed up yesterday, I feel a bit more positive today.
mrstigs 
sorry you are feeling so awful. What is your diet like? Have you tried any strategies in this respect? Also what was happening around the time you started feeling this way?
Thanks again everyone for being kind enough to take the time to comment.
Le1980 I think I've had my iron levels checked already, but I'll make sure next time I'm at the docs. Thanks for the tip.
kissmelittleass hope you feel better soon too.
sleepwhenidie It was a few months after 3rd dc, that was when my thyroid packed in. Was on thyroxine a year then they said as my results showed in normal range when on it I could stop. So I did and felt awful, put on weight and ended up begging the doctor to go back on the tablets. I've felt a little better, but never right, and now feel worse.
My diet is pretty good, I enjoy cooking healthy stuff. When I'm really tired the urge to eat carbs is strong, but I do my best to ignore it.
I'd go back to the Doctor, even though the Receptionists say the bloods were fine. I'm a Doctor's Receptionist and if someone is told the bloods are ok, it generally means the Doctor does not need to see you about them but if you are still unwell to make an appointment to discuss further investigations. A blood test is not the end result. Don't feel embarrassed about seeing the Doctor again. In my surgery I see so many of the same faces I know quite a lot of them by name. It seems to be in the hundreds It's getting to the point I know their voices when the order repeat prescriptions too but that's another story. So please make that appointment to see your Doctor. You should not suffer.
I'll certainly look into that Rooby thank you.
As for the last time, I never did understand why they recommended it. From what they guy said it was because I developed it after childbirth, and they recommend stopping it when the child gets to 12 months. So they did. Even though I was by no means hyperthyroid at that point (which I would assume I would have been if the thyroxine was unnecessary?) They tested again a few weeks later and I was still just in the normal range so it was stopped. Then restarted when I went back a few months later begging for help.
As for my food. Today was egg on toast for breakfast, wholemeal pasta salad with red cabbage, carrot, cheese, apple and raisins for lunch. Dried cranberrys for snack, then butternut squash and asparagus risotto. Drinks of green tea or normal tea with milk no sugar. So fairly carb heavy today tbf but still not too bad. Would a change in diet help in some way?
Life in general is pretty stress free. I have three small kids so have school runs and things, and a pretty energetic toddler, but im a sahm atm so no job to rush to. She's also happy to play at home on days when I feel just too sore and washed out to take her places which is good, but I just wish I had my old energy levels back. We used to be a massively energetic family, walks round national trust places every weekend, days out to farms and swimming and running around play centres... now its mostly swimming or playgroup. I can see my activity levels slipping lower and lower and that's just not me. Not what I want to be.
I do feel better today, tired but no brain fog and im not struggling for words as much. Although I took 4 caffeine tablets earlier to try and help. Tbf they don't seem to help often, not sure if that's because I try it too often or maybe I'm just immune to lots of caffeine.
I will definitely get those results tomorrow and make the appointment. Does anyone know if the receptionist can read them out over the phone or do I need to go in and ask for a copy? I was slipping into a hole of just feeling helpless about the whole thing but talking to you all has really given me back my drive to change this now.
Even if I'm left with the painful joints I can live with that. So seriously, thank you all again. I didn't realise how much actually talking about it would help.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
mrstigs it sounds like there is a lot more going on than diet alone will fix - I think you have had some great advice from other posters on that. Your diet sounds good though maybe lacking in protein and EFA's? If you are deficient in these then it can show (even after years of feeling absolutely fine) as chronic fatigue and brain fog - among many other symptoms. So increasing good fat and protein certainly wouldn't hurt, but as I say, it sounds like you need to push harder for more medical attention. One other thing though, the caffeine tabs will be playing havoc with your system 
- have you tried not taking any for any length of time?
I don't do low fat, we use butter and full fat yoghurt etc. The risotto had butter in and the pasta had cheese. I do need to up the protein I imagine though, especially as we don't eat much meat. It's mostly through eggs and cheese and chickpeas and the odd bit of chicken. I'll look into upping it more, it certainly can't hurt.
I think the caffeine tabs are useless tbh. I used them a fair bit when the youngest was a rubbish sleeper so I was tired on top of fatigued if that makes sense and they did keep me going a bit. But they don't do much for me now. I certainly have never taken them daily or normally more than once a day. Just when I was very tired and sore but needed to get something done ie: clean the house. In fact the four I took today may well have been the most I have taken in one day, but I can't say I felt any different at all. So might as well ditch them. Sometimes you just hope something will make the difference and get you moving, and I don't drink coffee (in desperate times I've tried - it's foul) .
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.