So exhausted I could cry

[MozzarElla84]

I wasn't sure if i should post in Womens Health or general health, but here goes. Long post ahead.

I have been completely and utterly exhausted the past 2 weeks. I felt it coming on the week before but i had important commitments and pushed through.

2DS were off from school bc of the heatwave for the better part of the week before summer break started, and i went on lots of trips with them through the heatwave (on e bike so not heavy exercise).
I don't do well in heat, my appetite drops so i eat less but still hydrate well. Possibly this caused an issue as on my blood test this week it showed mildly low potassium (level of 3,3).
I also have ferritin of 13 caused by heavy periods so gp started me on iron tablets (hemoglobin is still good).
I also have palpitations but ECG this week was normal so not likely to have serious arrythmia and i have no cardiac symptoms otherwise. GP did CBC, thyroid, kidney and electrolyte panel, vitamin d, b12 and folate and all levels were good except for the ferritin and potassium, and the potassium is only mildly under the reference range. I will have both of these tested again in 4 weeks.

The fatigue i experience is so intense i can hardly het off the couch and its making me so sad as we now have to change our holiday plans as the original plan was too much of a hassle with me being this way.

Just posting to get my feelings out i suppose, and maybe some experience of others in the same boat. I had low ferritin before and remember being tired but not THIS tired. ..
Approaching 42 so i know hormones ar probably part of it but Wtaf..

I'm sorry to read this. I struggled for years with chronic fatigue...so I really understand your pain xx
All my GP blood tests would come back normal.....apart from a time when I had low Vit D....and another time low iron. I received the necessary medication to get my levels up but my crushing fatigue remained. :(
Eventually (after many years of getting nowhere/worse) my mum helped me pay to see a private "functional" doctor (she is a qualified GP but has additional training and dives deep). It turns out that I had a b12 deficiency. She explained that despite my blood levels looking ok, the b12 was not getting in to my cells and monthly (now 6 weekly) b12 injections were a game changer for me. I have to get the b12 vials on private prescription - and my sister is a nurse so she injects me (but she has now also trained my husband to administer the jabs). In the meantime I would suggest you buy some b12 sublingual spray (I bought the 'Better You' brand from Amazon) and see if that helps..? 🙏🏻. Even before I got the injections set up, just this spray on its own already had a marked effect on my energy levels which was a total revelation to me after struggling for so long, so it could be an easy fix for you let's hope 🙏🏻She also got me on fish oils, b vits, c bits, probiotics etc.
It might be that your fatigue is related to something entirely different like your thyroid, but I would definitely recommend a functional doctor if you can afford it and if your condition doesn't get better. I also found SSRIs helped for peri-menopausal anxiety along with eating regular meals with sufficient protein to keepy blood sugar levels stable and support my energy levels. Good luck x

Yeah I'm exhausted. I can't do anything. Sometimes I wonder how I'll do the washing up, put a load of washing in, shower. I don't know what's wrong-my iron and vitamin D is a little low but it's been worse before. I have an underactive thyroid but last time I checked it was optimal thanks to meds-they've not helped my symptoms though.

Ferritin of 13 could absolutely be causing your symptoms. Mine's around 22 thanks to iron tablets but I've been as low as 7 in the past-doesn't seem to make much difference to me but I know people would say they felt like death with a ferrritin of 13. It takes a fair few months to get iron stores up with tablets unfortunately.

ETA-for me the only thing I can put the fatigue down to is allergy tablets I've had to recently start taking for hayfever. They must just wipe me out. At least I'm hoping it's those!

Thank you, that is interesting. Is there a way to see this b12 issue in bloodwork? How did your functional medicine doctor figure it out? I will see how i go in the iron tablets first. Am also going to try magnesium. Hopefully my ferritin levels will be up and my potassium will be normalized with the next check up🤞

Sorry that you're in the same boat. From what ive read 22 is still too low so maybe you need to keep going with the iron? And allergy tablets do have a tendency to make you drowsy... I think there are also alternatives that cause less drowsiness but not sure which ones. Hope you feel better soon , it is so hard feeling this way. I have a great live but no energy to live it, it feels like i am disappearing. Really hoping to see some changes, even small changes,in a month or so cause this fatigue is so debilitating that my DH has to do so much for me and the kids and he already works ft.

