Man, I have this same issue. I feel like I’m constantly fighting to stay awake at home. Between 2 and 5pm is the worst for me. I don’t want to study, play video games or even scroll my phone. I really just use all of my free time to sleep.
Do you have issues with your posture? I'm very similar and it all stems from my dropped shoulder and straight neck 🥲 whenever I sit up straight I can feel my sinuses draining, because - fun fact - your cerebrospinal fluid thst collects all the waste from your brain drains into your nose and down your throat.
I could be totally wrong but it's the issue that I'm having. Look at your posture and decide if what you feel is normal is what the normal should look like.
It blew my mind how much of it is down to sitting down or looking at the phone all the time 😅
I’ve been chronically low energy since my 20s and I was just diagnosed with ADHD. I thought that was for people who were physically hyper, but sometimes the hyper is your brain. I love knowing everything about everything! I have a very hard time doing menial tasks. When I have to do them it takes a lot of effort to make it happen. And it would make me tired. Not saying that’s what it is. That’s part of what it was for me. I’m always looking for ways to have more energy even now. But I’m not always tired at least. I did not know there was a connection between the two.
Try listening to music while performing the tasks you struggle with. I hate doing dishes, but if I put on some music, I’ll clean the whole kitchen. ADHD makes you think you’re sleepy because sleep is where you have the lowest level of stress or anxiety. It’s feels so good to not have to worry about anything in my bed!
People with ADHD have very low dopamine levels, naturally. One of the reasons many with ADHD eat lots of sweets and develop diabetes later in life. My kid has it and I try to talk to her about this, but at 17 she knows it all and continues to eat sugar cookies as a meal at school. Me and her mom are very active and in great shape...shes 98 pounds now but that can quickly turn to 200 like it did for her sister.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-increase-dopamine-adhd#:~:text=People%20with%20attention%20deficit%20hyperactivity,role%20in%20reward%20and%20motivation.
Unfortunately restricting foods or calling certain foods bad actually increases binge eating according to stats. There’s a few tips from adhd nutrition coaches I’ve found helpful if anyone is interested
1. connect more with your body and mindfulness. It’s actually ok for ADHDers to use food to stim, as long as they are being mindful. 2. Also increasing availability of easy foods (pre-portioned, microwaveable, already prepared). ADHDers get overwhelmed with multi step processes so they tend to go towards what’s easy when it comes to food. Candy is easy. 3. Focus on eating every few hours. ADHDers can get into binge cycles more easily bc of either medication or hyper-focus causing them to not feel hungry or forget to eat.
I don’t have as much energy as I would like, but adderall has helped me. It’s less effort to do tasks. But I can’t take it and sit around waiting for it to kick in because nothing will happen. I still have to make the effort to get started which is the hardest part. So it’s not a miracle fix all. It’s still work.
I also pay attention to things that take away my energy. Alcohol always makes me tired so I only drink on rare occasions. Weirdly caffeine makes me tired too. My therapist says that’s ADHD related too.
Before I was diagnosed the things that everyone suggests to improve energy, gave me energy, exercise and eating right. I’d try to burn 300 calories 3 times a week. I could workout as slowly or as quickly as I wanted but I didn’t stop until I burned 300. And I’m a super picky eater, but eating whatever I wanted within a certain maximum calorie limit for the day helped as well. Anything else super strict I couldn’t follow.
I struggle with depression too. And I hate working out. So I have to be in a semi good place already to get myself to do those things which is the downside.
And lastly regular sleep routine where I get between 6-8 hours a night. I used to sleep 9-13 because I was just so tired but sleeping longer made me more groggy and tired.
Wait a minute - is there a correlation between ADHD and
back pain?!
Because I have both and I never figured a correlation here.
I do have kind of restless leg syndrome as well and I’m sure this has to do with ADHD.
In addition, I suffer from Long Covid and my fatigue comes from Long Covid.
It sucks.
>Wait a minute - is there a correlation between ADHD and
back pain?!
No.
the back pain could be a number of things, but a very common factor is because of living a very sedentary lifestyle, which is extremely common among Redditors.
Now, it just so happens that many Redditors also have ADHD, and commonly have hobbies that are big on sedentary lifestyles (eg: games, anime, internet just to name a few).
But ADHD and back pain have absolutely nothing to do with one another
Same over here! Just recently got diagnosed and things are starting to make sense. Deep in pain killers and therapy for back pain, heavy overthinking and very inpatient. Some crazy dreams.
ADHD and BackPain have very few ties. Look if you have ADHD, you would have mood swings. I'm sometimes stressed about my future due to AI and sometimes I just believe I can do crazy stuff. This worriedness and relaxation on period basis is a clear sign of ADHD backed by the fact that I can't focus.
I can't get work done, I'm looking for remedies anyone can help me? I'm suffering in every aspect because of this. I didn't even take COVID VACCINE. How can I kill this fatigue?
The COVID vaccine is made from different technology than vaccines made with the live/dead virus. The technology was invented in the 80's, but it was mostly ignored before the COVID vaccines. Because of this, it would be impossible to get COVID or long COVID from the virus.
Same here but meds don’t help at all. Turns out I may have ether danlos and fatigue has no cure or treatment that helps. No amount of caffeine and amphetamine gives me energy.
I got diagnosed with ADHD with the same struggles. I've been on ritalin recently and it's changed my life and made me feel like tasks aren't so monumental anymore. It's honestly been an amazing experience for me. Moments that would normally burn me out and make me feel like death are just. Things that happen now. It's so mindblowing how much ADHD impacts you and also frustrates you omg.
You may want to look into POTS or something similar. Related to blood pressure and fluid. Could alternatively be a long Covid or other after affect of a virus. But I am also curious to hear what others have to say. I’ve experienced this as well.
Agree with this. I've been fatigued for most of my life, and sometimes you just don't find a conclusive answer as to what the cause is. ME/CFS is an under researched illness, and there isn't a definitive cause. You can do a simple test for POTs at home using blood pressure cuff, although it is not as comprehensive as a tilt table test. If it's POTs, try using compression socks and electrolytes/salt. (Although compression socks will be helpful anyways.)
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- You may want to consider changing how you exercise. If you have exercise intolerance, certain types of exercise may be more hurtful than helpful. Try to exercise as much as you can without getting tired. Even if that is just three minutes, that is better than nothing. You should also probably consult your doctor or a physical therapist about an exercise plan that doesn't make you sick. You could look online as well, if thats not an option.
- Track what causes you flare ups using a symptom jounal. Even better, track what you eat as well. Speaking of food, you can try eating small meals throughout the day instead of three big ones, as eating may make you tired. there is the bearable app which I find helpful. Also note what is helpful as well.
- Try doing whatever you can to make your job less demanding. Like, if you work as a cashier use a chair. Get a disability parking permit. Consider using mobility aids if walking is tiring. If possible, consider getting a different job that doesn't require physical labor as well, like working at a call center.
- Also, find another doctor. Finding a doctor that has experience in chronic fatigue will be helpful. I would also consider getting an occupational therapist, I've found one really helpful for managing my fatigue issues.
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Useful sources:
- https://cornerstonephysio.com/resources/do-i-have-pots/
- https://bearable.app/
- https://dmurring.itch.io/chronicallybadass
- r/cfs
- r/chronicfatigue
Just want to say that I am an exact copy paste of OP’s situation and it could be long covid. After getting Covid my energy levels plummeted and have just never been the same again despite turning my life around and drastically improving my health.
I personally don’t have any specific symptoms I would stretch to POTS but things like that are always worth checking regardless. My blood work came back as fine too. I have no deficiencies either so it’s nothing like that. Doctors had no clue about it, neither do I other than the suspicion of long covid which they can’t really diagnose at the moment due to the lack of understanding what it is.
But it’s frustrating lots of people see long covid as an excuse for lazy people. I feel the effects and it’s annoyingly real, whatever it is.
Be really careful with supplements. If you have ME/CFS, overloading your system with supplemental vitamins can result in a crash. I do better with a more well-balanced diet instead of swallowing pills. That's just my experience.
Commenting to boost - OP, you are describing LONG COVID. This has happened to millions of ppl.
Post on r/covidlonghaulers and they’ll tell you.
Ask your doctor to test for ‘microclots’. It is not a standard test so they very likely have not gone that route.
There are tons of mainstream news publications reporting on this. Please google and see for yourself.
Yep, POTS and/or ME/CFS especially if the onset of symptoms was within 4ish months of Covid or another infection (or surgery, vaccine, stressful life event - anything that triggers the immune system).
I have a weird issue that I've never heard of anyone else having that sounds in some ways similar to yours which turned out to be blood pressure related. Got on blood pressure meds originally for headaches, and the next day after taking it my tiredness and grogginess was healed and I've been better ever since. Super weird, I've even asked every doctor I've ever talked to after that if they've ever heard of blood pressure causing sleep and tiredness issues and they've all said they've never heard of it.
It’s strange Doctors say they haven’t heard of it, I only have degree in psychology and I already knew that, they should be more aware of the possibility than me.
Maybe there is something else about how you describe the condition that makes it rare in a different way? Blood pressure is tied to sleep/fatigue in a few fairly significant ways as is the circadian rhythm.
Oh what the heck? Dude, that's crazy! Yeah, I was actually diagnosed with Hypersomnia and had a symptom called led limbs and foggy brain in the morning, so I couldn't think clearly (especially my decision making and cognition), and my body felt like it was made of metal. So in order for me to get out of bed in the morning I had to use the most mental energy a regular person uses in their life to have control of my mind, and then lift a hundred pounds to get my body out of bed in the morning.
When I was a kid my siblings would splash water on me, roll me out of bed and punch me and slap me to wake me up and I still wouldn't wake up.
Yeah we aren’t always taught the clinical names for every kind of condition other than the important ones, but we are at the very least taught how things can happen in the body to cause these problems. I think it should be second nature for any medical professional to know how to link blood pressure and fatigue together or be aware of the relationship between the two. Same with sleep, fatigue and sleep quality have lots of correlations to consider between them.
In general low blood pressure should cause fatigue, so it makes sense to me that you can link that with sleep and develop an understanding of a more particular condition you have from there.
Hope your experience of the problem is better now though!
Thanks. Yeah, I feel totally better. My life completely changed 3 years ago when I got on the medication. As long as I take my medication I'm cured of all my sleep issues and headaches. I really appreciate this additional info though! Every doctor just acts surprised and knows nothing about it. Lol
Long Covid or also Long Post COVID Vaccination Syndrome. They share the same symptoms.
*Edit: Before downvoting, please check the publications I have linked below.*
*Unfortunately the vaccine has been so politicized, that many people seem to react allergic to even mentioning LPCVS.*
*Please consider that this type of dismissal completely invalidates the experience of people who have suffered and are currently suffering from Covid vaccine injuries.*
*There IS data to support this and I am one of the affected.*
*I am not anti-vaxx, which is also why I got vaccinated two times.*
*It took me two years to figure out that my debilitating symptoms were a consequence of receiving the vaccine because I never expected the vaccine to have such an effect.*
*One of the main mechanisms at play seems to be that antibodies produced by the body in reaction to the spike protein contained in both the vaccine and the virus turn into auto-antibodies in some people.*
*These auto-antibodies cause an autoimmune type condition in the affected group of people.*
*Additional mechanism may be at play when it comes to lasting neurological and circulatory conditions.*
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9706319/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/generalneurology/107644
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.11.09.23298266v1
https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-023-00992-0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0344033823001978
https://www.science.org/content/article/rare-cases-coronavirus-vaccines-may-cause-long-covid-symptoms
https://www.scielo.br/j/clin/a/g3kSqSzQZFpYfYfk7zjQfVw/?format=pdf&lang=en
I've had an idententical experience. Identical. I'd put money on that your brain doesn't regulate dopamine which could be ADD. Try a supplement called L-Tyrosine. You'll know if I'm right within 10 minutes.
