Anyone Else seem to lose focus and energy?

Been a while since I have posted on here but thought I would pop in. Over the last few months I seem to just not have any energy and my focus is not as sharp as it used to be. I have been dealing with my usual pains and issues for quite a while now and I think it is all finally catching up to me or something. Not helping is that I am on my 3rd job in 3 years due to being laid off from one and my wonderful body costing me another and the one I am on now is only a contract temp job. So my anxiety and depression are factoring in as well I am sure. I used to be very active and could do alot of things on my "good" days but over the last couple years, and the last few months especially, I dont seem to have that drive I once had and my "good" days are farther and farther apart. As everyone here knows and may experience as well is being constantly sick and in pain wears you down and I cant seem to shake it and get back ontop of things. Not quite ready to throw in the towel and look into the dreaded disability thing but that time feels near. Anyone else go through periods where no matter what you try and do you just cant get out of the funk and get your focus and composure back?

I found that gut-brain connection is a cornerstone for my health. Once my stomach doesn't function properly my brain is out as well. I can tell it is frustrating. Very important thing to address, for sure. It is not a favorite thing to say but I really believe that functional/natural health practitioners know little more about this issue. I don't know how your diet looks like. It is easy to search gut-brain connection. If I can give you some advice I would say stop eating gluten, sugar and take as little other grains as you can. Gluten does damage to fine membranes in our gut, brain etc. It takes about 9 months to clear body from gluten. Also, bad gut bacteria can manipulate/influence our brain. Take some good probiotic. And see how you feel. Every step we make is important. What you put in your mouth can make difference. Do not underestimate yourself. Hope this can give you some hope.

I am going through that right now! I usually get bouts of fatigue once every two or three months that lasts for maybe a week, but this current one has lasted about six weeks and no matter what I do will not go away. I have enough energy to get the things done that really needs to be done but when it comes to things I would "like" to do, I just done have the energy. I had not really thought about it until you mentioned it but I also have a hard time concentrating. Wish I had a fix for this, if you find one let me know!

I didnt use to get so out of focus and tired during episodes before, or at least I never really paid that much attention to that fact. Its been really bugging me lately. Sorry to hear others of you have the same issue but kinda glad to know that I am not the only one. Just wish there was that magic switch people that dont understand keep talking about flipping and making things better.

IMO, there is a strong relationship between having a flare up and loss of concentration. I used to have a very tentative memory but since I started this current flare up, I noticed I am not concentrating that well as I used to be. Yesterday, when I was taking my Remicade infusion, the nurse gave me the hydrocortisone iv injection while I was talking to the doctor. It took me some time to realize whether I have taken the injection or not but I felt something has gone into my veins. I attribute this not only to being in a flare up where our body is fighting but also to the lack of sleep we suffer from which is brought about by the flare up. It's a vicious circle. When I got my first flare up, my GI told me not to exert extra effort and not try to concentrate.

I think that the longer the flare up, the more drained and fatigued you feel. I feel that this last flare up has ripped me off my energy. It could also be the long-standing disease, especially if untreated, could have it's toll on our health and energy and stamina in turn. Wish I could advise you how to restore this energy as I myself used to be a highly-energetic person who has now to think of all the safe measurements of the availability of a bathroom, suitable food (or perpare mine), short distance, no diarrhea or popping Imodium if I want to go on a trip or even run some errands if they are far from where I live.

Raydio said...
Another question - Does it seem like you have extra body pains and aches while going through these stages of unclarity? I know I have done damage to my body over the years but I also go through periods, like I am now, that everything just seems to hurt and just getting around is a chore.

Yes. In fact, I recently had a bout of systemic muscle/tendon inflammation that left me housebound/bedridden for a couple of months. During that time, I also got iritis. Thankfully, the iritis was short-lived and my eye suffered no damage.

Raydio....yes i can relate to confussion and fatigue. Ive been flaring for at least 6 months now. Ive also been dealing with a lot of inflammation in joints, muscles, and tendons. It really.affects my daily routine chores. Ive noticed that i forget a lot. Even at the grocery store i couldnt remember what i went there to get. Even if it was just 3 items. I have even been driving and forget where i was. My family seems to think i just dont listen cause i cant remember things they say they told me. I think its more than that. Im also in mid 40s so im not senile.

I'm curious as to what tests you took that ruled out fibro? Fibro is an exclusionary diagnosis - it's the diagnosis you get when everything else has been ruled out! The best test would be to start a fibro medication, like gabapentin, and see if it makes any difference.

Even if it isn't fibro, maybe a mild medication at bedtime to help you sleep might work? Not necessarily a sleep medication like ambien, but a mild muscle relaxer, or even Nyquil or Benadryl. Or what about melatonin, even?

I use Bupropion and it seems to be working okay. I was taking Effexor and that worked great, but then it started giving me low-grade fevers (random, I know), so we switched.

