Not sure what's wrong with my health (both physical and mental) - any ideas?

[lemoncoaster]

Namechanged as a little outing. I could absolutely use some MN advice and thoughts.

So - I've been feeling awful for months. 😣 Physical symptoms - exhaustion, chest pain, a patch of eczema on my face that won't go away, joint pain, occasional breathlessness.

Mental symptoms - anxiety (feel like someone is sitting on my chest, particularly at night), general low mood (on verge of tears much of the time/ not looking forward to anything), complete lack of motivation with work (I'm self-employed).

My year last year was stressful. One of my kids was diagnosed with a health condition that is manageable, but remains a worry. Have some financial worries, and my area of work is a pretty exhausting one. All that said, I have a LOT in my life to be grateful for, and I'm generally regarded as one of life's 'copers'. But I am just not coping...

I wonder if anyone has experienced similar, and if these physical symptoms, together with the mental ones, might point to something I haven't thought of?

Sorry this is long and thank you so much if you've got this far.

Also - before anyone asks, I am peri-menopausal, but have been on HRT for longer than I have felt so crappy, if that makes sense! I do wonder if the dose might need adjusting...

I'm sorry it's been a tough time .. as a 53 year old who has recently gone through menopause .. I would say the following has helped me feel better than I have in years:

• no alcohol
• coffee in mornings only
• magnesium before bed
• cut out as much in the way of toxic people
• regular exercise - Pilates 5 times a week with a little bit of yoga or time to meditate at the end. I don't have time to go to a class so get up a bit earlier to do an online lesson .
• bed around 9/9.30
• avoid sugar but not to the point I won't have a dessert a week
• intermittent fast 16:8

My anxiety and general health has improved a huge amount - hope any of this helps Xxx

@doubleshotcappuccino - thank you so much. My diet is pretty good - I do intermittent fasting, don't have much sugar and take supplements (including magnesium), but I definitely could do with drinking less! Find it hard to resist a glass of wine or G&T most evenings, and I know that's not great for my health - both physical and mental.

I should ramp up exercise too - it's generally dog walking and the odd yoga class but I could do better on that front for sure.

Did you manage to feel totally better with lifestyle changes? I can't help but wonder if the joint pain and dry skin point to a thyroid or autoimmune issue...

@lemoncoaster that sounds like you're doing a lot already .. I don't have joint pains so don't know if that might be something worth getting checked. For movement I have subscribed to YouTube premium and follow classes on there so I can do it in the morning. Keel Pilates is very good also Moving Mango, Eleni Fit and Move with Nicole .. I also love the fact I can have some time for myself and make a playlist and feel better with a bit of music and movement first thing . Hope you're feeling better soon ... honestly giving up alcohol was the biggest change for me - I don't not drink so would raise a glass at a celebration or have one on a night out but that's very rare these days .. it helps me sleep better and generally feel better

Thanks again @doubleshotcappuccino - and so pleased you are feeling better and I will try with the alcohol, I just find it very hard to resist....particularly when I feel anxious it helps me to relax (although I know it's a false economy in the long run and bad for sleep!)

Anyone else experienced similar?

Hey OP, I always pop on these threads as I've been sadly cursed with an absolute plethora of horrible conditions.

Let's say it is something autoimmune, it can take a really long time to diagnose. Many of us do not have any markers in our blood so it's an ongoing struggle to be heard. Your symptoms are quite generalised so don't automatically point to something.

For the time being would you consider a home blood test looking at all nutrients ( iron, ferritin might be worth a look). You can get one that looks at every thyroid marker as part of it. Signs of inflammation are measured by CRP ( reactive protein) and sometimes ESR. I think home tests might include that. It doesn't rule out autoimmunity but it may be a really good starter. I've used 3 different providers and found it really helpful. You may have to fork out about £100. I doubt your GP will test everything you might want. You're also at risk of being fobbed off with anxiety these days.

Forgot to mention - with the breathlessness, chest pain. It's very basic but maybe try drinking double the amount of water you usually do for a few days. Add electrolyte tablets ( don't overdo them) and see if that helps. So many people are struggling with POTS like symptoms after COVID. Also might be worth checking your BP at home when you feel this way.

@Pantaloons99 - thank you very much, and I'm sorry you are suffering too. 😔 Did you reach any kind of diagnosis in the end? The blood test I will do...actually had bloods done via the GP about a year ago and everything showed as 'normal' but I know that often means nothing. Can you recommend a particular private provider?

I actually have slightly raised BP anyway (hereditary unfortunately) so take a low dose ACE inhibitor. I haven't done a reading in a while, so I should check it.