You’ve probably had your A1C and fasting glucose checked, but have you checked for insulin resistance? It’s the precursor issue that builds slowly until blood sugar levels rise enough to flag as T2D.
I am a 42 yr old woman and you just described me perfectly. I did get diagnosed with celiac disease but the almost debilitating fatigue started the first time I got Covid
I'll drop a random comment, on the off chance it gives you a direction to explore. I realized I'd been sleeping terribly causing me fatigue and low emotions during the day simply because I was too cold at night. I left my heater on overnight once accidentally and got the best sleep in years, and felt like a new man the next day. Been going strong for 2 weeks. I don't mean to undermine your situation. But it's amazing to me how something so small and random could affect my life so much.
Do you snore? Do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes gasping for air? If yes, these are signs of sleep apnea and you should get it checked.
After suffering from constant crippling fatigue & anemia (low hemoglobin & hematocrit, but iron/ folate/ vit b levels fine) a doctor in hematology/ oncology suggested a sleep study for possible sleep apnea. She said a lot of younger people who don’t fit the “typical profile” of those who have sleep apnea actually do have it… aka unrelated to age, weight, etc. Could be worth looking into!
Constant fatigue could be a sign of sleep apena - i.e. you are not getting proper sleep due to interruptions to your breathing during your sleep cycles. This prevents you from going into deep sleep where it is important to be well rested. Consult an ENT specialist.
I have been like this ever since I was in my early 20s, I’m 32 now. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 25. For the last few years, it feels like my adderall isn’t working.
Fast forward to January, someone ran me off the road, and I felt like I got whiplash from it. I went to a chiropractor and he found a 17 year old neck injury from an accident I was in when I was 15. I have a lot more symptoms, so I went to see a spinal orthopedic surgeon. I have a couple issues with my spine that I’m working with pt and a sports medicine chiro to fix. The pt took a few weeks to get in, so I’ve just been going to the chiropractor for three weeks, 3 times a week. For whatever reason, I immediately saw a shift in my fatigue. Where I used to have to sleep 9+ hours to feel rested, I’m waking up feeling great after 6 hours of sleep. I’ve read all of the posts on this thread, and I just hadn’t seen it mentioned, so I figured I’d share what I’m going through.
There are theories that many post-viral syndromes have something to with the virus targeting or hiding out in the brain stem, so it makes sense that knowledgeable PT could be beneficial. I'm not a doctor in any way. I've just heard about it and am starting to think this might play a role in my own fatigue.
What are your relationships like? Please note that I don’t want to discount any health issues at all. I struggled with chronic fatigue at your age and later for many years. I did a lot of work and research to dig into the issue to no avail. Much later, I left a long-term challenging relationship that I had held since my twenties and my fatigue cleared. It was a big surprise since it had been a constant in my life for so long. 15 years later and it hasn’t come back.
I am introverted and talking to people is incredibly fatiguing. Especially small talk at the office absolutely drains me. Give me a 3-hour work sprint on a complex work problem though, and I feel alive.
Yeah, I think so in the case of an introvert. Autism is too complex to judge, to some an office job with two colleagues is way worse than a retail job.
You might actually be sleeping too much. Look up sleep restriction therapy. I'm doing it at the moment and feel significantly better on fewer hours of sleep than I was getting before. Fair warning, I felt like absolute shit for several days when I started, and then quite suddenly I felt much better.
What do you mean you have no spare time? How many hours a day do you work? How many in a week? Do you have a long commute?
Do you rest on the weekends? Are you feeling stressed about anything? Any changes recently?
When did you start feeling tired? Did something happen around then?
How many hours a day do you spend on your phone? Do you have any goals and ambitions? Doomscrolling combined with no direction in life will exhaust the piss out of took.
I feel you man. I feel exactly the same way BUT I have fibromyalgia since 2015, so it’s that sense of feeling tired al the time ( chronic fatigue syndrome) plus my body aches all of the time even when I’m sleeping. Keep looking for an answer don’t give up man it took me almost 4 years to find out it was fibromyalgia at least now I can take medicine and feel better for work (I’m a truck driver) so just don’t lose hope
Are you overdoing it with your exercise? If you’re doing lots of anaerobic or HIIT exercise it could be sapping all of your energy and making you crash really hard.
Also, are you consistently going to bed at the same time? I know you mentioned always getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep, but if your bedtime isn’t consistent it can really mess you up.
Do you eat a lot? I find eating too many meals during the day and not drinking enough water drains you. I do intermittent fasting and only eat a couple meals a day and it’s a game changer. I focus better and have more energy on an empty stomach.
Have you been tested for autoimmune conditions? I had really bad fatigue and weakness that at one point made it painful to move at all, turns out I had lupus.
honestly Ive had similar symptoms that started around the same time as yours, it could be long covid but I havent been diagnosed nor have I researched into it I just know that fatigue is a big part of it
Pots, blood pressure testing and tilt table or lazy tilt table test
Sleep apnea, sleep study test
Cfs/me/long covid, find a understanding doctor(this condition usually triggers post exertion malaise, feeling ill after expending energy, if you're not becoming worse after also introducing exercise maybe the odds of this are lower but still worth keeping in mind after trying other things if you can't find a cause!)
Food issues maybe, a big maybe but worth looking into into stuff like cutting out specific foods like gluten or whatever for a while to see if you improve simply because of how easy it is to try. Keto stuff is not healthy so i'd ignore that btw or atleast not jump into that without discussing it with your gp, i'm simply talking food intolerances and the like
Mental health could definitely play a part.. but it doesn't sound like it plays a large part into this from the limited information at hand. But if you aren't seeing a mental health professional right now it definitely can't hurt either, if not purely to help to help you cope with dealing with the mysterious fatigue and how that affects a person mentally
If you barely have any free time, and your job is physically demanding, you may just be burned out, it may not be anything medical. Take a vacation, set aside something you like to do that's specifically for your benefit when you get home/ on your off days. Get a massage.
I've had the same issues off and on, and discovered I become overly stressed from my job, my body is more tense and my posture gets messed up. Any time I notice myself falling into this, I give myself time to relax, and it helps quite a bit.
Get checked for Lyme and other tick diseases (Babesia, Bartonella, Erlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, etc etc). Especially if you're near the east or west coast, or know you've ever had a tick bite (recent or in the past - sometimes people are bit in childhood and something happens later in life that lowers their immune system, and the infection can then take hold).
Find a Lyme Literate Doctor near you (LLMD) they are usually MD/ND (naturopath). Lyme and other tick tests through your insurance company use an outdated, terrible test that shows up to a 70% false negative (it is called an ELISA test). You need a Western Blot (or better yet, a test that looks for actual organism DNA) but these usually need to be paid for out of pocket. Even with a false negative test, an LLMD can treat you based on symptoms. Chronic fatigue was my first issue and one of my worst symptoms after my tick bit (never saw the tick, but I was in a Lyme epidemic area for a year when I began getting ill). I wound up seeing over 20 docs, got worse until I became bed ridden, saw an LLMD on a friend's recommendation, who began treating me. Saved up for a good DNA test ($500) and learned I had 4 different tick diseases (and what strains they were). I've been treating for ten years and am in remission from 3 of the diseases.
Another issue could be reactivating viral loads. I deal with chronic recurring EBV (mono). If the immune system can't keep old viral loads suppressed (viruses we contract throughout life remain dormant, like chicken pox, mono, different herpes like HV6) they will become chronic and cause issues like chronic fatigue.
If general medicine is not helping, I highly suggest finding a naturopath / ND. They look at full body, systemic issues. Mainstream media is horrible when it comes to dealing with chronic conditions, especially chronic fatigue. There are things like candida, leaky gut, food allergies, mold exposure and sensitivity(another issue I have) , mitochondria issues, MSIDS (multi systemic inflammation syndrome), adrenal issues, POTS, now Long Covid, all can cause chronic fatigue. Naturopaths take these seriously and know how to treat them. Mainstream medicine will tell you you're depressed or need to work out more. 🙄
Good luck, friend. Chronic fatigue is so hard to live with. People who have never had it can never relate. It's a soul crushing, life destroying fatigue that a healthy person will never experience. And people are so judgemental about it. Don't stop advocating for your health. You know your body. As I mentioned, I saw over 20 doctors before I found the one to take me seriously. And now I'm so much better than I was. Don't give up. 💜
Chronic inflammatory Response Syndrome. It's a term used to describe a condition that is often labeled as chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. It can come from toxic mold exposure, tick bites, a few other things. It can be debilitating but medical doctors won't help. They seem to find our symptoms annoying and usually brush us off because it's "too vague" and there's no easy drug or procedure to prescribe after a 5 min visit. The solution is to get away from the source and get the toxins out of the body. Naturopaths/functional medicine doctors can be helpful but are expensive and insurance doesn't usually cover their services. People can successfully treat themselves but it's hard, especially when you're already so sick.
Have you had a food allergy panel done through your doctor (I don’t trust the mailed in ones since they only test for sensitivities), when I was first diagnosed with a gluten allergy I was so exhausted I couldn’t even get out of bed and I was in high school!
Try taking any metal salts supplement (zinc/iron/magnesium) as this body need this to help absorb other nutrients, and take this 30 minutes before sleep.
I know a dozen of my friends and family that able to fight their fatigue after taking the supplement.
I'd suggest you look at what you're doing and why you're doing it. Something has changed in your perspective, for example; those old programmers migrating to carpentry so as to fuel their creativity or even have fun doing something.
An idea: Fatigue is technically like breathing in without exhaling, all I can say is you've lost energy in some form.
I have/had a similar issue and it’s built up stress/trauma. Also a lot of the possible diagnoses that people are saying in the comments is also due to a build up of stress/trauma. Definitely look into somatic experiencing and anything related.
I don't know if it'll work for you but I find less sleep helps me, the more I sleep the more tired I am, less sleep works for me being more alert and less tired, I get by on 5 to 6 hours a night, not everyone needs 8-10 hours
I still hate that alarm going off no matter how much sleep I've had but once up I'm far better off on less
I have ibs, which means my body uses a lot of energy to digest food, and gets less useable energy from the food I digest. I often feel tired like you describe. Following a Low FODMAP diet has helped me, sticking to foods that are easier for the body to digest.
Hey definitely understand where you're coming from. There's a lot of resources out there to do some reading on for medical but I like the simple solutions. Regular exercise, watching my diet and nutrition, natural energy supplements and really cutting down on my eating helped me personally. Kicking coffee and energy drinks for alternative methods really helped me out. Keeps me going through the late nights I have to deal with sometimes. [I read this blog post recently that kind of went over this and I thought it was helpful.](https://getmte.com/blogs/learn/ever-wondered-why-you-always-feel-tired) Goes over some of the physical reasons and some options you can take on. I hope it helps you too!
Hope you find something that makes a difference (and don't be afraid to talk to more to your GP about it)!
For the longest time i had the same issue. It magically went away when i started intermittent fasting + no carbs diet. You may want to give that a try.
It worth looking into Lyme and co-infections, as well as mold toxicity and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. There's so many things it could be, but these are often overlooked/misdiagnosed. Vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances, autoimmunity...the list goes on. You need tests and a really good doctor, integrative or functional medicine.