Yes, pain meds, especially opioids, will definitely mess your stomach up more. And NSAIDs like ibuprofen are definitely a "no" for anyone with IBD.

I had very bad arthritis pain when I was first diagnosed with colitis. I know this is Crohn's forum but I check it sometimes since my sister has Crohn's. The pain was unbearable, I couldn't walk. Beside that in just seven days my all body joints, even skin, every muscle were in pain. Also, I almost lost vision in my left eye. Once inflammation in gut decreased I was pain-free again. Doctors were sure that I have rheumatoid arthritis, but then they found that my pain is caused by gut inflammation. I took some good probiotic together with colostrum and glutamine. Also, I ate only rice, fish and chicken. In about a month my sed rate went from 89 to 24. My situation maybe wasn't severe as yours but I had all possible side effects. I found something that might be in connection with this mysterious pain. When our gut lining is damaged, certain openings are created so food particles and potential toxins from food can enter to the blood stream/vessels. I am sure you are aware of leaky gut syndrome, which is exactly what I am trying to say. I really believe that people with IBD have a leaky gut at some level. Pardon my English. Sorry that you have to fight all this at once.

Hi Subduedjoy,

Thank you for sharing. It is very interesting that you went through the similar.

My rheumatologist said the same. When he saw my swollen legs and skin redness he said that I first have to see GI. He was experienced and my case is very common according to him.

Last summer I've experienced all those symptoms. I still have some red spots on my legs, but the pain disappeared 90%. I've found that if my stomach hurts or if I have a bad day then joints can hurt again. But with decreased gut inflammation things can be aligned in a day or so. It is hard to fight arthritis-like pain, but it is possible. Food has a huge role. In beginning I couldn't eat anything raw. My diet was just rice, chicken, and fish. Just recently I am on paleo diet 90% of the time. I want to be completely grain free since grains contribute inflammation. I eat everything except nightshades, sugar, gluten, corn, red meat, peanuts, cashews, seeds and nuts and if I have nuts I process them first (grind). Very rare I eat rice or buckwheat - in form of noodles. I don't eat fruits, except banana and avocado, and that is only once in a week or two. Chewing food well is a huge part for me. I've had some raw meal recently and I spent like 45 minutes eating. The next day stool was almost perfect. I cannot eat gluten but I'm not celiac. I've quit sugar many years ago since I found that my blood is sugar sensitive. I am not diabetic.

Currently, I am taking probiotic, colostrum, L-glutamine, turmeric, slippery elm and bulardii. When I developed uveitis - eye inflammation I was prescribed for the same - steroid eye drop. I was afraid to use them more than a month so I stopped. Anyway, drops helped in the first time but my vision was still very bad, blurry etc. I couldn't drive. Hard times. I really believe that decreasing gut inflammation helped my eye. I was reading a lot since I was very scared. I found that Vitamin C can help together with astaxanthin. I can't tell if that helped or not since I did other things at the same time. I am still on vitamin C, and looks like my body likes it. I take 3-4 grams every day. This is the first winter that I was flu-free despite the fact that people around me were sick. I had all possible tests and they say that my eye is healthy again. I still can see floaters that my left eye developed due to the inflammation. The doctor said it will disappear. Since my eye was really bad, vision almost zero, all white in front of me, I am ok. Even if floaters stay forever that's fine since I have my eye back.

I developed other symptoms as well. Besides what I said I was very tired, anemic. Hair loss happened as well. Finally six months after major hair loss my hair is back. I've started coughing and couldn't find relief for two weeks at that time. Nothing helped. I did everything. Natural, conventional, name it. My throat was so sore that I couldn't speak, almost. Also, I couldn't sleep. Didn't stop until I've visited my chiropractor. He explained that vagus nerve is suppressed. He has found that my second disk C2 (just under Atlas) was pressing vagus nerve. After few appointments, a cough stopped. I still have chiropractor care. I know that is hard to find a good chiro, but some of them are the real deal.

I found that blood work is not always relevant. Sometimes it can be a late call. I mean, it can show no inflammation when some inflammation is still present and opposite. I like to look at my blood, but now I look more for my symptoms.

Muscle pain is present but as I said 90% gone. There are other things that I would like to understand better. Some Dr's today would say that excessive fat in our body are storages for toxins and we know that toxins contribute inflammation. So I really believe that daily gentle cleanse can help. I did aggressive cleanse before and that was a stupid idea. I don't have a lot of fat in my body but I definitely have to work on heavy metal and toxin cleanse in the future.

Exercise is great for lowering inflammation and ditching toxins out of the body. I used to run before but now if I run my stomach is upset. So I am on light stuff, 30min basic stretching, light lifting, nothing big.

I'm glad you fixed your major symptoms. It is possible. Day by day.