Always tired... (My journey to cure my fatigue)

Thank you!

I'm so worried about her. I just hope this test will come back negative. I know breast cancer can be taken care of, if caught early (which we did). She had her annual OBGYN exam just 2 months ago, and it wasn't there then. This is really hard on her.

Thanks for your prayers.

-O-

I'm sure that's a big relief.  I'm happy for both of you

Hi there, I am - this is my first post on this site, I found this thread when searching for pain in my side... wondering if possibly it is gallstones. Anyway, I too have put up with symptoms of CFS, without diagnoses. Talk about a frustrating journey!! My hubby is convinced I am a hyperchondriac, though he has been there for many things to be confirmed by hard medical evidence - ie... cystic ovaries, whacky blood sugar numbers periodically, low body temp, and sleep apnea. I have also been diagnosed by my psychiatrist of many years of having chronic severe depression.

I hate being tired all the time and doubting myself, but I just want others to know that at least one thing worked for me and was right on. I believe this will likely only work for someone who is severely depressed due to a chemical imbalance. Anyway, I had ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy) i.e. "shock therapy" and to say I was frightened to have it is an understatement; but in the end I reasoned with myself that if I feel so hopeless that I want to be dead - then that feeling forever or until I killed myself was a heck of a lot scarier to me than the possible side effects of ECT. Turns out that the ECT worked, and I KNEW it worked after the first treatment and was angry that not one of my many, many doctors even suggested until my husband told my psychiatrist how close to gone I was. My psychiatrist acted shocked, even though I had told him a few days earlier that I was having active vs. passive thoughts of suicide. In other words - I was no longer wishing a bus would hit me and just make it all go away and done with; I was freaking ready to take matters into my own hands.

My body hurt all the time - just aching, all I did was sleep, I was extremely tired all the time, and I felt helpless and worthless - and as an added bonus, I began suffering severe panic attacks. I started my ECT treatments just about three years ago, and treatments lasted about a year... getting further and further apart until I was done. I can honestly say that I have not had an episode of depression since. I am still battling always being tired and the aches and pains; I am still very antisocial, but steadily getting better. The biggest difference now is that I have the will to get better and I am pushing myself - challenging myself; I have even started going back to school part time. Anyway, not even sure what is compelling me to post other than in the beginning when you mention going through different types of anti-deppressents and none working for you. That had been me too. At least that one small part of my symptoms was relieved with ECT, followed by continuing taking Zoloft and Wellbrutin to maintain my mental health - or so I was told. I still feel my meds need tweaking, but as I said, that is at in the works. In the meantime, my hubby just have to deal with a wife with ZERO sex drive - which I just know in my heart is being caused by the Wellbrutin.

I hope keep up with how you are doing. Not sure why I posted exactly - but if anyone reading this honestly feels that depression is a factor and that traditional meds are not working, I would be happy to give you more details about my own experience with ECT. By the way since the end of my ECT treatments, I have been successfully pregnant (something that I had been hoping for for ten years prior) and I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. The only other medical issue was during my pregnancy I had Gestational Diabetes and then now this strange pain in my side. I have had it for about 3 months - and feels like a muscle spasm of the worst kind - but it JUST WILL NOT go away and it is waking me up out of a sound sleep - which in and of itself is not good considering my main lingering complaint is fatigue. I have been put on a muscle relaxor, but so far no progress - though it is helping me fall asleep a bit easier.

Hi there everyone, this is my first post and i was wondering if any one knows if its uncommon for teenagers to get CFS? I've been suffering the same symptoms for over half a year now - i'm only in year 10 at school and find it really difficult to keep up with my school work. I'm so sick of going to doctors and being told that its all in my head - people trually don't believe me and its really frustrating!! I've been to see many people to try and be fixed up, i've even been to a pranic healer (who reckoned he could cure me) but got no result! I recently got told that i've just got allergies, so now everything i loved to eat i can no longer have, and i got given all this medication (that i might add gives me allergic reactions) and i still don't feel any different!! AND i really miss seeing all my friends at school, but the thing that makes it so hard is that everytime i read about someone with CFS they are usually adults - your teenage years are supposed to be the happiest of your life, how can they be when your stuck in bed all day long with nothing to entertain you but your own mind - which  is so depressing you don't even want that to entertain you!

Well i went to a Natropath - who told me she thought that i had it, she also told me i am depressed and stressed out! She made up a batch of her own medicine and gave it to me for my headaches, and some other medication for stress mainly, but then there are other energy boosting medicines as well. All up there are about 15 of them! My parents are fully comitited to helping me through it - my Dad was in fact the one who suggested i ask about CFS in the first place! I think there was a time there when  my mum started to believe the doctors and thought i was starving myself and just trying to skip school by faking it! But i couldn't have got through this far without her - she's been real supportive, unlike some of my friends at school who no longer talk to me just because i've missed so much school!