I will definitely try drinking more water. Interesting what you say about COVID too - I had it for the third time in November and it really wiped me out, far more than the first two occasions....

Get your ferritin checked - I had similar issues and was in absolute iron deficiency (without anemia).

@Bunnyhair - interesting. I did become slightly anaemic in my teens and after giving birth. I presumed that the bloods I had done a while back would have spotted low ferritin, but perhaps not?

I've used both thriva and medicheck. ( It's all postal ) I've found thriva easier to understand the results. They email them to you so you get an idea of what's normal. It does cost a fair few quid but I prefer not going through my GP sometimes. If something flags then I'd be straight there. Ferritin is definitely one to check.

I've got a genetic connective tissue condition which is hard to diagnose and a few autoimmune conditions. I've also got POTS as part of it which is so difficult to get diagnosed.

Hope it's all temporary for you OP. Hopefully it is just a blip and things improve

Always check your thyroid - a full check of TSH, FT4, FT3, TPO antibodies and TG antibodies. You are very unlikely to get that from a GP, try a company like Medichecks who do fingerprick blood tests. Thyroid disease does give very diverse symptoms that GPs often miss and treat separately. Best to rule that out if possible.

Hope you get to the bottom of it!

@lemoncoaster watching with interest. I could have written your post. My HRT dosage is sky high because consultants at the hrt clinic say I'm not absorbing it. In weeks where I exercise more I feel somewhat better though not amazing. I drink at the weekends not Mon - Thursday. But I feel like I've been exhausted for about ten years. And anxiety is accelerating. No answer for you but I'm having bloody tests imminently. I'm wondering about thyroid issues though my GP say they only test for the basic rather than what the thyroid charities recommend, so I'm assuming I will need to delve deeper even once that's in. The only answer my gp had was prozac... I'm sure Davina may have something to say about that; I have no history of mental health issues. I'm tired of it all... wouod love some answers. Sorry I don't have any for you atm.

Sorry to hear you are feeling so poorly. I had similar symptoms to you following a nasty bout of COVID alongside crippling stress. My tests showed low B12 (which I think was depleted by the covid - as it was ok before) I was prescribed a course of tablets over 100 days which failed to increase my levels so I had the injections. Really helped the fatigue and aching. I still have chest pain which worries me a lot but my BP is OK and an X-ray showed nothing out of the ordinary with my heart and lungs so I just live with it for now. I would definitely recommend checking B12.

My health still isn’t back to normal but covid and stress can have a long lasting effect on mind and body so I just do what I can and try not to get too upset about the impact it has had on my career, finances etc. (Almost forgot, I also had weirdly dry skin and hair following Covid and switched to very natural, unperfumed products which really helped). Hope that’s useful!

Have you looked into ME/CFS, fibromyalgia and long covid?

I have ME/CFS. Sounds quite similar.

Interesting to read about finger prick blood tests, how reliable are they?
I’ve just watched a program called “the dropout” on the bbc, true story about a massive US fraud involving these tests, I was under the impression they are not possible?

I’d guess it’s long covid. Regardless, I’d see a therapist to help you through it. It sounds like a lot for anyone to cope with. Good luck.

Very reliable, I've been doing them for years, they give consistent results. I don't know anything about fraud, not sure why the tests wouldn't be legit. My GP knows I do them and accepts the results. The blood goes to the same lab for anaylsis as the NHS uses, in the case of Medichecks.

@Pantaloons99 - thank you, I will absolutely check out.

@marly2 - sorry to hear you are going through similar. Very interesting re HRT - my menopausal symptoms could very much be joint pain and low mood, but curiously I haven’t had a breakthrough bleed on it for a good few months. GP says that about 15 percent of women don’t get ‘periods’ on hrt so it’s not a worry. But I do wonder if it could be that I’m not absorbing it either?!

@dizzydizzydizzy - thank you. I haven’t thought of these conditions but will investigate…

@Chumber and @CrunchyCarrot and @Superstar22 - I’ll definitely look at thyroid and the long Covid question is quite significant also I think. Are you managing now?

thanks once again, I really appreciate it xxx

It could be something medical but it's also really likely to be stress/anxiety symptoms. You can get so many real, physical symptoms from stress and anxiety. I get loads of them!

I have all those symptoms straight after my periods stopped.
Nothing has made them lessen although diet - marmite, nuts and bananas seem to help a bit. There's obviously something I'm missing somewhere.

Can't be arsed going down the medical route - HRT etc. I'm hoping I just get used to it really . Everyone says ageing sucks and I think it's probably as much accepting this is normal and that being younger is just much easier on your body. Not a fashionable idea but hey ho.