I also have ferritin of 13

Bloody hell no wonder you are fatigued, crying and having heart palpitations!! Ferritin needs to be around 70 just for healthy hair growth, but ideally be around 100 to be optimal.

How scary they sent you for an ECG considering they know its so low as heart palpitations isone of the main symptoms. Im sorry, you obviously have a very crap GP.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/iron-deficiency-anaemia/

Keep going with the iron. Switch to gentle iron if your gut can't tolerate it. Make sure you take 500-1000mg of vit c with any Iron, avoid dairy and tannins for a couple of hours either side of taking it. Faffy? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.

I actually have a great GP; when I told him all my symptoms he ordered an ECG and labs to be done plus an appointment to go over the results together and make a plan all within the same week, and already scheduled a follow up 🙂 I am not in the UK and healthcare is good here but gp's are not all up to date about ferritin; my previous GP (when i had saferritin of 11 ) said to just eat more meat 🙄

So my current gp is taking it seriously which is an enormous step forward. Now it's just hoping the tablets will work and otherwise i think he will refer me for an mn infusion, but as for now my hemoglobin is actually still quite good so we hope the ferritin will rise soon

Thanks! Yes the pharmacist also advised me this. For the time being i am tolerating then well. Ive had this form of iron before after PPH and it did the trick then, so hopefully it will be the same this time!

Your ferritin could absolutely explain your symptoms - I had heart palpitations, breathlessness, and felt like I was wading through treacle when mine was low. It didn’t matter how much I slept - the bone crushing fatigue was just as bad upon waking.

I have a ferritin of 11 and feel absolutely exhausted. Join the Iron Protocol facebook group, it's really
helpful.

Could be ferritin.

Mine was 4 at one point and I was absolutely exhausted.

Have you been unwell at all? Sometimes post viral fatigue can be worse than the virus itself.

4!? I can only imagene how you must have felt. What causes it and how did you raise it?

I haven't been unwell but it is possible my body was fighting something off, or maybe just the weeks of extreme heat and being too busy..

That is exactly how i am feeling. Hoping you feel better now?

I will have a look, thank you. Hope you feel better soon too. I am on day 4 of iron tablets and, i dont think it is possible, but i feel slightly less exhausted/weak🤞🤞

A million times better, thank you 😊. The iron tablets fixed it. I feel for you, it’s a scary place to be.

I really hope this will be the case for me too. Can i ask how did your palpitations feel? I have had them for ages, starting in my mind thirties mainly before my period. Since this year its around period and ovulation and since about two months it is daily. Coincidentally my last two periods were very heavy so the drop in iron might have caused the spike in palpitations and fatigue. My palpitations used to feel like a missed beat followed by a bigger beat, but since 2 months they are more like an early beat followed by a couple of faster beats and then go back to normal. No other symptoms with them, but they are annoying and feel like a flipflopping in my chest. I can't wait for these to go away ( go back to the pre-period palpitations i can live with)!

Yeah 22 is still too low-I'm trying to get it up to 70+ because aside from the lack of energy, my hair shedding everywhere is driving me mad lol.

It's just a really long process-especially when you're a vegetarian like me and have periods a bit on the heavy side. I'm up from 16 last blood test so it's going in the right direction just v slowly. I also get palpitations-I never associated it with low iron though. Hmm interesting.

I keep meaning to switch to Clarityn but every time I get a runny nose I just take a Piriteze-the fatigue after it is really not worth it tho. It takes me from low energy levels to barely being able to move!

Keep taking the iron tablets-it'll take a few months to get your energy levels back up. It's going to be so worth it when we're both at an optimal level-good luck!

Mine felt like a missed beat followed by a big thump!