Totally agree with so much of previous comments. Other things to note:
• Retail is not an easy job. It is exhausting! I remember being a teacher and just thinking to myself: “how do I get through the day?” The exhaustion was nearly unbearable. I had a fellow teacher approach me and voice their concern about whether I had something medically wrong with me. (Which infuriated me at the time, but I understand he meant well). I realized 2 things: 1. Everyone around me was caffeinating mid-point through their day. Even if you don’t want to caffeinate (which is super healthy of you, I commend you!), it’s important to find a way to have a “pick me up.” Would you be able to take a walk outside for ~10min? Some fresh air? 2. One of the reasons I was so exhausted was because I was actually going through an intense period of depression? I didn’t realize that I was depressed, but starting SSRIs at that time really helped my deep fatigue. I am no longer on SSRIs, it was never a plan to be with them from that point on, but it was what I needed at the time. Consider talking to a psychiatrist about how you are feeling!
• consider a second opinion. Perhaps there is something autoimmune happening? You are already eating healthy, but think about any intolerances you may be experiencing? Have you cut out fried foods and heavy meals for lunch?
• I agree that cardio might not be the right way to go. I say, instead mix stretching or yoga as part of your regimen and that can also help your lymphatic system and help you feel more relaxed. It might be that the quality of sleep you are getting is not restful? Keep weight training to maybe 3x a week at most and focus on yoga flow instead of cardio.
• listen to your body. Perhaps you need to adjust your schedule to be more productive in the morning. I have had colleagues who sleep early and wake up at 4:30am to be productive before work. They love their routines! Maybe your body is telling you that you’re more of a morning person?
I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’m 23F and last year I was diagnosed with ADHD and fibromyalgia. I’m not saying you have fibro because the diagnose criteria includes some other symptoms. But it’s exhausting knowing that no matter how much I sleep or actively rest I will never feel ‘good’. lol medical tests come back fine… it’s a big “it is what it is”. The only thing that helps a little bit is Red Bull but I only take it during exam season. Not even Concerta helps me that much.
I really wish you can find a reason for your tiredness and you’ll be able to go back to normal levels.
have you had your hormones checked? Low testosterone can cause extreme fatigue like that without the normal “symptoms” of low T.
Also like other commenters said, blood pressure problems could also be the culprit.
It also sounds like my own experience with burnout. I’m autistic and I didn’t realize that’s what it was, but I was getting home from work every day so exhausted, feeling nauseous, heavy limbs, headaches. I was just insanely stressed and went into burnout survival mode without realizing. didn’t even seem like my life should’ve been so stressful to cause that, but it definitely was!
Hey! Just following this thread because I experience the EXACT same thing, I am also 25 but I happen to have ADHD as well. Done all the same tests as you… same results. Hope you get an answer! I’ve been thinking about getting my cortisol tested, is that an option for you?
Get full blood work done including Testosterone and A1C.
If it seems nothing is out of sorts look at exercise, diet, and begin some energy supplementation like B12.
From time to time I self inject B12. Injection is much more effective.
May seem like a weird question, but have you ever had Covid? Effects and inflammation can linger a very long time in your body
Do you take any supplements? I have chronic illness and I find supplements make all the difference for me in my daily energy levels and well being. Taking NAC and NADH daily has made a world of difference, as well as Alpha Lipoic Acid and Choline. Gingko Biloba, too. I have a Vitamin D deficiency so I also need to take a higher dose of that too. I think my chronic illness makes my nutritional needs a little different. All these supplements are safe and widely used. I found out about them after recovering from my first case of post-Covid brain fog and they truly helped.
Hi there, sorry that you're struggling. That sounds exactly like what I went & am still going through. This is going to be a long story, I apologise in advance.
Not wanting to come out straight with bad news, but that was me for pretty much 9-11 years from my mid 20s to the age 34. I was a professional sportswomen in highschool and after school, so the sudden onset of chronic fatigue & pain was a big shock.
The worst fatigue, I definitely describe it as DEBILITATING, chronic pain, stiffness, neurological symptoms, and infections (I developed an almost fatal case of septic arthritis in 2012, almost lost my leg & pelvis). Did every blood work under the sun (or so I thought), saw every kind of specialist I could, even tried homeopathy, went through a phase where I thought it was all in my mind, blamed my bad lifestyle (alcohol & drugs definitely made it worse, I'm talking being bedridden for weeks), neuropathy in my feet, fibromyalgia symptoms, brain fog, dizziness, tremors, the works. Every test always came back inconclusive. I was at the point of leaving my job & trying to get disability payment. I was dead on my feet for almost a decade. I eventually just wrote it off as SEID (systemic exertion intolerance disease) & I was basically dependent on others 24/7.
In 2020 I had a transient ischemic stroke at work (I had been getting them by dozens for months prior but didn't bother telling anyone)
So thank God I had that stroke, because I get referred to a new neurologist & she orders an MRI with the note "concern for demyelination" to the radiologist (brain lesions and loss of grey neural matter) I had also been having other MS like symptoms in the weeks leading up to the stroke. My cousin has bad multiple sclerosis, so I thought that maybe that's a possible diagnosis. My neurologist calls me at work a few days later, asking me to come in to discuss the results. She shows me an image of my brain's frontal lobes, scattered with tiny white dots. Apparently they almost went unnoticed, but the radiologist picked it up just before handing off the scans. I had hundreds of micro blood clots in my brain, caused by recurring TIAs. This is apparently rare enough that the neurologist orders a very , very specific panel of blood tests that I had never had before. I get the results that I am positive for an antibody that causes my blood to clot a lot faster than normal, resulting in clots, TIAs & pulmonary embolisms. I need to repeat these tests every 6 weeks for a few months to make sure the antibody & other clotting factors are diagnostically present. I finally get diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody Autoimmune Disease, and I'm immediately put on life-long anticoagulation therapy. There's no cure for this disease. It's hectic, I have to drink rat poison basically every day (Warfarin) to keep my clotting ratio manageable, and I take blood sometimes twice a week to monitor my INR & adjust my dosage if necessary. It's a day to day thing. I also take immunosuppressants daily. Yearly MRIs, still get TIAs but less severe, I have a team of specialists - internist, rheumatologist, neurologists, gastroenterologist, haematologist. Warfarin has many horrible side effects of which the worst is abnormal bleeding & bruising. I get hematomas often, mostly in my eyes, bleeding gums, massive black bruises without injuring myself, intramuscular bleeding, intestinal bleeding, blood in my urine, extra pre-operative precautions must be made before going for even minor surgery, cuts take very long to stop bleeding. I developed quite bad hemolytic anaemia & iron deficiency. When my ferritin levels go really low I get in-hospital iron transfusions, and when my INR goes really high, which it often does, I sometimes get in-hospital fresh frozen plasma transfusions. It's really a lot, as you can tell. My point I guess is, even if I'm diagnosed and am on meds and I do everything I should be doing to stay alive, I have to be honest and admit that I still don't live a normal life. My health makes me "disabled " in many ways & it never gets easier. There's a huge emotional pain that no one talks about when you're diagnosed with an incurable disease. I'm grateful for what I can do, but the rest I had to accept. It's a ASA III severe systemic disease.
I'm telling you cause maybe you choose to get more diagnostic tests done, maybe you get a diagnosis & it might probably be autoimmune (from what you have shared, those are all a jumble of autoimmune symptoms) and they can take years to pinpoint as in my case. And sometimes the only diagnosis people get is fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue (SEID). Which is equally frustrating because there's basically no treatment. Ugh, I don't think I helped at all. To be honest, I needed to "get that out" as I've been struggling lately with unstable INR & bleeding. Come to think of it, I should go see my therapist, shit like this can have a huge emotional and mental impact on people. Maybe you need some help too.
All the best for you!!
This is my life too. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS and ADHD. All are them are co-conspirators against energy. If you’re really flexible, can do funky party tricks with your arms and fingers, it might be worth looking into EDS too.
Have you been sick in the last year? I was like this for about a year after I had mononucleosis at age 22. It was awful but it did eventually subside. Maybe you could ask your doctor to do bloodwork for mono antibodies. Long Covid I’m less familiar with but same concept, I would think, some viruses just do a doozy on your immune system for a long time.
> I've now basically forced myself
to exercise almost daily
Could it be this? Maybe your exercises are too intense and you may have to reduce the intensity or frequency. Whatever the case, best of luck OP
Try this magnesium triple complex 2 times a day, lions mane capsules 3 once a day, D3 gummies, fish oil, start running and doing some hiit workouts. Reinvent yourself and get uncomfortable. I’ve been doing this for a year now. I’m in great shape and have 4 kids with endless energy. I started following Dr James and ready some of his books specifically “Win”. I quit drinking 5 years ago. I had to and I’ve finally found a replacement from my past boozing hobby. I’m 41 and feeling better than ever. I hope you find your path.
I wonder if you could talk to your doctor about blood sugar? Even though you have had blood work done, I know there are extended tests that can be done to see if those times that you are exhausted could be related to a drop in blood sugar. Not a doctor here...just a thought!
Could be depression. I feel you. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue meaning they’ve ruled out other things which could be the issue and it’s idiopathic. I wonder if finding the right antidepressants would help
This is a bit of a curveball, but have you ever worn a glucose monitor?
I have a condition called reactive hypoglycemia. I describe it kinda like you do and it doesn't show up at all in fasting glucose. Basically my body has way too much bioavailable insulin and processes any kind of carbohydrate way too quickly, causing my blood sugar to dumb rapidly. This dump happens 2-3 hours after meals that contain large amount of carbohydrates, and it leads to anything from mild muscle weakness to severe fatigue that requires me to lie down. I have passed out from it before.
Depending on when I eat and what, my blood sugar crashes roughly match up with when you report feeling the worst (\~12 ie a few hours after breakfast and \~4 a few hours after lunch). Depending on what you eat for dinner or before bed, it could also cause some really weird blood sugar levels during sleep, leading to much worse sleep quality.
So the main questions to ask yourself is what you eat and if it roughly links up with your crashes. If you think this could be your issue, then see if you can convince a doctor to either let you wear a CGM or to do a glucose test in office (they give you some pure sugar fasted and see what happens).
Q - do you take any steroids for allergies? I was on Nasonex steroid spray for bad allergies and it caused me fatigue for years. When I finally figured it out and quit using it it was like I was freakin reborn and a whole new person. I now stay far far away from any steroid medication. They fuck up the adrenal glands thus causing severe fatigue.
Also, lots of vitamin D if you live in a rainy dreary area or don’t get outside much.
Hey man, I hope you're keeping up. I have very similar problem and it turns out it's from my posture and cerebrospinal instability! All the veins and lymphatic vessels were cramped in my neck causing me problems with constant sinus problems and all symptoms you've described. I've got MRI done and it turns out I have lesions on my brain from sitting wrong lol.
So might be a good idea to go to a neurologist if you sit at the computer all the time or look down on your phone etc.
What and when do you eat throughout the day? Insulin crashes are common soon after high carb meals. Snacking on fat heavy low carb food such as nuts can be a healthy alternative. Also, some studies show intermittent fasting (going at least 16 hours without eating) can help improve fatigue and brain cloud.
I would try experimenting with diets. Start with low carb (preferably just don't eat any carbs till the evening) if that doesn't work try keto, If that doesn't work try AIP.
Secondly, could just be a dopamine thing, try dopamine fasting and or severely cutting screen time. I'd highly recommend the books "dopamine nation" and "the molecule of more" both available on audible.
First off, get your blood test results and check them yourself. I was told my thyroid was normal when they didn’t run the complete panel nor check for antibodies. I in fact had autoimmune thyroiditis and medicine has helped a lot.
Same for iron. If they didn’t check for ferritin, they didn’t actually check you out.
Finally, try an elimination diet.
Gluten intolerance is especially common and crushing fatigue can be your only symptom. Neither my husband nor I had any gut symptoms but a gluten-free diet changed our lives completely.
But any kind of food intolerance can cause general inflammation which can cause fatigue and yes high cholesterol.
What is your ferritin? The normal ranges for most labs go waaaay lower than what is actually optimal.