If you don't mind me asking - HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO IT??

I read that it could last for years, i'm sick of it already and i've only had it for half a year (well supposebly)

I just miss all the fun stuff in life, like going to party's with friends, or playing sport, or even (i'm embarrassed to say this) going to school.

I don't smoke, do drugs, or drink.

I have a tons of symptoms other then fatigue, like really bad muscles aches, and bad ear aches, head aches (that won't go away at all - i've tried everything), eye strain (i've now got reading glasses), dizzyness and dizzy spells, stomach cramps, and occassionally when i'm really bad vomiting! When i first got really sick i'd just gotten over a cold, and had constant headaches 24/7 no matter what medicine i tried, i was admitted to hospital twice when it got so bad (i was just continually vomiting every ten minutes, and couldn't keep anything down) Since then its just gone downhill and some days i'm so tired i can hardly lift my legs. And if i have late nights or long days i feel terrible the next day, I also have a lot of trouble getting to sleep at night, even though i feel so tired, i just can't seem to get to sleep when i need too! (its quite frustrating) I've had a lot of tests done, i've even had brain scans and stuff like that, i'm going to the doctor again next week to be tested for Celiac.  

How's your energy levels lately Orion?

I think with all my vitamins and supplements, I'm seeing perhaps 1 hour of energy a day more than what I had before, but overall I'm still not making it through the evening. Right now at 3:20 P.M. I'm dying. I'm struggling to hold off not leaving work now to go home and sleep.

Thanks for the tip Orion, i checked out the Lyme forum, it says you get it by having a tick on you - I haven't had a tick on me in a long time, i checked and i don't have any rashes anywhere!!!

But thanks for the help its nice to know some people are considerate in this world!!

Zeez, I have heard the same thing that Orion has told you. Many people with Lymes don't know they have been bitten and never get a rash. It's a very hard disease to diagnose and a lot of people who have lymes mistakenly get misdiagnosed with other things. It is worth loking into and at least ruling it out. I'm not trying to push anything on you, it's just worth looking into it. I'm glad you are getting checked for Celiac because it can make you very sick but I think it can be controlled fairly well by adjusting what you eat. Have you heard anything back about the results yet?

Well, I've switched my PCP.  I feel that my current just doesn't want to take a chance.  I'm surprised, because she's a D.O.  When I mentioned to her about trying Cortef, she didn't want to do anything before seeing an Endo.  I can understand her reasoning, but all I asked for was a trial.  Something to take with me to the Endo.  I need a doctor who is pro-active in trying to find this thing, and tackle it.  It's not like it's a controlled substance that I'm asking for either.

My appt with my new Primary is on the 16th of Jan.  It's a physical, but I'm sure more will be discused.  I found this doctor through my Wife's friend (who is also a doctor). She said that this guy is one to be active with helping people treat their symtpoms, and is open to new ideas and patients research, as well as his own diagnosis. 

I'm hoping that my Endo appt in 1 week will go well, so I won't have to worry about waiting another 4 weeks for this appt, but.. if it doesn't , I still have another plan.. along with my second Endo appt on the 22nd of Jan. 

Yup.  This is the one.  He's in internist. 

that would be nice.  Maybe we all would get what we want. 

I'm still going to keep the Endo appt.  I have a feeling that he's not going to put me on what I want, even though all the signs and symptoms point to adrenal fatigue, including my labs from ZRT. 

I'm not doing well.  But, I'm still smoking and my diet is really bad.  I'm in this mind set that until I feel better, I'm going to do what I what I want.  I know this isn't a great thing, but I don't know how to snap out of it.  I'm gaining weight like crazy too. 

This is another reason that I hope he puts me on something that helps.  I know that if I feel better, I'd quit smoking that day, start eating a strict diet, and get back into exercise. 

I hate thinking like this, but what can I do?

That's awesome that you've been feeling better.  Don't over do it ;-)

Well, with less than 48 hours to go, I'm gathering all my info for the Endo. I'm really hoping that this is the ticket. I've waited for over a year now to find a "cure" for this and so far this seems to be the only sure fire plan. My nerves are starting to build up. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day. I pray that he doesn't want to run more tests first. With just 8 days left till Christmas, I sure would love to feel great for the big day.

I hope everyone else is coming along nicely.

Take care,

-O-

Can't believe it's already here... let us know how the appointment goes!  Good luck.