To ask you what is wrong with me?

Oh and I did not actually have anemia, I had "Iron Deficiency Without Anemia" which can also cause problems because your body has basically no iron stores so it pulls iron out of other body tissues such as hair and skin to use for more essential purposes, like making hemoglobin so you don't become anemic.

OP I made an account just to respond to this post because it's so similar to what happened to me. Three things in your post stand out to me:

• My skin has become really full, grey and wrinkly.
• My hair has gone dry.
• Don’t eat much meat but some chicken

I'm almost certain your problem is iron deficiency. I ended up with similar symptoms and I had no idea how low my iron intake was because my diet was very healthy overall. I ate red meat probably once a month, otherwise chicken or vegetarian. I thought I was doing a good thing for myself by avoiding red meat, but apparently vitamins are much less bio-available from plant sources and it's difficult to eat enough iron when you don't eat red meat or take iron supplements (multivitamin doesn't count). My ferritin level was 20 which is at the low end of the normal range but the normal range is from 13-300. I unfortunately lost about half my hair before I discovered that this was the cause. I started taking iron supplements a few months ago and it's made a massive difference. I also eat red meat several times a week now and I make an effort to eat organ meats as well.

Have you had your iron levels tested at all?

I was about to ask the same thing. Do not cut out any gluten or cereals from your diet! Eat normally then ask GP for blood tests for Coeliac Disease. If you have it, you are malnourished as your body can't absorb essential nutrients due to autoimmune damage to your intestines.

Vitamin D? Not enough protein? Peri?

I have RTFT and would swear blind this is menopause. Read Louise Newson’s book on peri menopause. Other links here- https://www.newsonhealth.co.uk/

NHS refuses to recognise menopause until you’re 45 and something shows up in bloods. Anyone under that is given anti-depressants and told they’re otherwise fine. I fought for HRT and guess what? It worked. So frustrating.

Several things come to mind to me:

• iron deficiency (when I had this I was so tired I couldn't walk more than a few steps and I had heart palpitations, so the symptoms can be extreme)

• chronic sleep deprivation, caused by anxiety. (I've had anxiety before that made me constantly dizzy and have vertigo. I thought I'd mention that because the symptoms of anxiety/panic attacks can be very physical. It took me so, so long to realise it wasn't a physical condition causing it, and I'm still baffled how anxiety can present so physically with no other symptoms. CBT cured this for me.

Chronic fatigue also fits the bill - however the two reasons above are treatable, and chronic fatigue isn't, so it might be worth pursuing potential causes that are treatable first in case you can cure it that way.

myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
There's no tests unfortunately so it's basically just a process of elimination, you need keep on at your GP, otherwise you'll get no where. It took 7 years before I was finally referred to a ME clinic and given a diagnosis. Good luck

Maybe an allergy. I knew someone who was allergic to mould. It was invisible in prepacked salads etc and had the same symptoms. Picked up through allergy testing. Couldn't drink beer, blue cheese etc

Low cortisol?

Low testosterone?

Definitely sounds like you need to be tested for coeliac disease. Don't cut out gluten from your diet until tested.

Check hormones for sure, I've had no period for 9 years FSH levels normal but now oestrogen is rock bottom & prolactin is through the roof both cause tiredness.

Ask gp for referral to endocrinologist or sleep clinic or somewhere, make sure someone listens

Addison's disease
Are your guns turning grey
Salt craving
Extreme fatigue
High heart rate
Low blood pressure
Loss of appetite
Skin turning brown on knuckles & elbows,knees.

Addison's disease

@WhimsicalPig Op you sound like me. I think it’s the peri menopause with me but haven’t had it checked out so can’t be sure. I’m 40.

• Do not routinely use blood tests such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) measurements to diagnose perimenopause or menopause in otherwise healthy women (who are not using hormonal contraception) aged over 45 years, with typical menopausal symptoms. Diagnose the following without laboratory testing:
• Perimenopause — if the woman has vasomotor symptoms and irregular periods.
• Menopause — if the woman has not had a period for at least 12 months (and is not using hormonal contraception).
• Menopause — based on symptoms in a woman without a uterus.

From NICE

@Aquamarine1029 if bloods aren't used to diagnose oerimenopause what is please?

Agreed - your symptoms are exactly like a family member of mine who was eventually diagnosed with coeliac disease.

didn't show up in the blood test at all either, it was diagnosed by colonoscopy.

they look 10 years younger than they did pre diagnosis now they are following a gluten free diet. It's scary how ill coeliac disease can make some people when it's something that is entirely treatable through diet once it is diagnosed. Its estimate that 1 in every 100 people have coeliac disease.

Your probably have chronic exhaustion. I had it bringing up my daughter and working etc. Your body needs rest and nutrition. Look up adrenal fatigue.

Compare when you were healthy to now. What's different? Likely to be lack of deep quality sleep and not eating enough, your doing two jobs with parenting and work. Are you switching off and relaxing? How's your breathing? Needs to come from the tummy but when stressed you only breath short.

If you can't run, your body is telling you not to run at the moment. Listen to it. Do some short walking and track your progress. I know it's hard. It's a long road to getting better. Eat broccoli, walnuts, loads of good veg. But everything revolves around sleep and this is critical. Are you dreaming? If not a good indicator your not sleeping properly. It's hard to not do what you are used to doing, but if you don't slow down it will take longer. It took me about four years to get better.

Paul McKenna has a good book called control stress with a cd I used at night. Also mark Williams title something like coping in a frantic world.

Honestly OP, this sounds like classic Long Covid. Right down to the problems with teeth, bloods coming back fine, insomnia and the crushing awful fatigue and low mood.

Have you been tested for coeliacs disease?

I have the same symptoms. I’m post menopause and on HRT. I eat healthily and take supplements, which help to an extent, but the fatigue and dizziness are disabling at times.

Could still be low iron. The range for "normal" is vast and many people experience many symptoms in the lower half of the "normal" range. Unfortunately a lot of doctors don't know/ aren't interested so often only tell you if you're actually anaemic. I only found out about this when I developed a bald patch (thankfully since regrown with high strength iron tablets) but I now realise I had so many symptoms due to low iron.

Look at bloods results. You want to know your ferritin level and if it's anything lower than 30, severe symptoms are possible. I think optimum might be 150? I know I still get a few symptoms up to about 70. But I felt like absolute death at 20 or under. However anything over 13 will return a test result of "normal". It's a medical scandal and leads to many people taking meds for a huge array of preventable symptoms: Hair loss, bad teeth, exhaustion, palpitations, migraines, depression, and more.

Disclaimer - I'm obvs not a medic! Whilst high strength iron is cheap over the counter, you need to have regular ish testing to check levels. Don't test after illness as that skews results. It is really important to find a doctor who understands low iron so you can find the cause ( eg can't absorb or vegan diet or heavy periods,). In my experience it is female docs who specialise in reproductive or menopause that have been best.

Loss periods 3 years = hormones. If it is not thyroid or premature menopause/menopause then PCOS needs looked at insulin resistance. Pick a GP with DFRSH or DRCOG after their name in your surgery. Good luck and don’t give up