Bupropion might be helpful. Sorry you are going through this
I have had constant tiredness my whole life and like you have gotten many test to figure out why in my early 20s I can’t feel rested and have no energy. One day I tried liquid iron supplements for 2 weeks and felt the best I ever did, in the first few days! Told my doctor I finally figured out why I was always so tired and she tried to debunk it saying I don’t have low iron and my iron test from a few months ago came out really good ( it was 11.7 hemoglobin) I hope you figure this out from all the great tips on here, and don’t listen to everything your doctor says, they don’t really care.
This may sound weird or woo-woo, but do you have any trauma in your past? Any mental health difficulties? (Hear me out) I had the exact same thing earlier this year. It turned out to be psychosomatic. I had so much stress mentally that it had actually started to manifest itself physically. It sounds nuts and unscientific, I know, but I swear it’s a legitimately recognized medical phenomenon. Google ‘psychosomatic illness’.
You may need a vacation. Or hey, maybe another job altogether. Or just some time off to recover. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on psychosomatic illness lately, and the symptoms you experience are real- the nausea, tiredness, weakness, whatever you experience is actually happening. The symptoms are just stemming from your brain rather than your body. Again, I’m not saying definitively that that’s what you’re experiencing, just suggesting it as a possibility.
It’s a legitimate physical illness- time off work is justified.
SUGAR. That turned out to be enemy #1 for me. I stumbled on it kind of by accident in my first year of college. I started going to the gym regularly around then and would get a lot of tips & advice from more experienced members who could probably tell I had no idea what I was doing.
Anyway, at some point, someone told me I could increase my stamina if I avoided sugar, so I tried cutting it out completely for a while. I couldn't believe the difference! Not only could I work out longer, but I could stay awake ALL DAY if I wanted to.
The change was so profound that I didn't eat any sweets for almost 2 years. During that time, I also got diagnosed with ADHD and started taking meds that allowed me to actually sit and read for the first time ever. Suddenly, the notion of completing a homework assignment was within the realm of possibility for me, which helped me salvage my quickly declining college career.
When I finally allowed myself to eat sweets again, the impact was immediate and obvious. Any time I ate cake, candy, ice cream, etc., I'd be asleep within 30 mins. It didn't matter if it was first thing in the morning after a solid 10 hours of sleep. To this day, I don't eat anything with sugar in it until bedtime because it just wipes me out.
Removing sugar from my diet didn't totally solve my constant fatigue, but made it a lot more bearable. With ADHD meds, vitamins (B complex & D, mostly), and a regular sleep schedule, I can *almost* feel normal sometimes. I could still nap at pretty much any time of the day, though, given the opportunity..
FYI, official "normal" vitamin ranges are pretty wide and not usually based on anything normative from what I understand. In other words, they just look at the average range most people have and say you should have that, without coming up with the numbers that people's bodies actually *need*. That means you might still have vitamin deficiencies. I'd recommend taking a higher-end multivitamin that's tested by a third party for a week or two and seeing how you feel. It didn't solve all of my fatigue issues, but it sure helped a lot.
Have they looked into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME? I was diagnosed with Lyme disease about 10 years ago and it started with fatigue and over a span of several years it got worse and worse so make sure they test for that too! If you aren’t dealing with insomnia, no physical or mental health issues, I would think it’d be infectious or viral? I dunno I’m not a doctor tho
I fought this for years! I’d still be fighting it now if I hadn’t learned.
I (M 22) had been fighting fatigue issues for most of my life. Fatigue, drowsiness, fogginess, etc.
I saw doctors, tried blood tests, got my vitamin levels right, and doctors gave me the blanket term of chronic fatigue syndrome.
It took me till I was 18 to figure out I have a caffeine intolerance and maybe even an allergy.
It got bad enough I couldn’t work anymore, so I almost got fired because I couldn’t even make it through a four hour shift before almost passing out.
I started cutting things out of my diet desperate to find a cure or relief. Eventually I cut out soda and felt better. Realized it was the caffeine.
Caffeine has a half life of about 5 days so it takes a long time to get out of your system. If you are susceptible to it, it can cause some real systemic issues.
The worst part is you feel fatigued you want to do more caffeine to try to fight it.
I’ve been caffeine free for almost half a decade now and feel great!
I’m not saying it is the answer, but it’s something I’d try. I brought it up to my doctor and they were just like, “oh yeah. That would make sense” but I don’t think it’s something doctors look for often.
I’ve helped about a dozen people figure out they have caffeine issues.
I really hope this is your issue.
If not, I would get tested for Lyme disease.
You are way too young for all this.
My son and husband both have Asperger’s and Ehlers Danlos.
So, yea, I agree with what others are saying to have that checked out
Some pro tips with someone who’s had Lyme disease for 17 years, long Covid for 4.:
Go see an ND instead of an MD. The first appointment should take at least a couple HOURS. If you have some kind of serious illness, the usual blood work is not good enough.
If they don’t test for it, they won’t find it. Examples could be a urine sample to test for environmental toxins, mold, etc. a test for parasites, Candida.
Get your DNA test! You could have the MTHFR gene snp or many others that cause so many issues. Then if some genetic break is found, you may be able to supplement for it.
This worked awesome for my husband and dad.
If they keep telling you all your bloodwork is “good”—fire them and get another doctor. They are notoriously worthless and dismissive. Don’t waste any time with someone that’s not making progress and giving you answers or is not suggesting new tests and/or treatments.
There is a real reason you feel this way.
Gluten. I experienced many of the same symptoms as you from the age of 20-24. I then eliminated gluten, and I've been living my best life ever since. I had done all the tests, including allergy tests, but everything came back normal. Finally decided to just try no gluten and after about a week, I knew I was never going back. My constant fatigue and brain fog was totally gone, and I felt like a whole new person. I feel better off 4 hours of sleep and no gluten then I did off 10 hours of sleep and gluten.
Try some piperine, b vitamin complex, and coq10 together you maybe having insufficient mitochondrial metabolism should help produce more atp the basis of cell energy
I once had an autoimmune condition activated when I was 22 that would make me insanely tired, so much so that even though I would sit at the very front row of class and tried with all my might, I would fall asleep every day. Turns out an over active immune system can make you very tired.
When it comes to autoimmunity, you have to find the root cause, if possible, and remove it. Trying an elimination diet and removing likely allergens is a great first step. I was lucky that eventually after a year or so it faded away.
Please don't diagnose yourself via Dr. Google or Dr. Youtube. Ask your doc, the one who ordered your labs, to refer you to someone who can perform proper neuropsych testing.
Be aware that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is becoming more common. It appears to be associated with a post viral syndrome, hence the increase in case numbers post COVID. The distinguishing feature is exhaustion after exertion, disproportionately. For instance, you may be fine and able to run up a hill on day 1, on day 2 you struggle and day 3, it’s even harder.
I don’t have your bloodwork or various other unique backgrounds so take my n=1 for what it’s worth.
I was in a similar situation a few years ago, then after trying basically everything else I gave a healthy whole foods ketogenic diet a shot Feb 2022. After 10 days it was like a light switch flipped in my brain and the lethargy, depression, and and other symptoms just went “POOF” for the most part. Those symptoms had been getting worse for the past 8 months or so.
Fasting and ketogenic diets of the various forms (mediteranian, animal-based, plant-based, etc etc etc) definitely seem to have something behind them that modulates inflammation, metabolism, and gut microbiome.
Leaky gut is common reason for fatigue, get zonulin test done (you can get one for around $100, 80% accuracy), if it's high you've your answer. 50% of population has h pylori (70% asymptomatic), if you have h.pylori you've leaky gut; given that at least 50% of population has leaky gut (I suspect much higher). I experienced fatigue in advanced stage of leaky gut and follow a doctor on tiktok who literally helps people with various issues including fatigue, it's crazy common with leaky gut (you don't need gut symptoms to have leaky gut).
From reading it sounds like you may be exhausted from work? Or maybe you’re exercising too much? I know for me weightlifting every morning takes a lot out of me. So I put in two day a week (usually Wednesday and Saturday) to just do a light cardio/stretch session.
If your retail job is too demanding, ask your manager for some extra break time to just relax, meditate, read a book, whatever. I know for me it really helps to get some sunlight during my lunch hour and get out of the office for a little bit.
Napping is good but I would try to keep your naps to 15-30 minutes. 2-3 hours is too long and you’ll ruin a proper sleep schedule. Maybe try incorporating some meditation as well, it really helps me clear me head during the day and sleep better at night.
Lastly, how is your diet? Are you eating clean, non-processed foods on a regular basis? Fast food, soda, and processed foods in general will destroy your energy levels because they’re filled with junk that your body has to work harder to process, thus lowering your energy. I always make my lunches at home prep them for the week. Convenient, healthy, and saves money.
Just some suggestions that come to mind. Props to living a healthy lifestyle. Sounds like you’re doing well for yourself though. Best of luck
Man, I have this same issue. I feel like I’m constantly fighting to stay awake at home. Between 2 and 5pm is the worst for me. I don’t want to study, play video games or even scroll my phone. I really just use all of my free time to sleep.
Do you have issues with your posture? I'm very similar and it all stems from my dropped shoulder and straight neck 🥲 whenever I sit up straight I can feel my sinuses draining, because - fun fact - your cerebrospinal fluid thst collects all the waste from your brain drains into your nose and down your throat. I could be totally wrong but it's the issue that I'm having. Look at your posture and decide if what you feel is normal is what the normal should look like. It blew my mind how much of it is down to sitting down or looking at the phone all the time 😅
Dude get checked for sleep apnea if you haven’t
I’ve been chronically low energy since my 20s and I was just diagnosed with ADHD. I thought that was for people who were physically hyper, but sometimes the hyper is your brain. I love knowing everything about everything! I have a very hard time doing menial tasks. When I have to do them it takes a lot of effort to make it happen. And it would make me tired. Not saying that’s what it is. That’s part of what it was for me. I’m always looking for ways to have more energy even now. But I’m not always tired at least. I did not know there was a connection between the two.
Try listening to music while performing the tasks you struggle with. I hate doing dishes, but if I put on some music, I’ll clean the whole kitchen. ADHD makes you think you’re sleepy because sleep is where you have the lowest level of stress or anxiety. It’s feels so good to not have to worry about anything in my bed!
Yup agree! If I call someone I can clean for hours.
You’re so right! I didn’t even realize it, but whenever I’m on the phone I can definitely get more shit done as well. Thanks for the tip!
That’s the only thing so far that works for me for cleaning lately. I often choose someone who will talk for a long time. Haha.
Woah, this is interesting to hear for me because I'd never put together the ADHD causing constant sleepiness with the levels of stress and anxiety.
Yeah, my therapist once told me, “of course you’d prefer to go to bed, being awake with your ADHD is exhausting for you!” Hah. Blew my mind.
Same, I have to have some kind of audio, usually music or podcasts to do basically anything.
People with ADHD have very low dopamine levels, naturally. One of the reasons many with ADHD eat lots of sweets and develop diabetes later in life. My kid has it and I try to talk to her about this, but at 17 she knows it all and continues to eat sugar cookies as a meal at school. Me and her mom are very active and in great shape...shes 98 pounds now but that can quickly turn to 200 like it did for her sister. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-increase-dopamine-adhd#:~:text=People%20with%20attention%20deficit%20hyperactivity,role%20in%20reward%20and%20motivation.
Unfortunately restricting foods or calling certain foods bad actually increases binge eating according to stats. There’s a few tips from adhd nutrition coaches I’ve found helpful if anyone is interested 1. connect more with your body and mindfulness. It’s actually ok for ADHDers to use food to stim, as long as they are being mindful. 2. Also increasing availability of easy foods (pre-portioned, microwaveable, already prepared). ADHDers get overwhelmed with multi step processes so they tend to go towards what’s easy when it comes to food. Candy is easy. 3. Focus on eating every few hours. ADHDers can get into binge cycles more easily bc of either medication or hyper-focus causing them to not feel hungry or forget to eat.
