Can someone please help me make sense of my health

[nickblainesmistress]

Been struggling for years with having no energy. I am slightly overweight but not too much and I'd say the main cause of this is that I often have so little energy that I literally cannot do much other than flop on the sofa. I often struggle to even summon the energy to make the children dinner. Over the years I have visited the GP a lot, have had full blood count done, thyroid tested, blood sugar check, coeliac screen, neurological tests (basic one by GP), heart tracing and probably some other things I can't remember. All came back negative/normal. Eventually GP just said it must be a lifestyle thing. So I have tried eating healthier, exercising as much as I possibly can (mainly walking), I take a daily women's multivitamin, probiotics and prebiotics. My diet is good - I may eat slightly too much but I eat a range of fruits, veg, meat, fish, rice, oats and veggie meat with the occasional take away/meal out. Drink lots of water and tea and coffee, virtually no alcohol. No sugary drinks.
Apart from being exhausted, I often get tummy ache, which again has been put down to IBS by the GP. It's there a lot of the time and I think I have just learned to live with it as I don't notice it mostly but sometimes it's so bad that I have to lie down with a hot water bottle. I usually get diarrhoea at the same time. It's particularly worse if I eat brown bread, pasta or a digestive biscuit so I try to avoid these things now. I do also get it sometimes when I've not eaten these foods too. I also get colds all the time which seem to last for ages and are draining, have very sore and stiff joints, psoriasis, rosacea and a periodically sore tongue which I've been told is geographic tongue.
I feel I need to get this sorted as I am letting my family down and I know my husband gets annoyed with me being ill all the time. It's so unfair on my children too as I'm so drained all the time so I must come across as being really miserable. I just want to be fit, healthy and full of energy but I don't know what else to try. If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

Bumping for the morning crowd...

Have you been tested for coeliac disease?

Sorry just read op properly!

I'm not a qualified medical professional but there are lots of medical conditions this could be and not all down to 'lifestyle '. The one that springs to mind but doesn't seem very well understood by medics is ME. this is the link to the NHS info? But it's a condition diagnosed by exclusion ie if you do t have x y z maybe you have ME. My DD has it, very severely, and it's not easy to treat. The NICE are currently reviewing their guidelines on diagnosis treatment. Symptoms include extreme fatigue not solved by sleep, pain, IBS type tummy issues, recurring Minor illnesses, migraines etc

It sounds like some kind of inflammatory thing to me. I have ulcerative colitis which is an inflammatory condition and have subsequently discovered that lots of things such as joint pain and rosacea are linked to the inflammation.
Magnesium spray for joint/muscle soreness can help, also Azaleic acid for rosacea.
I think you will need to keep pushing for more from your GP. Do you do a symptom diary?

Thanks for replying everyone. On a subconscious level it feels like it stems from the gut. But I also wonder about something like ME/CFS. I had glandular fever as a teenager and I was ill for months with extreme fatigue - like unable to keep my head up type thing. I read somewhere that this can recur? Yes I think I will need to persist with GP. I've actually recently moved doctors and they seem much more on the ball. The last lot seemed to treat me as if it was all in my head. I've not been keeping a symptom diary no but I will start, thanks.

Fibromyalgia?

Ask to have the coeliac tests again (and again and again) and make sure you up your gluten intake in the few days before the tests. If you avoid the gluten before the test your gut starts to heal itself and the test shows negative. I have bloods done 4 times before it came back 'borderline'. I then had further investigation under sedation and as soon as I woke up they said my gut looked pretty much dead.

I'd also ask for them to recheck your thyroid and then ask for the actual numbers and look them up. Again, a friend of mine was 'normal' but when she got the actual numbers it was the very lowest end of normal possible and that obviously wasn't normal for her. Also do some research on it and make a nuisance of yourself. There's a couple of different tests for the thyroid and the routine test that the NHS do doesn't always give the full picture. If you can afford to go private for thyroid as a one off I think it's definitely worth it as it can cause so many other issues that just aren't commonly known

Do some research on vitamin D3 and B12. Facebook groups have some excellent information and links to research.

From my understanding the acceptable range includes values that are far too low for many people. My health has certainly improved using supplements to get my values into the higher end of the range and I felt exactly as you describe. It might not be the answer for you but it is definitely worth exploring.

Just read your update about glandular fever. I seem to remember reading an article years ago about that possibly being a trigger for ME later in life so definitely keep that in mind. I'm sure research has advanced massively since I read that so not sure if it's still relevant but worth looking into maybe?

Try to -avoid gluten first thing in the morning. I don't have coeliac disease but I do don't that bread in the mornings makes me feel heavy and sluggish. Nuts and seeds ( like in granola) are good for energy.

@HopefulFor2020 it's definitely relevant. No one knows what triggers ME and glandular fever seems to be something that may do

@HopefulFor2020 it's definitely relevant. No one knows what triggers ME and glandular fever seems to be something that may do

@HopefulFor2020 I have literally always had a problem with pasta and bread and was convinced it was coeliac, but because it causes me a lot of pain, I don't eat much of it. I will try again and ask for another test but I just find it so painful to eat lots of it....
@Hecateh I used to have very low vitamin D but I've been taking a good supplement for a few years and last time I had a test it was well back into the normal range. B12 I've had tested and it was apparently fine.
The glandular fever was a really dark point in my life - I was off school for approx 3 months. No-one knew what was wrong. I think I overdid it initially which probably caused the chronic fatigue. Maybe I caused myself long term damage. Thanks for all the responses, it is really helpful to hear other people's experiences and views.

A sore red tongue can be a clear indication of low B12. If the problem is absorption, the standard test ordered by GP might not pick up it is a problem. You would need to do an active B12 test.

Thanks @swingofthings - how do I go about getting an active B12 test?

You need to ask your GP but that's on the assumption he understands the difference, the first gp I saw didn't.

I think it is also possible to do privately.

Always ask for a copy of your results. They should easily be able to print them. I'm also signed up to Evergreen Life through my surgery and all my results go on there too. It's v useful. GPs look for red flags only, so you may be 'normal' but right at the bottom. I had a ferritin (iron) level of 15. Right at the bottom. But apparently not a problem for my tiredness!

Thanks @NerdyBird - yep this happened to me with iron levels in pregnancy. Kept telling me it was fine but I miraculously felt loads better after taking spatone!