For about 18 months now I've been overcome with fatigue every afternoon. Most days I literally cannot get through without having a nap - I have even fallen asleep in the car while waiting for DCs. It is an absolute utter exhaustion unlike anything I've ever known before.
A year ago I finally went to the doc to get it checked out. The fact my nails were splintering made me think it was probably iron related.
Blood results showed severe iron deficiency AND underactive thyroid (since diagnosed as Hashimoto's).
I was put on iron and thyroid meds immediately.
A few weeks later, I had a 2 week period where I suddenly felt a LOT better and didn't need to sleep every afternoon. And then it went back to how it had been with the tiredness.
My nails grew and were good by autumn.
And then they just fell apart again.
During all this I've had numerous blood tests. All showed iron was very low but within range, thyroid was steadily improving. We increased meds as I still had all the symptoms. I also asked for Vit D and B12 to be checked - D was very low, so have drops for that now. B12 and everything else they checked was fine.
A month ago I went back AGAIN to see different doc as I am still not seeing any improvement with the tiredness. Nails are very slowly getting stronger. But I am still exactly the same: every afternoon I essentially zonk out on the couch. Doc suggests waiting to see if it "gets better" as blood results do show improvement but I think - it's been a YEAR, surely there should be some change in symptoms by now?
What the fuck could it be? I can't take more iron - firstly I have to pay for it myself and it's quite expensive at that dosage, secondly it's a nightmare juggling the dietary requirements with the 3x a day iron (and obvs avoiding the thyroid meds too). It's also NOT HELPING.
Does anyone have any ideas at all? I'm at my wit's end.