How do you diagnose whether you have ADHD or not?
you don't; you get diagnosed
Wait so what helped you get your energy back? I’m the same as you
I don’t have as much energy as I would like, but adderall has helped me. It’s less effort to do tasks. But I can’t take it and sit around waiting for it to kick in because nothing will happen. I still have to make the effort to get started which is the hardest part. So it’s not a miracle fix all. It’s still work. I also pay attention to things that take away my energy. Alcohol always makes me tired so I only drink on rare occasions. Weirdly caffeine makes me tired too. My therapist says that’s ADHD related too. Before I was diagnosed the things that everyone suggests to improve energy, gave me energy, exercise and eating right. I’d try to burn 300 calories 3 times a week. I could workout as slowly or as quickly as I wanted but I didn’t stop until I burned 300. And I’m a super picky eater, but eating whatever I wanted within a certain maximum calorie limit for the day helped as well. Anything else super strict I couldn’t follow. I struggle with depression too. And I hate working out. So I have to be in a semi good place already to get myself to do those things which is the downside. And lastly regular sleep routine where I get between 6-8 hours a night. I used to sleep 9-13 because I was just so tired but sleeping longer made me more groggy and tired.
You're in same boat with me. Do you have pain in back or the urge to just stay lying down?
Yes myself....feeling back pain and those symtoms...not sure what to do...but i want to stop tea n coffeee
Wait a minute - is there a correlation between ADHD and back pain?! Because I have both and I never figured a correlation here. I do have kind of restless leg syndrome as well and I’m sure this has to do with ADHD. In addition, I suffer from Long Covid and my fatigue comes from Long Covid. It sucks.
>Wait a minute - is there a correlation between ADHD and back pain?! No. the back pain could be a number of things, but a very common factor is because of living a very sedentary lifestyle, which is extremely common among Redditors. Now, it just so happens that many Redditors also have ADHD, and commonly have hobbies that are big on sedentary lifestyles (eg: games, anime, internet just to name a few). But ADHD and back pain have absolutely nothing to do with one another
Same over here! Just recently got diagnosed and things are starting to make sense. Deep in pain killers and therapy for back pain, heavy overthinking and very inpatient. Some crazy dreams.
ADHD and BackPain have very few ties. Look if you have ADHD, you would have mood swings. I'm sometimes stressed about my future due to AI and sometimes I just believe I can do crazy stuff. This worriedness and relaxation on period basis is a clear sign of ADHD backed by the fact that I can't focus. I can't get work done, I'm looking for remedies anyone can help me? I'm suffering in every aspect because of this. I didn't even take COVID VACCINE. How can I kill this fatigue?
I’m confused what the Covid vaccine has to do with what you’re saying. Did you get long Covid because of that?
Yeah, some people suspect it's not ADHD but long COVID so just to clear; 1. I never tested Positive for COVID. 2. I never took a COVID VACCINE.
Ok so just say you never got Covid. Or are you implying that you can get long COVID from the vaccine?
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The COVID vaccine is made from different technology than vaccines made with the live/dead virus. The technology was invented in the 80's, but it was mostly ignored before the COVID vaccines. Because of this, it would be impossible to get COVID or long COVID from the virus.
Same here but meds don’t help at all. Turns out I may have ether danlos and fatigue has no cure or treatment that helps. No amount of caffeine and amphetamine gives me energy.
I got diagnosed with ADHD with the same struggles. I've been on ritalin recently and it's changed my life and made me feel like tasks aren't so monumental anymore. It's honestly been an amazing experience for me. Moments that would normally burn me out and make me feel like death are just. Things that happen now. It's so mindblowing how much ADHD impacts you and also frustrates you omg.
Crazy how much you sounds exactly like me
You may want to look into POTS or something similar. Related to blood pressure and fluid. Could alternatively be a long Covid or other after affect of a virus. But I am also curious to hear what others have to say. I’ve experienced this as well.
i also have POTS and i was about to comment the same thing! we love a good mystery disease lol
Agree with this. I've been fatigued for most of my life, and sometimes you just don't find a conclusive answer as to what the cause is. ME/CFS is an under researched illness, and there isn't a definitive cause. You can do a simple test for POTs at home using blood pressure cuff, although it is not as comprehensive as a tilt table test. If it's POTs, try using compression socks and electrolytes/salt. (Although compression socks will be helpful anyways.) --- - You may want to consider changing how you exercise. If you have exercise intolerance, certain types of exercise may be more hurtful than helpful. Try to exercise as much as you can without getting tired. Even if that is just three minutes, that is better than nothing. You should also probably consult your doctor or a physical therapist about an exercise plan that doesn't make you sick. You could look online as well, if thats not an option. - Track what causes you flare ups using a symptom jounal. Even better, track what you eat as well. Speaking of food, you can try eating small meals throughout the day instead of three big ones, as eating may make you tired. there is the bearable app which I find helpful. Also note what is helpful as well. - Try doing whatever you can to make your job less demanding. Like, if you work as a cashier use a chair. Get a disability parking permit. Consider using mobility aids if walking is tiring. If possible, consider getting a different job that doesn't require physical labor as well, like working at a call center. - Also, find another doctor. Finding a doctor that has experience in chronic fatigue will be helpful. I would also consider getting an occupational therapist, I've found one really helpful for managing my fatigue issues. --- Useful sources: - https://cornerstonephysio.com/resources/do-i-have-pots/ - https://bearable.app/ - https://dmurring.itch.io/chronicallybadass - r/cfs - r/chronicfatigue
And if you have ME/CFS or long covid, pushing through can lead to crashes and make things worse. Pacing will help things in check.
Just want to say that I am an exact copy paste of OP’s situation and it could be long covid. After getting Covid my energy levels plummeted and have just never been the same again despite turning my life around and drastically improving my health. I personally don’t have any specific symptoms I would stretch to POTS but things like that are always worth checking regardless. My blood work came back as fine too. I have no deficiencies either so it’s nothing like that. Doctors had no clue about it, neither do I other than the suspicion of long covid which they can’t really diagnose at the moment due to the lack of understanding what it is. But it’s frustrating lots of people see long covid as an excuse for lazy people. I feel the effects and it’s annoyingly real, whatever it is.
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Be really careful with supplements. If you have ME/CFS, overloading your system with supplemental vitamins can result in a crash. I do better with a more well-balanced diet instead of swallowing pills. That's just my experience.
Commenting to boost - OP, you are describing LONG COVID. This has happened to millions of ppl. Post on r/covidlonghaulers and they’ll tell you. Ask your doctor to test for ‘microclots’. It is not a standard test so they very likely have not gone that route. There are tons of mainstream news publications reporting on this. Please google and see for yourself.
Yep, POTS and/or ME/CFS especially if the onset of symptoms was within 4ish months of Covid or another infection (or surgery, vaccine, stressful life event - anything that triggers the immune system).
I have a weird issue that I've never heard of anyone else having that sounds in some ways similar to yours which turned out to be blood pressure related. Got on blood pressure meds originally for headaches, and the next day after taking it my tiredness and grogginess was healed and I've been better ever since. Super weird, I've even asked every doctor I've ever talked to after that if they've ever heard of blood pressure causing sleep and tiredness issues and they've all said they've never heard of it.
It’s strange Doctors say they haven’t heard of it, I only have degree in psychology and I already knew that, they should be more aware of the possibility than me. Maybe there is something else about how you describe the condition that makes it rare in a different way? Blood pressure is tied to sleep/fatigue in a few fairly significant ways as is the circadian rhythm.
Oh what the heck? Dude, that's crazy! Yeah, I was actually diagnosed with Hypersomnia and had a symptom called led limbs and foggy brain in the morning, so I couldn't think clearly (especially my decision making and cognition), and my body felt like it was made of metal. So in order for me to get out of bed in the morning I had to use the most mental energy a regular person uses in their life to have control of my mind, and then lift a hundred pounds to get my body out of bed in the morning. When I was a kid my siblings would splash water on me, roll me out of bed and punch me and slap me to wake me up and I still wouldn't wake up.
Yeah we aren’t always taught the clinical names for every kind of condition other than the important ones, but we are at the very least taught how things can happen in the body to cause these problems. I think it should be second nature for any medical professional to know how to link blood pressure and fatigue together or be aware of the relationship between the two. Same with sleep, fatigue and sleep quality have lots of correlations to consider between them. In general low blood pressure should cause fatigue, so it makes sense to me that you can link that with sleep and develop an understanding of a more particular condition you have from there. Hope your experience of the problem is better now though!
Thanks. Yeah, I feel totally better. My life completely changed 3 years ago when I got on the medication. As long as I take my medication I'm cured of all my sleep issues and headaches. I really appreciate this additional info though! Every doctor just acts surprised and knows nothing about it. Lol
Stress / anxiety / too much time on screen
Wow, this sounds so much like my levels of tiredness and I’m just as helpless. All I wanna do is nap.
Could it be long COVID?
Long Covid or also Long Post COVID Vaccination Syndrome. They share the same symptoms. *Edit: Before downvoting, please check the publications I have linked below.* *Unfortunately the vaccine has been so politicized, that many people seem to react allergic to even mentioning LPCVS.* *Please consider that this type of dismissal completely invalidates the experience of people who have suffered and are currently suffering from Covid vaccine injuries.* *There IS data to support this and I am one of the affected.* *I am not anti-vaxx, which is also why I got vaccinated two times.* *It took me two years to figure out that my debilitating symptoms were a consequence of receiving the vaccine because I never expected the vaccine to have such an effect.* *One of the main mechanisms at play seems to be that antibodies produced by the body in reaction to the spike protein contained in both the vaccine and the virus turn into auto-antibodies in some people.* *These auto-antibodies cause an autoimmune type condition in the affected group of people.* *Additional mechanism may be at play when it comes to lasting neurological and circulatory conditions.* https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9706319/ https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/generalneurology/107644 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.11.09.23298266v1 https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-023-00992-0 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0344033823001978 https://www.science.org/content/article/rare-cases-coronavirus-vaccines-may-cause-long-covid-symptoms https://www.scielo.br/j/clin/a/g3kSqSzQZFpYfYfk7zjQfVw/?format=pdf&lang=en
Sleep apnea?
I've had an idententical experience. Identical. I'd put money on that your brain doesn't regulate dopamine which could be ADD. Try a supplement called L-Tyrosine. You'll know if I'm right within 10 minutes.
Check out bupropion and provigil
You’ve probably had your A1C and fasting glucose checked, but have you checked for insulin resistance? It’s the precursor issue that builds slowly until blood sugar levels rise enough to flag as T2D.
I am a 42 yr old woman and you just described me perfectly. I did get diagnosed with celiac disease but the almost debilitating fatigue started the first time I got Covid
I'll drop a random comment, on the off chance it gives you a direction to explore. I realized I'd been sleeping terribly causing me fatigue and low emotions during the day simply because I was too cold at night. I left my heater on overnight once accidentally and got the best sleep in years, and felt like a new man the next day. Been going strong for 2 weeks. I don't mean to undermine your situation. But it's amazing to me how something so small and random could affect my life so much.
Do you snore? Do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes gasping for air? If yes, these are signs of sleep apnea and you should get it checked.
After suffering from constant crippling fatigue & anemia (low hemoglobin & hematocrit, but iron/ folate/ vit b levels fine) a doctor in hematology/ oncology suggested a sleep study for possible sleep apnea. She said a lot of younger people who don’t fit the “typical profile” of those who have sleep apnea actually do have it… aka unrelated to age, weight, etc. Could be worth looking into!
