Constantly tired with brain fog, please help! - uninterested GP *[Results now added]

[Notanothercherrybakewell]

Hi all,

I've not been well for a long time and need some help in trying to work out what might be the cause.
It is next to impossible to get an appointment at my GP and when I do I am always so rushed and brushed off so am hoping if I can go in armed with 'I think it might be XYZ....' or 'can you please test ABC...' I might get somewhere or be taken seriously.

• I always feel tired. Constantly. I could sleep for 10hrs and still feel dead on my feet.

• 3-5 times a week I will get complete exhaustion out of nowhere. I will start to feel so tired that I need to sleep within 15-20mins of the feeling starting. This usually begins mid afternoon and I will need a 2-3hr sleep to get past it. I will wake up feeling like i've been hit by a bus for approx an hr until it passes and I feel fine again. most of the time this happens after i've had food (but could be coincidence due to time of day)
• Brain fog. I can forget what I have been told literally during the conversation. I can't focus or keep a train of thought. I feel so overwhelmed when this happens as I used to be really on the ball and engaged.

-Hair shedding more than usual

• occasional constipation
• horrible mood swings (tend to be much worse after I have woken up or am needing to sleep)

-Low mood

I had blood tests 2 years ago and was told nothing was out of the ordinary. I was prescribed something for anxiety/depression as they felt the mood swings and low mood was causing this. I took them for a few weeks but felt horrific on them and was told to stop with no follow up.

I really need some help and a point in the right direction. My life is zipping by at lightning speed and I want to enjoy it!

You need to be firm. Not pushy, just firm.
Good luck.

Just say you need a routine blood test. I too would lean towards low b12. Not that this is not always routinely checked so could have been missed out 2 years ago. Same with vit D.

Ask if they can do a full blood count - it could be something as simple as anaemia

Be very firm.
Tell the practice nurse what you want and don’t let her tell you differently. It is not normal to feel like this at your age. Or any age actually.
Keep repeating I would like the following blood tests..... and have a list of all the ones people have mentioned on here.

I'm also 29 and had the same recently. My GP was amazing and ran full bloods. Checked for everything from diabetes to vit d deficiency.

I had severe vit d deficiency and iron deficiency. Made the world of difference taking supplements!

Following as similar symptoms since giving birth. My diet is pretty good but i get headaches more and more often and absolutely exhausted. Good luck with your blood test x

I've felt very similar since my twenties. Every few years I get fed up enough to have blood tests run but other than showing low iron stores sometimes everything seems normal ( and taking iron supplements helps a bit but not that much). I was also diagnosed ( if you can call it a diagnosis) with unexplained infertility and then had issues with blood flow through the placenta in pregnancy. I feel like it is probably all linked but I might never know!

This was just how I felt before getting diagnosed with coeliac disease. I never had digestive issues, just extreme fatigue, brain fog and hair loss (Anaemia due to absorption issues from coeliac damage). When I gave up gluten completely, it took a lot longer than a week to see/feel a difference.

I would also strongly recommend entering your daily diet into a nutrition app like Cronometer or Fitness Pal. That way you know for sure if you are consuming enough iron, B vitamins etc. It is so much easier to know when its logged as what we think we eat doesn't always match up with what we did, if that makes sense. It is surprisingly hard to get enough b5/b6 for example, but you soon see what foods are really good. Baked beans for example are really not that bad sometimes, but you might just need to add something else or have them with a sweet potato.

Agree re anaemia. My blood count was 104 (should be over 12 I think). I felt dreadful - tired, no energy at all, poor concentration, losing hair, awful anxiety, palpatations. Even after my count had improved with 2 weeks of iron supplements, my ferritin (iron stores) was still only 8 so gp gave me another 3 months of iron supplements which have massively improved things.

Like other posters have said it could be linked to iron, b12, folate or thyroid issues but I think you need to ask for a full blood count, folate, b12 and a thyroid function test (they can do all this with two small vials even though it sounds a lot of tests).

