What bloods test for fatigue?

[Maria1982]

I've seen lots of good advice on here over the years, so I turn to mumsnet for advice on this.

I have had a variety of symptoms for 8+ months:
-Fatigue,
-Muscle and joint pain,
-Feeling cold all the time,
-Poor sleep,
-Dizziness,
-Intermittent digestive issues.

GP has tested me for thyroid, anaemia, liver and kidney function, coeliac screen, and declared all normal.

I am fed up with feeling awful all the time, so have decided to get some blood tests privately. From reading on here I'm thinking definitely B12, and T3, T4 for thyroid (rather than just TSH).

What else would you recommend testing for please? TIA.

I am about to be referred to a rheumatologist. Query fibromyalgia. But there’s no one test for that.

Ehlers Danlos syndrome, but there is no blood test, just a checklist. Make sure it is an expert in the area not just a random rheumatologist.

Thanks wolfiefan. Sorry I should have said - I've already been referred to rheumatologist.
My GP has suggested fibromyalgia, but I understand it's supposed to be a diagnosis by exclusion, so I want to make sure we have excluded everything / a reasonable amount of other stuff first.
Rheumatologist was reluctant to discuss fibromyalgia and asked for further tests which I am waiting for.

shouldwestayorshouldwego - can you recommend a rheum who specialises in Ehler Dahlos please? At this stage I would consider going privately.

I raised EDS with the rheum when I saw him, but he said no. He said I don't have any of the more serious forms (vascular etc) and that there is no point in diagnosing hyper mobile EDS. I know, how helpful! And he told me to stop worrying, great.
I am definitely hyper mobile and I think I fit lots of the EDS criteria...

Me too. Stupidly hypermobile. It’s something I want ruled out.

Oh god. Sorry for the massive drip feed, but I forgot - also get recurring UTIs and have evil periods (I pondered endo, but frankly can't face asking GP for further referrals at this point!).

Vitamin D? Also calcium, potassium and pth (parathyroid hormone)

Vit D

Thanks epicclusterfuck. Love the username!
What would calcium and potassium possibly be indicative of?

What was your TSH level?
I have all these symptoms and I’m hypothyroid.
Even if your level is close to 4 you can feel shitty.

I would suggest b12, vit d and ferretin

When you mention evil periods, do you mean heavy? I'm no doctor by any means. Your symptoms sound similar to mine when my anemia was at its worse. I also had very heavy periods and this was believed to be causing my anemia.

Go back and ask how your results you've had done fit in within the 'normal' ranges.

We went to London hypermobility clinic. You don't even need to be massively hypermobile. It is worth going to experts as then you will know. NHS were very dismissive, slightly less so now that we are getting lots of dislocations too, but it shouldn't be like that. Sometimes it is just knowing. Also getting a good (private) physio has really helped. Alternatively you could just treat symptoms and assume it is EDS. I guess it depends on why you want the diagnosis. For us it is to keep school happy so had to go down a formal route. As an adult if you don't need a diagnosis for work/ benefits etc then you could skip straight to a physio.

Possibly hyperparathyroidism? Get your calcium and parathyroid hormone tested. I had similar symptoms to you for about 3 years. Finally got a diagnosis and had a partial parathyroidectomy in May - benign tumour on parathyroid gland. Feel much better now.

Thank you all!

fatted, by evil I mean heavy and painful. I will check my results, but my GP checked iron levels and I think they were actually good (not even borderline).

theicemaiden crikey that sounds scary, but glad to hear you are feeling better now.

Thanks all. I'm going to zzzz now but will look up my bloods and come back with values for TSH and iron levels. Really appreciate all the suggestions.

Have you had a full blood count done?

All those symptoms can be caused by poor quality sleep so it can become a vicious circle. You sleep poorly because of the stress of not knowing why you feel so tired and the frustration of how it impact on your life and poor sleep over months starts to trigger all kind of body alert reactions, neuro and hormonal.

We shouldn't have to suggest what could be or what we should be testing or taking to the GP but if you don't you don't usually get what you went to see the doctor in the first place. Last time I saw a new GP she actually asked me if I was worried about any possible ailment/diagnosis which is good to put your mind at rest.

Right, I'm back (sorry about the gap yesterday), with print out of my blood tests. Results and range value given in brackets. Taken March 2018.

TSH: 0.66 mU/L (0.35-5.5)

Free T4: 13.7 pmol/l (10-19.8)
Rheumatoid factor:

swingofthings you are right, a lot of this can come down to poor sleep. I have worked on my sleep hygiene significantly in the past year (no caffeine after midday is easy for me, no screens before bed I find much harder!), and I feel I am now getting reasonable sleep most days, but you are right, it is a vicious circle. Any further advice on how to get back to good sleep would be welcome!

auntiestella yes, full blood count was done earlier this year, I've just posted details above.

shouldwestayorshouldwego I would like a diagnosis to explain why so many bits of me seem to go wrong! I don't need it for benefits, but it would be useful for work. I feel something specific to name, rather than a series of slightly odd issues, could be more acceptable/easier to understand.

Also I'm sorry to hear about dislocations, I touch wood don't have that issue (which also means I query to myself whether it could really be EDS in my case).

It might be worth getting the FBC done again to see if it has spontaneously returned to normal.

We don't all dislocate, just some of us. It does make the diagnosis harder to argue with though as spontaneous dislocation is not a common occurrence.

I was also going to suggest Calcium and PTH for possible Hyperparathyroidism. Much more commonplace than GPs seem to believe.

I started to feel exhausted mentally and physically waking up feeling worse than I went to sleep. I couldn't understand it because I was getting 7+ hours so suspected that it was an issue with quality rather than quantity and that was confirmed when I got a fitbit 18 months ago. I just don't get enough deep sleep so my brain and body doesn't get to regenerate properly.

Sadly I'm not going anywhere sorting it out despite trying everything! I know that the issue is years and years of doing too much, rushing all the time , stress, worries etc... constantly thinking of my next move, action. It used to help me a lot to plan my days but now I just can't switch off any longer.

Sleeping pills don't help. Recently I've tried a natural product that is supposed to help raise serotonin and that certainly helped but it also comes with quite horrible side effects so have stopped for now. I am starting to a cept that cognitive behaviour therapy to reset my mind is the only way forward for me.

The one thing that seems missing from you FBC is vit B12 which can lead to the symptoms you describe too although your mch is good and the two are often linked.

Just to be clear-low TSH means you’re near the borderline for hyperthyroid (overactive) not underactive which would be a TSH over 5. Hyperthyroidism symptoms are the opposite of hypothyroidism. Did the rheumatologist test your ana to see if there could be autoimmune issues?

A raised WBC can mean you have infection/ inflammation somewhere.
Do you sleep alone? As sleep apnoea can cause utter exhaustion, but you won't be aware of it, unless you have someone else observing it.
@swingofthings have you considered asking your GP to refer you for a sleep study?