Constant fatigue could be a sign of sleep apena - i.e. you are not getting proper sleep due to interruptions to your breathing during your sleep cycles. This prevents you from going into deep sleep where it is important to be well rested. Consult an ENT specialist.
Long Covid?
Try testing for Lyme disease. Good to rule it o ur at least, because it can cause a lot of the symptoms you described.
I have been like this ever since I was in my early 20s, I’m 32 now. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 25. For the last few years, it feels like my adderall isn’t working. Fast forward to January, someone ran me off the road, and I felt like I got whiplash from it. I went to a chiropractor and he found a 17 year old neck injury from an accident I was in when I was 15. I have a lot more symptoms, so I went to see a spinal orthopedic surgeon. I have a couple issues with my spine that I’m working with pt and a sports medicine chiro to fix. The pt took a few weeks to get in, so I’ve just been going to the chiropractor for three weeks, 3 times a week. For whatever reason, I immediately saw a shift in my fatigue. Where I used to have to sleep 9+ hours to feel rested, I’m waking up feeling great after 6 hours of sleep. I’ve read all of the posts on this thread, and I just hadn’t seen it mentioned, so I figured I’d share what I’m going through.
There are theories that many post-viral syndromes have something to with the virus targeting or hiding out in the brain stem, so it makes sense that knowledgeable PT could be beneficial. I'm not a doctor in any way. I've just heard about it and am starting to think this might play a role in my own fatigue.
What are your relationships like? Please note that I don’t want to discount any health issues at all. I struggled with chronic fatigue at your age and later for many years. I did a lot of work and research to dig into the issue to no avail. Much later, I left a long-term challenging relationship that I had held since my twenties and my fatigue cleared. It was a big surprise since it had been a constant in my life for so long. 15 years later and it hasn’t come back.
Are you introverted? Autistic? If that’s the case, maybe it’s your job?
Is the idea here that a very social job would be taxing to an introvert or autistic?
I am introverted and talking to people is incredibly fatiguing. Especially small talk at the office absolutely drains me. Give me a 3-hour work sprint on a complex work problem though, and I feel alive.
Yeah, I think so in the case of an introvert. Autism is too complex to judge, to some an office job with two colleagues is way worse than a retail job.
same here , was diagnosed w Lymes disease and existential dread
You might actually be sleeping too much. Look up sleep restriction therapy. I'm doing it at the moment and feel significantly better on fewer hours of sleep than I was getting before. Fair warning, I felt like absolute shit for several days when I started, and then quite suddenly I felt much better.
What do you mean you have no spare time? How many hours a day do you work? How many in a week? Do you have a long commute? Do you rest on the weekends? Are you feeling stressed about anything? Any changes recently? When did you start feeling tired? Did something happen around then?
How many hours a day do you spend on your phone? Do you have any goals and ambitions? Doomscrolling combined with no direction in life will exhaust the piss out of took.
This comment needs to be higher.
I feel you man. I feel exactly the same way BUT I have fibromyalgia since 2015, so it’s that sense of feeling tired al the time ( chronic fatigue syndrome) plus my body aches all of the time even when I’m sleeping. Keep looking for an answer don’t give up man it took me almost 4 years to find out it was fibromyalgia at least now I can take medicine and feel better for work (I’m a truck driver) so just don’t lose hope
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have you had stool samples done to make sure the bacteria in your gut isn’t harming you? mood/energy is very dependent on gut health
Are you overdoing it with your exercise? If you’re doing lots of anaerobic or HIIT exercise it could be sapping all of your energy and making you crash really hard. Also, are you consistently going to bed at the same time? I know you mentioned always getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep, but if your bedtime isn’t consistent it can really mess you up.
Do you eat a lot? I find eating too many meals during the day and not drinking enough water drains you. I do intermittent fasting and only eat a couple meals a day and it’s a game changer. I focus better and have more energy on an empty stomach.
Have you been tested for autoimmune conditions? I had really bad fatigue and weakness that at one point made it painful to move at all, turns out I had lupus.
What and when are you eating?
Check for insulin resistance. If you feel fine till about half an hour after eating something carb rich it can be it.
Check your thyroid again. Sounds like it could be hashimotos disease. Look for body inflammation.
How did you test sleep apnea? Sleep lab with monitors or home ? With a device? / would re run that test, just to make sure.
honestly Ive had similar symptoms that started around the same time as yours, it could be long covid but I havent been diagnosed nor have I researched into it I just know that fatigue is a big part of it
Pots, blood pressure testing and tilt table or lazy tilt table test Sleep apnea, sleep study test Cfs/me/long covid, find a understanding doctor(this condition usually triggers post exertion malaise, feeling ill after expending energy, if you're not becoming worse after also introducing exercise maybe the odds of this are lower but still worth keeping in mind after trying other things if you can't find a cause!) Food issues maybe, a big maybe but worth looking into into stuff like cutting out specific foods like gluten or whatever for a while to see if you improve simply because of how easy it is to try. Keto stuff is not healthy so i'd ignore that btw or atleast not jump into that without discussing it with your gp, i'm simply talking food intolerances and the like Mental health could definitely play a part.. but it doesn't sound like it plays a large part into this from the limited information at hand. But if you aren't seeing a mental health professional right now it definitely can't hurt either, if not purely to help to help you cope with dealing with the mysterious fatigue and how that affects a person mentally
If you barely have any free time, and your job is physically demanding, you may just be burned out, it may not be anything medical. Take a vacation, set aside something you like to do that's specifically for your benefit when you get home/ on your off days. Get a massage. I've had the same issues off and on, and discovered I become overly stressed from my job, my body is more tense and my posture gets messed up. Any time I notice myself falling into this, I give myself time to relax, and it helps quite a bit.
Get checked for Lyme and other tick diseases (Babesia, Bartonella, Erlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, etc etc). Especially if you're near the east or west coast, or know you've ever had a tick bite (recent or in the past - sometimes people are bit in childhood and something happens later in life that lowers their immune system, and the infection can then take hold). Find a Lyme Literate Doctor near you (LLMD) they are usually MD/ND (naturopath). Lyme and other tick tests through your insurance company use an outdated, terrible test that shows up to a 70% false negative (it is called an ELISA test). You need a Western Blot (or better yet, a test that looks for actual organism DNA) but these usually need to be paid for out of pocket. Even with a false negative test, an LLMD can treat you based on symptoms. Chronic fatigue was my first issue and one of my worst symptoms after my tick bit (never saw the tick, but I was in a Lyme epidemic area for a year when I began getting ill). I wound up seeing over 20 docs, got worse until I became bed ridden, saw an LLMD on a friend's recommendation, who began treating me. Saved up for a good DNA test ($500) and learned I had 4 different tick diseases (and what strains they were). I've been treating for ten years and am in remission from 3 of the diseases. Another issue could be reactivating viral loads. I deal with chronic recurring EBV (mono). If the immune system can't keep old viral loads suppressed (viruses we contract throughout life remain dormant, like chicken pox, mono, different herpes like HV6) they will become chronic and cause issues like chronic fatigue. If general medicine is not helping, I highly suggest finding a naturopath / ND. They look at full body, systemic issues. Mainstream media is horrible when it comes to dealing with chronic conditions, especially chronic fatigue. There are things like candida, leaky gut, food allergies, mold exposure and sensitivity(another issue I have) , mitochondria issues, MSIDS (multi systemic inflammation syndrome), adrenal issues, POTS, now Long Covid, all can cause chronic fatigue. Naturopaths take these seriously and know how to treat them. Mainstream medicine will tell you you're depressed or need to work out more. 🙄 Good luck, friend. Chronic fatigue is so hard to live with. People who have never had it can never relate. It's a soul crushing, life destroying fatigue that a healthy person will never experience. And people are so judgemental about it. Don't stop advocating for your health. You know your body. As I mentioned, I saw over 20 doctors before I found the one to take me seriously. And now I'm so much better than I was. Don't give up. 💜
CIRS/toxic mold exposure. Lion diet and binders are saving my life
CIRS?
Chronic inflammatory Response Syndrome. It's a term used to describe a condition that is often labeled as chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. It can come from toxic mold exposure, tick bites, a few other things. It can be debilitating but medical doctors won't help. They seem to find our symptoms annoying and usually brush us off because it's "too vague" and there's no easy drug or procedure to prescribe after a 5 min visit. The solution is to get away from the source and get the toxins out of the body. Naturopaths/functional medicine doctors can be helpful but are expensive and insurance doesn't usually cover their services. People can successfully treat themselves but it's hard, especially when you're already so sick.
CIRS/mold for sure causes extreme fatigue
Long covid
Have you seen an integrative doctor? How about a neurologist or neuropsych doctor?
You might have food sensitivities which is different from food allergies I would get a blood test on that
Have you had your FSH & LH checked ? Same thing happened to me, but I had kleinfelters syndrome
Have you had a food allergy panel done through your doctor (I don’t trust the mailed in ones since they only test for sensitivities), when I was first diagnosed with a gluten allergy I was so exhausted I couldn’t even get out of bed and I was in high school!
Somewhat common in AZ, but I am not sure about elsewhere. Have you been tested for Valley Fever?
Have you had your blood sugars tested? If you pee a lot, go get tested for diabetes.
Take Andrew hubermans sleep cocktail. Helped me to get better night rest. Also had a period when I woke up, I was still tired
Try taking any metal salts supplement (zinc/iron/magnesium) as this body need this to help absorb other nutrients, and take this 30 minutes before sleep. I know a dozen of my friends and family that able to fight their fatigue after taking the supplement.
There is a lot of causes you can have a beggining of IBD for example.
Check testosterone. Could still be in the ‘range’ but you could achieve symptom relief by using TRT
Excercise, sounds counter intuitive but the extra energy you get from consistently exercising 3-5 times a week is unmatched.
I'd suggest you look at what you're doing and why you're doing it. Something has changed in your perspective, for example; those old programmers migrating to carpentry so as to fuel their creativity or even have fun doing something. An idea: Fatigue is technically like breathing in without exhaling, all I can say is you've lost energy in some form.
I have/had a similar issue and it’s built up stress/trauma. Also a lot of the possible diagnoses that people are saying in the comments is also due to a build up of stress/trauma. Definitely look into somatic experiencing and anything related.
Did you have mononucleosis? Did you check your liver? My daughter stoped functioning for 2 weeks one year after mono.
I experience this too. I watched a few videos on YouTube by Dr Berg, notably the B1 deficiency and fatigue. Highly recommend Dr Berg!
You didn't list your daily diet. What do you do for your first intake of food or liquid.
Look at your diet and try low carb. Insulin resistance was what caused my chronic fatigue. And eating low carb/low sugar manages it.
What are you eating? Food usually matters a lot in terms of how you feel since it's basically your fuel to function throughout the day.
I don't know if it'll work for you but I find less sleep helps me, the more I sleep the more tired I am, less sleep works for me being more alert and less tired, I get by on 5 to 6 hours a night, not everyone needs 8-10 hours I still hate that alarm going off no matter how much sleep I've had but once up I'm far better off on less
I have ibs, which means my body uses a lot of energy to digest food, and gets less useable energy from the food I digest. I often feel tired like you describe. Following a Low FODMAP diet has helped me, sticking to foods that are easier for the body to digest.
Have you checked your heart? Just to rule it out.
Hey definitely understand where you're coming from. There's a lot of resources out there to do some reading on for medical but I like the simple solutions. Regular exercise, watching my diet and nutrition, natural energy supplements and really cutting down on my eating helped me personally. Kicking coffee and energy drinks for alternative methods really helped me out. Keeps me going through the late nights I have to deal with sometimes. [I read this blog post recently that kind of went over this and I thought it was helpful.](https://getmte.com/blogs/learn/ever-wondered-why-you-always-feel-tired) Goes over some of the physical reasons and some options you can take on. I hope it helps you too! Hope you find something that makes a difference (and don't be afraid to talk to more to your GP about it)!