Hi all, just a quick update to say the doctors never called me back. I called again today and finally spoke to the GP who said they agree something doesn't sound right but are unable to do any blood tests at present. I asked why and was told because of corona certain restrictions are in place and only so many appointments are available for bloodwork. I asked if I could be placed on a waiting list and was told they don't have one. She had no solution as to what I could do other than call back in a week or two if things have changed.
So frustrating!!! I wonder if moving to another practise will get the same results?
Failing that I will look into doing a private blood test

That sounds ridiculous, where do you live? I would contact your local CCG and find out what the guidance is for blood tests. At least then you can go back to your GP and say what the CCG have said. They should be carrying out tests for symptoms now, its all in the NHS covid recovery documents.

GPs not response not ideal, but i'd just bite the bullet and pay for a private blood test. loads of companies do finger prick blood tests via post, cost about £50 and reviewed by a Dr. Well
worth it for peace of mind

Turns out carbs do that to me- but I didn't know that until I went keto. Definitely got worse as I got older. I just thought I was knackered from work as I took on more responsibility.

Maybe try diet change for a few weeks and see how you feel.

@itbemay I'm in Greater Manchester. Unfortunately my GP is massively over subscribed as are all the others in my area since they amalgamated.

I have found a place that will do it privately so booked in for next Thurs. I mentioned a lot of the things said in this thread and they said they do an initial 'full bloods' then can do more in depth testing if they don't show something including allergies etc. So sounds promising.

Thankyou all so much for giving me the push to actually get to the bottom of this. I thought I was wasting time and resources and should just crack on tired or not so it's nice to know I'm not being daft.

Fingers crossed I'll have some results to post soon!

I'm in Manchester, no problem getting blood tests - DH has to have one for his new BP medication, and I'm due my annual bloods for thyroid activity. I was told that they have re-started the standard blood test service., booked in for a week's time.

Do you ever feel dizzy when you stand up from sitting or lying down?

X

See if you can get hold of a book called Thyroid Power, written by a doctor. It's got a very good questionnaire for auto-immune disorders in it.

Any pain? My friend has fibromyalgia and has some similar symptoms.

Ferritin (anything under 100 is low and you will be symptomatic at 50 or under) ... the NHS is SHIT at recognising low ferritin.
B12, D, Folate
Thyroid (but they need to do a full thyroid panel)

As people have said above, you need to be firm and resolute - advocate for yourself.

A lot of your symptoms match what I had, which turned out to be pernicious anaemia, or B12 deficiency.

As mentioned above, I have injections every 2 months after an initial course of daily injections.

@missrks Now you mention it yes I do get a little dizzy when getting up fast but had just put it down to being a bit of a head rush.

I am so motivated now I have heard from so many other women that this isn't normal and just part of life. I think a part of me has always felt a little 'it could be so much worse, so don't complain' if that makes sense.

I really appreciate you all sharing your diagnosis and thoughts on the matter, its helping a lot!

Reporting back on my Thriva blood test results.

My symptoms extreme fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, nausea and hair loss.

Results
Low B12 38 pmol/l
High Testosterone 1.67 nmol/l

Everything else including thyroid and iron normal.

So I think all of my symptoms can be explained by b12 as I suspected. Exciting to think I could feel so much better soon if I can get my levels up. I don't know if I will be offered injections or something else.

Thriva doctor suggested the Testosterone could be due to PCOS as I also struggle with my weight and very irregular periods this makes sense. However I have 2 children and am not planning anymore so I am not sure if anything needs to be done about this 🤔. It can also cause hair thinning so would be great if it was something I could sort.

I guess my next step is contact my GP and go from there. Feel a bit awkward about it though.

If anyone has any insights I would appreciate them. Particularly how low my b12 is compared to anyone's personal experience.

Hope your blood test helps you get to the bottom of things too OP.

It's fantastic that your results came so quickly! Hopefully when you start upping your B12 it will make a world of difference for you. I know in my area you can pay for these injections privately so might be worth having a look if the GP isn't interested.
I guess the first port of call is to take your results to them and see what happens.

I had my bloods taken this morning and was really shocked when they said results should be back tomorrow afternoon. Not sure I believe them but fingers crossed. Will report back with any news