sick for months at a time - help please

[shirleybrown]

I have 21mo. When he was 7mo I caught an aggressive cold and was sick on and off for five months. Then again when he was 18mo I caught a cold and have been sick on and off since. By that I mean I usually have flu-like symptoms coupled with severe exhaustion; for example I can’t carry my son upstairs or if I do I get palpitations. I tend to get better every now and then but not really it only lasts 5-7 days and I cant do anything like drink or go out with my friends as that is a trigger to make me sick again. Sometimes I don’t leave the house for weeks at a time and sit crying into my Instagram seeing people with a life who can go buy coffee in a shop and just feel sad and useless. My whole life has been adjusted it has to all be toned down if I want to keep things ticking along in any manner. I also have asthma. I feel very alone and it’s a big pressure on my partner and occasionally wider family who have to step in. Its become so frequent sometimes they get cross or don’t believe me. It’s messing up my career and most importantly my ability to care for my son. I have a great GP he has done bloods and chest X-rays that are OK but the problem really is that nobody really seems to be joining up the dots about these two very extended periods of illness. I feel like such a diminished version of myself and nobody can tell me why. Doctor is now saying it’s due to a nervous disposition which I think is rubbish and certainly not something that would be said to a man presenting the same symptoms. I wondered if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Is it related to pregnancy and childbirth? This is ruining my life, my relationships my friendships my ability to earn money and care for the people I love. Everything. If anyone has anything similar or has any ideas of what it could be or knows a great specialist I could speak to I would be so very grateful. Thank you.

It sounds like your body never fully recuperated from the initial cold and you are now open to any passing virus or infection.

I would step away from other peoples so called 'perfect' lives on instagram and take time to strengthen yourself back up again in the first instance with baby steps. Apologies if that sounds blunt but this is not what you need right now and making you even more miserable and stressed about the position you are finding yourself in.

Having a baby is a massive life event. What was your pregnancy like, what was your diet like when pregnant? Babies will suck what they need from you to grow, perhaps leaving you depleted and as a result open to infection.

Of course your life adjusts when you have a baby. You are not getting the same amounts of sleep, you are getting very little if any down time to yourself. Food can often only be grabbed on the go or wolfed down with a baby looking to be fed on your lap.

Were your bloods on the low side of normal? What was your iron level? Did they test your CRP level? It looks at inflammatory markers in the body.

What has been prescribed to you to build back up your immune system? Do you exercise? What's your diet like? Were you previously healthy?

What sort of specialist are you looking to see?

Instagram is like a holiday brochure. I bet you won’t find photos of the Caribbean devastated by a hurricane in any of them.

Thanks almondfinger. My pregnant was normal. I had section took long time to recover. Mybloods have only ever been very slightly out; iron, inflammation markers. Nobody is talking to be about my immunity. I have no idea about what sort of specialist I would need to see for this. My lungs are flaring up this particular time so I have a good consultant for that, but its not looking at the bigger picture really I feel like I’m going crazy trying to get medical professionals to look at the bigger picture. I feel totally desolate like even if I get better from this in a few weeks there will be something else in a few weeks.

I think you might need a more holistic approach. Your GP has run the usual tests and come up with nothing, but there is very obviously something. I would suggest homeopathy but I know a lot of people dismiss this out of hand as "woo" (sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't - an open mind is useful!).

Might be worth Googling "holistic therapy" in your local area just to get a different perspective?

Did you have vitamin D checked? If it's low, your immune response is compromised.

Hi, shirley,

mayhew - above, may very well have identified your problem. At this time of year , you cannot make vitamin D in your skin , it is your primary source. Sunlight in the UK , is too weak , between mid-Oct and mid- April. That means all winter , your levels are likely to be dropping.

Did you ask your GP what your Vitamin D level was ? If it was not tested , then I would ask for that test as a matter of urgency.

Vitamin D does have a marked effect upon your immune system,  in fact  vitamin D affects over 2000 genes in your cells.   Every cell in your body ,   has a receptor for vitamin D  ,  it is used to fight off invading bacteria, virus etc. and many other processes.   

  have a good read of this thread,  

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2421492-Vitimin-D-can-it-have-this-effect

It is a long thread ,   but you will see how many other people were affected by low vitamin D , how they were helped  ,  etc.   I posted quite a bit on there ,   it  will give you lots of info.      IF  I  were you ,    IF  my vitamin D test came back low , then I would supplement with several thousand  IU  daily,  in order to get my level up above 100.  

best of luck. 

BTBH

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