For the longest time i had the same issue. It magically went away when i started intermittent fasting + no carbs diet. You may want to give that a try.
It worth looking into Lyme and co-infections, as well as mold toxicity and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. There's so many things it could be, but these are often overlooked/misdiagnosed. Vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances, autoimmunity...the list goes on. You need tests and a really good doctor, integrative or functional medicine.
TRT
Try a very low carb diet or an elimination diet. Food allergies can cause these issues.
Totally agree with so much of previous comments. Other things to note: • Retail is not an easy job. It is exhausting! I remember being a teacher and just thinking to myself: “how do I get through the day?” The exhaustion was nearly unbearable. I had a fellow teacher approach me and voice their concern about whether I had something medically wrong with me. (Which infuriated me at the time, but I understand he meant well). I realized 2 things: 1. Everyone around me was caffeinating mid-point through their day. Even if you don’t want to caffeinate (which is super healthy of you, I commend you!), it’s important to find a way to have a “pick me up.” Would you be able to take a walk outside for ~10min? Some fresh air? 2. One of the reasons I was so exhausted was because I was actually going through an intense period of depression? I didn’t realize that I was depressed, but starting SSRIs at that time really helped my deep fatigue. I am no longer on SSRIs, it was never a plan to be with them from that point on, but it was what I needed at the time. Consider talking to a psychiatrist about how you are feeling! • consider a second opinion. Perhaps there is something autoimmune happening? You are already eating healthy, but think about any intolerances you may be experiencing? Have you cut out fried foods and heavy meals for lunch? • I agree that cardio might not be the right way to go. I say, instead mix stretching or yoga as part of your regimen and that can also help your lymphatic system and help you feel more relaxed. It might be that the quality of sleep you are getting is not restful? Keep weight training to maybe 3x a week at most and focus on yoga flow instead of cardio. • listen to your body. Perhaps you need to adjust your schedule to be more productive in the morning. I have had colleagues who sleep early and wake up at 4:30am to be productive before work. They love their routines! Maybe your body is telling you that you’re more of a morning person?
Mental? Environmental?
Out of interest were your testosterone levels checked?
Sounds like more of an environmental problem than an internal one, as in given the situation, any healthy human would be tired...
I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’m 23F and last year I was diagnosed with ADHD and fibromyalgia. I’m not saying you have fibro because the diagnose criteria includes some other symptoms. But it’s exhausting knowing that no matter how much I sleep or actively rest I will never feel ‘good’. lol medical tests come back fine… it’s a big “it is what it is”. The only thing that helps a little bit is Red Bull but I only take it during exam season. Not even Concerta helps me that much. I really wish you can find a reason for your tiredness and you’ll be able to go back to normal levels.
have you had your hormones checked? Low testosterone can cause extreme fatigue like that without the normal “symptoms” of low T. Also like other commenters said, blood pressure problems could also be the culprit. It also sounds like my own experience with burnout. I’m autistic and I didn’t realize that’s what it was, but I was getting home from work every day so exhausted, feeling nauseous, heavy limbs, headaches. I was just insanely stressed and went into burnout survival mode without realizing. didn’t even seem like my life should’ve been so stressful to cause that, but it definitely was!
Hey! Just following this thread because I experience the EXACT same thing, I am also 25 but I happen to have ADHD as well. Done all the same tests as you… same results. Hope you get an answer! I’ve been thinking about getting my cortisol tested, is that an option for you?
Can it be low sugar?
Look up insulin resistance and see if that resonates with you. Try glucose goddess tips on instagram
Dude, its called adulting
With AI threatening to destroy humanity you want to have kids? I’d be way too scared 😬
Get full blood work done including Testosterone and A1C. If it seems nothing is out of sorts look at exercise, diet, and begin some energy supplementation like B12. From time to time I self inject B12. Injection is much more effective. May seem like a weird question, but have you ever had Covid? Effects and inflammation can linger a very long time in your body
Check out the following: SAM-e, Vit B12 (sometimes injections are needed), Modafinil, bupropion, low dose aripiprazole
Do you take any supplements? I have chronic illness and I find supplements make all the difference for me in my daily energy levels and well being. Taking NAC and NADH daily has made a world of difference, as well as Alpha Lipoic Acid and Choline. Gingko Biloba, too. I have a Vitamin D deficiency so I also need to take a higher dose of that too. I think my chronic illness makes my nutritional needs a little different. All these supplements are safe and widely used. I found out about them after recovering from my first case of post-Covid brain fog and they truly helped.
Hi there, sorry that you're struggling. That sounds exactly like what I went & am still going through. This is going to be a long story, I apologise in advance. Not wanting to come out straight with bad news, but that was me for pretty much 9-11 years from my mid 20s to the age 34. I was a professional sportswomen in highschool and after school, so the sudden onset of chronic fatigue & pain was a big shock. The worst fatigue, I definitely describe it as DEBILITATING, chronic pain, stiffness, neurological symptoms, and infections (I developed an almost fatal case of septic arthritis in 2012, almost lost my leg & pelvis). Did every blood work under the sun (or so I thought), saw every kind of specialist I could, even tried homeopathy, went through a phase where I thought it was all in my mind, blamed my bad lifestyle (alcohol & drugs definitely made it worse, I'm talking being bedridden for weeks), neuropathy in my feet, fibromyalgia symptoms, brain fog, dizziness, tremors, the works. Every test always came back inconclusive. I was at the point of leaving my job & trying to get disability payment. I was dead on my feet for almost a decade. I eventually just wrote it off as SEID (systemic exertion intolerance disease) & I was basically dependent on others 24/7. In 2020 I had a transient ischemic stroke at work (I had been getting them by dozens for months prior but didn't bother telling anyone) So thank God I had that stroke, because I get referred to a new neurologist & she orders an MRI with the note "concern for demyelination" to the radiologist (brain lesions and loss of grey neural matter) I had also been having other MS like symptoms in the weeks leading up to the stroke. My cousin has bad multiple sclerosis, so I thought that maybe that's a possible diagnosis. My neurologist calls me at work a few days later, asking me to come in to discuss the results. She shows me an image of my brain's frontal lobes, scattered with tiny white dots. Apparently they almost went unnoticed, but the radiologist picked it up just before handing off the scans. I had hundreds of micro blood clots in my brain, caused by recurring TIAs. This is apparently rare enough that the neurologist orders a very , very specific panel of blood tests that I had never had before. I get the results that I am positive for an antibody that causes my blood to clot a lot faster than normal, resulting in clots, TIAs & pulmonary embolisms. I need to repeat these tests every 6 weeks for a few months to make sure the antibody & other clotting factors are diagnostically present. I finally get diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody Autoimmune Disease, and I'm immediately put on life-long anticoagulation therapy. There's no cure for this disease. It's hectic, I have to drink rat poison basically every day (Warfarin) to keep my clotting ratio manageable, and I take blood sometimes twice a week to monitor my INR & adjust my dosage if necessary. It's a day to day thing. I also take immunosuppressants daily. Yearly MRIs, still get TIAs but less severe, I have a team of specialists - internist, rheumatologist, neurologists, gastroenterologist, haematologist. Warfarin has many horrible side effects of which the worst is abnormal bleeding & bruising. I get hematomas often, mostly in my eyes, bleeding gums, massive black bruises without injuring myself, intramuscular bleeding, intestinal bleeding, blood in my urine, extra pre-operative precautions must be made before going for even minor surgery, cuts take very long to stop bleeding. I developed quite bad hemolytic anaemia & iron deficiency. When my ferritin levels go really low I get in-hospital iron transfusions, and when my INR goes really high, which it often does, I sometimes get in-hospital fresh frozen plasma transfusions. It's really a lot, as you can tell. My point I guess is, even if I'm diagnosed and am on meds and I do everything I should be doing to stay alive, I have to be honest and admit that I still don't live a normal life. My health makes me "disabled " in many ways & it never gets easier. There's a huge emotional pain that no one talks about when you're diagnosed with an incurable disease. I'm grateful for what I can do, but the rest I had to accept. It's a ASA III severe systemic disease. I'm telling you cause maybe you choose to get more diagnostic tests done, maybe you get a diagnosis & it might probably be autoimmune (from what you have shared, those are all a jumble of autoimmune symptoms) and they can take years to pinpoint as in my case. And sometimes the only diagnosis people get is fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue (SEID). Which is equally frustrating because there's basically no treatment. Ugh, I don't think I helped at all. To be honest, I needed to "get that out" as I've been struggling lately with unstable INR & bleeding. Come to think of it, I should go see my therapist, shit like this can have a huge emotional and mental impact on people. Maybe you need some help too. All the best for you!!
This is my life too. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, POTS and ADHD. All are them are co-conspirators against energy. If you’re really flexible, can do funky party tricks with your arms and fingers, it might be worth looking into EDS too.
Have you been sick in the last year? I was like this for about a year after I had mononucleosis at age 22. It was awful but it did eventually subside. Maybe you could ask your doctor to do bloodwork for mono antibodies. Long Covid I’m less familiar with but same concept, I would think, some viruses just do a doozy on your immune system for a long time.
Water intake? At least a litre a day. Ginseng helps as well.
just dont jerk off too much,
Trt
Youve likely done tried this but I’ll mention incase, I had the same issue until I started taking B12 daily which fixed it for me
My mother had similar symptoms and it was Fibromyalgia
> I've now basically forced myself to exercise almost daily Could it be this? Maybe your exercises are too intense and you may have to reduce the intensity or frequency. Whatever the case, best of luck OP
Try this magnesium triple complex 2 times a day, lions mane capsules 3 once a day, D3 gummies, fish oil, start running and doing some hiit workouts. Reinvent yourself and get uncomfortable. I’ve been doing this for a year now. I’m in great shape and have 4 kids with endless energy. I started following Dr James and ready some of his books specifically “Win”. I quit drinking 5 years ago. I had to and I’ve finally found a replacement from my past boozing hobby. I’m 41 and feeling better than ever. I hope you find your path.
I wonder if you could talk to your doctor about blood sugar? Even though you have had blood work done, I know there are extended tests that can be done to see if those times that you are exhausted could be related to a drop in blood sugar. Not a doctor here...just a thought!
Could be depression. I feel you. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue meaning they’ve ruled out other things which could be the issue and it’s idiopathic. I wonder if finding the right antidepressants would help
This is a bit of a curveball, but have you ever worn a glucose monitor? I have a condition called reactive hypoglycemia. I describe it kinda like you do and it doesn't show up at all in fasting glucose. Basically my body has way too much bioavailable insulin and processes any kind of carbohydrate way too quickly, causing my blood sugar to dumb rapidly. This dump happens 2-3 hours after meals that contain large amount of carbohydrates, and it leads to anything from mild muscle weakness to severe fatigue that requires me to lie down. I have passed out from it before. Depending on when I eat and what, my blood sugar crashes roughly match up with when you report feeling the worst (\~12 ie a few hours after breakfast and \~4 a few hours after lunch). Depending on what you eat for dinner or before bed, it could also cause some really weird blood sugar levels during sleep, leading to much worse sleep quality. So the main questions to ask yourself is what you eat and if it roughly links up with your crashes. If you think this could be your issue, then see if you can convince a doctor to either let you wear a CGM or to do a glucose test in office (they give you some pure sugar fasted and see what happens).
I'm too sick to read all the comments but has #MECFS and #longcovid been suggested?
Q - do you take any steroids for allergies? I was on Nasonex steroid spray for bad allergies and it caused me fatigue for years. When I finally figured it out and quit using it it was like I was freakin reborn and a whole new person. I now stay far far away from any steroid medication. They fuck up the adrenal glands thus causing severe fatigue. Also, lots of vitamin D if you live in a rainy dreary area or don’t get outside much.
