TLDR: Have had chronic fatigue issues for 2 years but no physical pain symptoms, and PEM only happens after exercise, and is usually mysteriously improved at night. Symptoms resonate most with so-called "adrenal fatigue".
Hi everyone,
I have lurked around here for the past 2 years since I started experiencing fatigue, and thought I should reach out here to see if my experience resonates with anyone. Over the 2 years I've seen 4 GP's, 2 naturopaths, and an endocrinologist, all to no avail, and have grown very cynical about my prospects (and my bank account haha!). I've had quite a few blood tests to try and pin down any issues, which were all clear, unsurprisingly. The only noteworthy result was that the endocrinologist said my testosterone, whilst within the reference range, is "below average for my age" (24M), however not low enough to justify any treatment. He said he thinks the low testosterone is probably just a marker of some other underlying problem (although he had no idea what...).
Prior to my fatigue, I was extremely active, and in particular about 6 months prior I began pursuing power lifting as a hobby. I was training pretty hard, although by no means at an elite level, however over time realised I started to wake up extremely groggy and sensitive to light in the morning. This progressively got worse and worse, until it started interfering significantly with my life - I felt so fatigued even something as simple as maintaining a conversation with a friend became challenging. Since I loved training, I tried to alter my diet in hopes that that would improve my fatigue, but had no luck, so eventually I had to stop exercising. It became severe enough that even light exercise, such as a walk, would trigger my fatigue. Interestingly though, symptoms would always be the worst in the morning, and subside significantly at night. As an approximation I would say I am worst from 8-3, OK from 3-7 and almost normal from 7pm onwards. Also of interest is that I experience none of the "pain" symptoms people describe here, and my PEM only seems to be triggered by physical exertion, not mental. I really struggle to describe my symptoms, other than the light sensitivity and occasional headaches (about 1-2 time a week), the predominant symptom I have can only be described as "fatigue". I don't feel sleepy either - its more just a sort of heaviness in my eyes and head (if that makes any sense), without any urge to actually sleep.
Based on other posts discussing this phenomena of reduced fatigue at night, most suggestions are that there is some hormonal imbalance, potentially with cortisol. In fact, my symptoms most align with "adrenal fatigue", however I have been scoffed at enough times when I raise this term that I've stopped bothering. The endo checked my AM cortisol but it was at a good level, so perhaps that isn't the culprit (although I had minimal symptoms on the morning when I got the blood test).
I have avoided exercise for the last 1.5 years, and have noticed improvement in my symptoms to the point where I can "cope" working full-time (which is a blessing), but my symptoms still fluctuate where I have bad weeks, especially if I try and start some exercise routine.
I have become quite frustrated being forced to live a sedentary life, and am losing hope (and money) in finding some underlying issue. I had a moderately severe head-injury about 2 years prior to the onset of my fatigue, however other than this and the fairly intense training, no life-factors that caused the onset.
I've tried quite a few treatments, mostly naturopathic, with 95% being a waste of money. The only things that have helped me personally are:
-COQ10 (seems to reduce frequency and severity of crashes)
-Acupuncture (I was extremely sceptical, but my parents booked an appointment for me and practically forced me to try, and it does seem to help manage the fatigue when it is particularly bad).
-Agomelatine (It's an antidepressant, and seems to help me "cope" without the terrible side-effects i got from SSRI's. )
All of these treatments to me are addressing the "symptoms" rather than the cause.
Does anyone here relate to anything I've said here? Anything would be so greatly appreciated.
TLDR: Have had chronic fatigue issues for 2 years but no physical pain symptoms, and PEM only happens after exercise, and is usually mysteriously improved at night. Symptoms resonate most with so-called "adrenal fatigue".Hi everyone,I have lurked around here for the past 2 years since I started experiencing fatigue, and thought I should reach out here to see if my experience resonates with anyone. Over the 2 years I've seen 4 GP's, 2 naturopaths, and an endocrinologist, all to no avail, and have grown very cynical about my prospects (and my bank account haha!). I've had quite a few blood tests to try and pin down any issues, which were all clear, unsurprisingly. The only noteworthy result was that the endocrinologist said my testosterone, whilst within the reference range, is "below average for my age" (24M), however not low enough to justify any treatment. He said he thinks the low testosterone is probably just a marker of some other underlying problem (although he had no idea what...).Prior to my fatigue, I was extremely active, and in particular about 6 months prior I began pursuing power lifting as a hobby. I was training pretty hard, although by no means at an elite level, however over time realised I started to wake up extremely groggy and sensitive to light in the morning. This progressively got worse and worse, until it started interfering significantly with my life - I felt so fatigued even something as simple as maintaining a conversation with a friend became challenging. Since I loved training, I tried to alter my diet in hopes that that would improve my fatigue, but had no luck, so eventually I had to stop exercising. It became severe enough that even light exercise, such as a walk, would trigger my fatigue. Interestingly though, symptoms would always be the worst in the morning, and subside significantly at night. As an approximation I would say I am worst from 8-3, OK from 3-7 and almost normal from 7pm onwards. Also of interest is that I experience none of the "pain" symptoms people describe here, and my PEM only seems to be triggered by physical exertion, not mental. I really struggle to describe my symptoms, other than the light sensitivity and occasional headaches (about 1-2 time a week), the predominant symptom I have can only be described as "fatigue". I don't feel sleepy either - its more just a sort of heaviness in my eyes and head (if that makes any sense), without any urge to actually sleep.Based on other posts discussing this phenomena of reduced fatigue at night, most suggestions are that there is some hormonal imbalance, potentially with cortisol. In fact, my symptoms most align with "adrenal fatigue", however I have been scoffed at enough times when I raise this term that I've stopped bothering. The endo checked my AM cortisol but it was at a good level, so perhaps that isn't the culprit (although I had minimal symptoms on the morning when I got the blood test).I have avoided exercise for the last 1.5 years, and have noticed improvement in my symptoms to the point where I can "cope" working full-time (which is a blessing), but my symptoms still fluctuate where I have bad weeks, especially if I try and start some exercise routine.I have become quite frustrated being forced to live a sedentary life, and am losing hope (and money) in finding some underlying issue. I had a moderately severe head-injury about 2 years prior to the onset of my fatigue, however other than this and the fairly intense training, no life-factors that caused the onset.I've tried quite a few treatments, mostly naturopathic, with 95% being a waste of money. The only things that have helped me personally are:-COQ10 (seems to reduce frequency and severity of crashes)-Acupuncture (I was extremely sceptical, but my parents booked an appointment for me and practically forced me to try, and it does seem to help manage the fatigue when it is particularly bad).-Agomelatine (It's an antidepressant, and seems to help me "cope" without the terrible side-effects i got from SSRI's. )All of these treatments to me are addressing the "symptoms" rather than the cause.Does anyone here relate to anything I've said here? Anything would be so greatly appreciated. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/2YbDnk2
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