To think SOMETHING must be wrong with me?

[BastardBiscuits]

I’m 39. Utterly exhausted 24/7. When I wake up in a morning I’m not just groggy, I literally can’t function. I feel nauseous, utterly exhausted, headache, body aches, stiff everywhere, I can barely walk properly as I feel like I could just collapse onto the floor.

I only work part time. No kids at home. No illnesses that I know of other than ferritin deficiency anaemia.

My last shift at work is tomorrow. I’ve had to resign as I literally cannot function properly.

Dr says nothing is wrong with me. I’m 39. I look on Facebook and see pics of people out for lunch or at the gym etc and it makes me feel depressed. I barely have the energy to go to toilet. My 87 year old grandma has more energy than me.

A couple of things come to mind. One; what’s your diet like day to day? I had ME in my twenties and after copious doctors telling me nothing could be done I had huge success with a ketogenic diet. As has my DP who has a serious autoimmune condition.

That's great to hear, but I think it's important to point out that this may not necessarily work for everyone.

My second recommendation is an iron infusion that you can finance yourself. I went to The Iron Clinic as a private patient and paid around £700 to have an infusion that raised an iron level of around 15 right up to a figure in the hundreds. That should be enough for life now.

Only if the underlying problem is iron deficiency, surely.

Have you tried liquid iron - Floradix is good at getting quickly into the bloodstream without the unpleasant side effects that tablets can cause.

Really? I remember a leading haematologist rubbishing this stuff. Her secretary assumed as I was a vegetarian that I was using it and told me not to. I said there was nothing wrong with me!

B12 could be the issue.

Sounds like ferritin deficiency anaemia to me. Have you been checked for it?

@Glitteryone

Thyroid B12 deficiency Fibromyalgia

I’d ask to be tested for the above 3 OP.

Also sleep apnoea and COPD (doesn't have to be severe).

I always thought that only clinically obese lorry drivers got sleep apnoea (well, not really, but I associated it with massive weight problems and sedentary occupations) - until I was diagnosed with it despite only being slightly overweight (which itself was primarily due to an underactive thyroid).

I was tested overnight at a sleep clinic and was "waking up" (without being aware of it) an average of 40/hr! And this was moderate sleep apnoea, apparently.

But it isn't just caused by weight - it can be due to pulmonary disorders and obstructions, too, or even mild infections if you are sensitive to such problems.

Perimenopause can make some women feel terrible. What are your cycles like?

Maybe a curve ball, but do you have any black mould in your house?

Google black mould/fatigue.

Low ferritin often goes with low thyroid - anecdotally and I've no idea why. But it sounds like ME/CFS or autoimmune disease. Absolutely get another Dr, be a nuisance if you have to, but if it's driving you out of work it needs to be addressed.

You had bloods taken? Iron levels ok?

Try supplements- borroca, eat super healthy, cut out caffeine if you can

Lyme disease?

As many others have said - have tests ! Lose alcohol, lose coffee and sugar. There are some really excellent diet books, if it turns out to be an under functioning thyroid. Worth using for six months or so, even if tests say your levels are normal. You'll feel better !

do you have a working carbon monoxide monitor?

have the docs checked thyroid, b12, vitamin d, etc

I felt like that, these guys helped me get on the path to recovery (still going but I can do 10km hikes now!) www.theoptimumhealthclinic.com/

The NHS doesn’t take ME or other chronic health issues seriously ime. I was offered anti-depressants and told to Come back in 6 months.

@AlexanderHalexander

Depression?

I was gonna say this too.

I've had the same issue and what feels like hundreds of tests. Ended up being my depression that was causing it.

Could be lots of things so your GP needs to rule them out:

Have you been checked for iron deficiency? 2 friends of mine in their 40s had this and it was debilitating for them (exhaustion, no energy, depressed), happens to loads of women!

Glandular fever?

ME?

MS?

Diabetes?

Depression?

So many things, get your GP on it

Oh also, max out your vit D and b-12 (sprays not tablets), might help.

This was me years ago, I honestly thought I had ME. It was so awful it was debilitating and I wanted to sleep or rest all the time. I think it was down to anemia. I wasted a lot of my life feeling this way. I think you need to see a nutritionist as GPs see this as a black or white issue (ie you're not anemic so you're ok). Also what is really critical is to ask to see a GP after you have had your bloods to discuss the results. I was about 1 point off the anemic spectrum but never showed up as being anemic which meant I had all the syptoms of anemia but was technically aneamic.

Also, consider (Inattentive) ADHD, can manifest as fatigue, i recently learnt. So much so that ritalin etc has cured some people.

I tested all my levels of things myself using medichecks.com, which I also really recommend.

What about counselling- was your life very positive before the illness. Could your mood be contributing , could there be psychological contribution.

I think we need to be careful with the assumption that symptoms like these are often psychological in origin. It's less true than some people seem to think, and can lead to sufferers blaming themselves for not being able to 'think' themselves better.

Additionally, if a person with fatigue is depressed, it's often because they are fatigued, rather than for any other reason.

coeliac? It sounds like there is something going on.

for years I had low energy and felt like I had flu all the time. being diagnosed was a complete game changer. the gastro symptoms were what finally pushed me to go to the doctor but i didnt always have those.

I had this for 30 years. Told it was all in my head and all I got was prescriptions for various anti depressants at increasing doses. Turned out it was sleep apnea. 30 years of exhaustion and pain and basically no life, fixed over night with the correct diagnosis.

It was the practise nurse who suggested it to me. If it was down to my GP I'd still be undiagnosed.

Exactly how I felt when I was B12 and folate deficient.
What blood tests have they done?

And, did you ask for the full details of the blood tests? You’re allowed to have a hard copy of them.

@StellaMalone

As many others have said - have tests ! Lose alcohol, lose coffee and sugar. There are some really excellent diet books, if it turns out to be an under functioning thyroid. Worth using for six months or so, even if tests say your levels are normal. You'll feel better !

Could you recommend one or two please, Stella?

I came off the thyroxine because it was making me feel so ill - it was worse than my thyroid problem (I did this under the eagle-eye of an endocrinologist - don't try this at home), and have to be very careful about what I eat or I balloon!

Hi OP, My symptoms mirrored yours and after numerous blood tests I was anemic and very low in vit D. I feel like a different person now. Bought high strength vit D from boots and was perscribed iron. Hope you feel better soon.