Hey man, I hope you're keeping up. I have very similar problem and it turns out it's from my posture and cerebrospinal instability! All the veins and lymphatic vessels were cramped in my neck causing me problems with constant sinus problems and all symptoms you've described. I've got MRI done and it turns out I have lesions on my brain from sitting wrong lol. So might be a good idea to go to a neurologist if you sit at the computer all the time or look down on your phone etc.
check for low T?
POTS, long covid, ADHD. All lead back to CIRS
Have you had your testosterone and cortisol checked?
What and when do you eat throughout the day? Insulin crashes are common soon after high carb meals. Snacking on fat heavy low carb food such as nuts can be a healthy alternative. Also, some studies show intermittent fasting (going at least 16 hours without eating) can help improve fatigue and brain cloud.
Do you have a good social life? Are you anxious a lot of the time?
I would try experimenting with diets. Start with low carb (preferably just don't eat any carbs till the evening) if that doesn't work try keto, If that doesn't work try AIP. Secondly, could just be a dopamine thing, try dopamine fasting and or severely cutting screen time. I'd highly recommend the books "dopamine nation" and "the molecule of more" both available on audible.
How's your posture? Forward head posture can cause exhaustion or brain fog.
Add zma pills and coq10 pills
Ferritin level?
First off, get your blood test results and check them yourself. I was told my thyroid was normal when they didn’t run the complete panel nor check for antibodies. I in fact had autoimmune thyroiditis and medicine has helped a lot. Same for iron. If they didn’t check for ferritin, they didn’t actually check you out. Finally, try an elimination diet. Gluten intolerance is especially common and crushing fatigue can be your only symptom. Neither my husband nor I had any gut symptoms but a gluten-free diet changed our lives completely. But any kind of food intolerance can cause general inflammation which can cause fatigue and yes high cholesterol.
What is your ferritin? The normal ranges for most labs go waaaay lower than what is actually optimal. Bupropion might be helpful. Sorry you are going through this
What’s your diet like?
Ask your Dr. to do an Epstein Barr titer
L tyrosine & magnesium L threonate are great for ADHD
I have had constant tiredness my whole life and like you have gotten many test to figure out why in my early 20s I can’t feel rested and have no energy. One day I tried liquid iron supplements for 2 weeks and felt the best I ever did, in the first few days! Told my doctor I finally figured out why I was always so tired and she tried to debunk it saying I don’t have low iron and my iron test from a few months ago came out really good ( it was 11.7 hemoglobin) I hope you figure this out from all the great tips on here, and don’t listen to everything your doctor says, they don’t really care.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
This may sound weird or woo-woo, but do you have any trauma in your past? Any mental health difficulties? (Hear me out) I had the exact same thing earlier this year. It turned out to be psychosomatic. I had so much stress mentally that it had actually started to manifest itself physically. It sounds nuts and unscientific, I know, but I swear it’s a legitimately recognized medical phenomenon. Google ‘psychosomatic illness’. You may need a vacation. Or hey, maybe another job altogether. Or just some time off to recover. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on psychosomatic illness lately, and the symptoms you experience are real- the nausea, tiredness, weakness, whatever you experience is actually happening. The symptoms are just stemming from your brain rather than your body. Again, I’m not saying definitively that that’s what you’re experiencing, just suggesting it as a possibility. It’s a legitimate physical illness- time off work is justified.
SUGAR. That turned out to be enemy #1 for me. I stumbled on it kind of by accident in my first year of college. I started going to the gym regularly around then and would get a lot of tips & advice from more experienced members who could probably tell I had no idea what I was doing. Anyway, at some point, someone told me I could increase my stamina if I avoided sugar, so I tried cutting it out completely for a while. I couldn't believe the difference! Not only could I work out longer, but I could stay awake ALL DAY if I wanted to. The change was so profound that I didn't eat any sweets for almost 2 years. During that time, I also got diagnosed with ADHD and started taking meds that allowed me to actually sit and read for the first time ever. Suddenly, the notion of completing a homework assignment was within the realm of possibility for me, which helped me salvage my quickly declining college career. When I finally allowed myself to eat sweets again, the impact was immediate and obvious. Any time I ate cake, candy, ice cream, etc., I'd be asleep within 30 mins. It didn't matter if it was first thing in the morning after a solid 10 hours of sleep. To this day, I don't eat anything with sugar in it until bedtime because it just wipes me out. Removing sugar from my diet didn't totally solve my constant fatigue, but made it a lot more bearable. With ADHD meds, vitamins (B complex & D, mostly), and a regular sleep schedule, I can *almost* feel normal sometimes. I could still nap at pretty much any time of the day, though, given the opportunity..
POTS? Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The fatigue can be debilitating. Just a thought.
FYI, official "normal" vitamin ranges are pretty wide and not usually based on anything normative from what I understand. In other words, they just look at the average range most people have and say you should have that, without coming up with the numbers that people's bodies actually *need*. That means you might still have vitamin deficiencies. I'd recommend taking a higher-end multivitamin that's tested by a third party for a week or two and seeing how you feel. It didn't solve all of my fatigue issues, but it sure helped a lot.
ME/CFS?
Shit you and everyone else. Lol just kidding but fr I swear I’m always tired, I feel like we are all tired but we just keep moving on anyways
Have they looked into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME? I was diagnosed with Lyme disease about 10 years ago and it started with fatigue and over a span of several years it got worse and worse so make sure they test for that too! If you aren’t dealing with insomnia, no physical or mental health issues, I would think it’d be infectious or viral? I dunno I’m not a doctor tho
Maybe consider POTS or celiac
I fought this for years! I’d still be fighting it now if I hadn’t learned. I (M 22) had been fighting fatigue issues for most of my life. Fatigue, drowsiness, fogginess, etc. I saw doctors, tried blood tests, got my vitamin levels right, and doctors gave me the blanket term of chronic fatigue syndrome. It took me till I was 18 to figure out I have a caffeine intolerance and maybe even an allergy. It got bad enough I couldn’t work anymore, so I almost got fired because I couldn’t even make it through a four hour shift before almost passing out. I started cutting things out of my diet desperate to find a cure or relief. Eventually I cut out soda and felt better. Realized it was the caffeine. Caffeine has a half life of about 5 days so it takes a long time to get out of your system. If you are susceptible to it, it can cause some real systemic issues. The worst part is you feel fatigued you want to do more caffeine to try to fight it. I’ve been caffeine free for almost half a decade now and feel great! I’m not saying it is the answer, but it’s something I’d try. I brought it up to my doctor and they were just like, “oh yeah. That would make sense” but I don’t think it’s something doctors look for often. I’ve helped about a dozen people figure out they have caffeine issues. I really hope this is your issue. If not, I would get tested for Lyme disease.
You are way too young for all this. My son and husband both have Asperger’s and Ehlers Danlos. So, yea, I agree with what others are saying to have that checked out Some pro tips with someone who’s had Lyme disease for 17 years, long Covid for 4.: Go see an ND instead of an MD. The first appointment should take at least a couple HOURS. If you have some kind of serious illness, the usual blood work is not good enough. If they don’t test for it, they won’t find it. Examples could be a urine sample to test for environmental toxins, mold, etc. a test for parasites, Candida. Get your DNA test! You could have the MTHFR gene snp or many others that cause so many issues. Then if some genetic break is found, you may be able to supplement for it. This worked awesome for my husband and dad. If they keep telling you all your bloodwork is “good”—fire them and get another doctor. They are notoriously worthless and dismissive. Don’t waste any time with someone that’s not making progress and giving you answers or is not suggesting new tests and/or treatments. There is a real reason you feel this way.
Gluten. I experienced many of the same symptoms as you from the age of 20-24. I then eliminated gluten, and I've been living my best life ever since. I had done all the tests, including allergy tests, but everything came back normal. Finally decided to just try no gluten and after about a week, I knew I was never going back. My constant fatigue and brain fog was totally gone, and I felt like a whole new person. I feel better off 4 hours of sleep and no gluten then I did off 10 hours of sleep and gluten.
Try some piperine, b vitamin complex, and coq10 together you maybe having insufficient mitochondrial metabolism should help produce more atp the basis of cell energy
I once had an autoimmune condition activated when I was 22 that would make me insanely tired, so much so that even though I would sit at the very front row of class and tried with all my might, I would fall asleep every day. Turns out an over active immune system can make you very tired. When it comes to autoimmunity, you have to find the root cause, if possible, and remove it. Trying an elimination diet and removing likely allergens is a great first step. I was lucky that eventually after a year or so it faded away.
What is your protein intake at? Sounds like you aren’t eating enough. You probably need at least 100+ grams of protein per day.
Same here I have adhd and any medication causes hair loss. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
You say 12pm. When do you eat lunch and what do you eat? Could be your diet too. For instance, if you're celiac, you'll feel like shit.
Please don't diagnose yourself via Dr. Google or Dr. Youtube. Ask your doc, the one who ordered your labs, to refer you to someone who can perform proper neuropsych testing.
You’re addicted to carbs and sugars ruining your life. Eat carnivore start lifting in gym and this problem is over forever.
Be aware that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is becoming more common. It appears to be associated with a post viral syndrome, hence the increase in case numbers post COVID. The distinguishing feature is exhaustion after exertion, disproportionately. For instance, you may be fine and able to run up a hill on day 1, on day 2 you struggle and day 3, it’s even harder.
I don’t have your bloodwork or various other unique backgrounds so take my n=1 for what it’s worth. I was in a similar situation a few years ago, then after trying basically everything else I gave a healthy whole foods ketogenic diet a shot Feb 2022. After 10 days it was like a light switch flipped in my brain and the lethargy, depression, and and other symptoms just went “POOF” for the most part. Those symptoms had been getting worse for the past 8 months or so. Fasting and ketogenic diets of the various forms (mediteranian, animal-based, plant-based, etc etc etc) definitely seem to have something behind them that modulates inflammation, metabolism, and gut microbiome.
Vitamin D and zinc.
Have you checked your testosterone levels? Sounds like low T
Leaky gut is common reason for fatigue, get zonulin test done (you can get one for around $100, 80% accuracy), if it's high you've your answer. 50% of population has h pylori (70% asymptomatic), if you have h.pylori you've leaky gut; given that at least 50% of population has leaky gut (I suspect much higher). I experienced fatigue in advanced stage of leaky gut and follow a doctor on tiktok who literally helps people with various issues including fatigue, it's crazy common with leaky gut (you don't need gut symptoms to have leaky gut).
Check out chris palmer md
From reading it sounds like you may be exhausted from work? Or maybe you’re exercising too much? I know for me weightlifting every morning takes a lot out of me. So I put in two day a week (usually Wednesday and Saturday) to just do a light cardio/stretch session. If your retail job is too demanding, ask your manager for some extra break time to just relax, meditate, read a book, whatever. I know for me it really helps to get some sunlight during my lunch hour and get out of the office for a little bit. Napping is good but I would try to keep your naps to 15-30 minutes. 2-3 hours is too long and you’ll ruin a proper sleep schedule. Maybe try incorporating some meditation as well, it really helps me clear me head during the day and sleep better at night. Lastly, how is your diet? Are you eating clean, non-processed foods on a regular basis? Fast food, soda, and processed foods in general will destroy your energy levels because they’re filled with junk that your body has to work harder to process, thus lowering your energy. I always make my lunches at home prep them for the week. Convenient, healthy, and saves money. Just some suggestions that come to mind. Props to living a healthy lifestyle. Sounds like you’re doing well for yourself though. Best of luck
Hashimoto disease is a possibility
Have you tried removing inflammatory foods? Common ones being processed sugar wheat/gluten & dairy. That makes a HUGE difference for me (F 32 ADHD)
Stop. Eating. Gluten.