resolved

Hi all,

I have a question. I talked to my doctor and he has NO IDEA.

As a note, I have hypermobility syndrome, suspected POTS, and fatigue.

I have pretty severe fatigue. For the past few months I experienced disabling pain and fatigue. I easily spent 50% of my day in bed, sometimes more. Accompanying this fatigue is severe neurological pain. Some days I can't cook for myself and even showering or getting dressed is a real chore. Quit my job, stopped going to lectures, didn't see my friends.

I had no idea where this wave of exhaustion came from, especially considering I had a very active summer (I was working 15 hour days, went on a three week trip with tonnes of exercise, etc). Then one night I thought I'd take a Biphentin (ADD stimulant for fatigue) and magically, my energy levels came back to normal and my pain is gone. Now I've been taking it daily and have regained myself.

I have no idea what's going on here. During the summer when my symptoms were pretty much non-existent, I was taking concerta almost every day (also a stimulant). I originally started taking them in March of this year. I should also note that I had severe bouts of fatigue for years before starting stimulants.

Could this be withdrawal?

Or could this be treating my POTS symptoms?

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Post Edited (tara_) : 12/5/2012 10:36:30 AM (GMT-7)

Thanks Denise,

I was diagnosed with CFS before being diagnosed with HMS and POTS symptoms, but I guess they all kind of overlap.

I could be having a flare, but the intense pain and fatigue disappears when I take Biphentin. Talking to my pharmacist is a really good idea, didn't think about that.

Thanks again for your response.

I actually had the chance to talk to talk to my specialist who told me that the CFS diagnosis (by another doctor) is incorrect because what I am experiencing is low energy levels caused by my HMS. Anyway, he told me to stop the stimulants because this is life long for me and I need to learn to pace on my own, sans medication. Anyway, I started flaring again while on the medication, so I don't think there was a connection there to begin with.