Relentless fatigue, weakness, and aching. I feel so done.

[WorryRaptor]

I'm actually kind of worried about it being Addisons disease. The symptoms really fit, but my GP isn't testing for it. To be fair, it was a short appointment and we had a lot of info to work through.
The bouts of unrelenting fatigue are a hallmark sign of Addisons. It's not something I googled, I just know about it as a friend has it and was misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue for years. I never really made the connection until I remembered him talking about it and how he would just crash out of the blue and everything took monumental effort. Finally when his adrenal glands were damaged to the point where his symptoms became a lot more constant, he was sent to a specialist who diagnosed him.

I'm not saying I definitely have this, just that it's a worry in the back of my mind. My GP does think I have something going on that isn't anxiety, but it's been about six years of other doctors telling me I'm anxious, and I'm a little disillusioned by the whole thing. I'm so glad she's listening to me, yet I'm terrified that I'll hit a dead end or be misdiagnosed.

Stress and anxiety can trigger episodes due to low cortisol levels in Addisons. I wonder how many people with this condition were dismissed as "just stressed" when really it was a chicken or egg situation.

[Beckybecks]

I know it's been a month since you posted so I hope you're still on this forum.
I read all your posts with interest as I have had such similar and unexplained episodes.
I've had anxiety for over 25 years now and that includes many panic attacks, health anxiety and phobias. Like you I've done all I could to treat this disorder.

For about 20 years now I've been having random attacks of an "illness" that no doctor could identify. They're happy to diagnose anxiety and yes, I agree that anxiety can cause all sorts of symptoms and damage. But nobody can tell me what's wrong or how to fix it.

I did see a Dr some years back who said it was inflammation due to all the stress hormones activated during panic attacks which flood the system.
I had blood tests done which he said showed adrenal insufficiency. I looked it up to find Addisons. But I don't have all the symptoms so I don't know. I was treated with various vitamins and supplements.
It did ease up but it always comes back.

I find that this strange illness seems to rear its ugly head after I've been through a stressful situation. Where I've probably panicked and released plenty of adreninto my system. About a week or so later, I get ill. Aches and pains, feelings feverish, dizzy or light headed and very weak in my limbs and a feeling I'm shaking inside.

Remember when the solders came back from the middle east war and felt ill and they called it gulf war syndrome. Remember Shell shock from the world war.
Or PTSD from the Vietnam War. I don't think they know enough about this condition.

I was reading your last post and realized that when I'm going through these periods of illness I feel slightly worse after a meal. So I'm really wondering now how all of this is linked, chronic anxiety, adrenal insufficiency, inflammation, food intolerances......

You've been so fortunate to find a doctor to listen and try to help you. Could you possibly share what treatment or diet you've been prescribed and whether or not you've had any success yet?

Thank you.
Becky

[WorryRaptor]

I know it's been a month since you posted so I hope you're still on this forum.
I read all your posts with interest as I have had such similar and unexplained episodes.
I've had anxiety for over 25 years now and that includes many panic attacks, health anxiety and phobias. Like you I've done all I could to treat this disorder.

For about 20 years now I've been having random attacks of an "illness" that no doctor could identify. They're happy to diagnose anxiety and yes, I agree that anxiety can cause all sorts of symptoms and damage. But nobody can tell me what's wrong or how to fix it.

I did see a Dr some years back who said it was inflammation due to all the stress hormones activated during panic attacks which flood the system.
I had blood tests done which he said showed adrenal insufficiency. I looked it up to find Addisons. But I don't have all the symptoms so I don't know. I was treated with various vitamins and supplements.
It did ease up but it always comes back.

I find that this strange illness seems to rear its ugly head after I've been through a stressful situation. Where I've probably panicked and released plenty of adreninto my system. About a week or so later, I get ill. Aches and pains, feelings feverish, dizzy or light headed and very weak in my limbs and a feeling I'm shaking inside.

Remember when the solders came back from the middle east war and felt ill and they called it gulf war syndrome. Remember Shell shock from the world war.
Or PTSD from the Vietnam War. I don't think they know enough about this condition.

I was reading your last post and realized that when I'm going through these periods of illness I feel slightly worse after a meal. So I'm really wondering now how all of this is linked, chronic anxiety, adrenal insufficiency, inflammation, food intolerances......

You've been so fortunate to find a doctor to listen and try to help you. Could you possibly share what treatment or diet you've been prescribed and whether or not you've had any success yet?

Thank you.
Becky

Hi Becky,

Thanks for your reply, and sorry I didn't get to this sooner.

Sorry to hear you're dealing with so much too. It's a horrid feeling isn't it. I really hope you can find some answers, and subsequently, relief from these symptoms.

The past month has been quite a rollercoaster for me health wise, so the jury is still out on some of the things I've been trying. I wish I had a more concrete answer for you, but I'll go through some of the things I really feel made a difference. Sorry if there's a wall of detail, I just try to get everything down in case there's anything that might help!

Firstly, what you say about inflammation is really standing out to me, and I'm actually starting to believe it's the cause of anxiety for many people. So, we're not worrying ourselves into the illness, rather the inflammation is raising anxiety levels and making the illness worse.

The doctor I spoke to about this said for me to blame anxiety would only be plastering over a crack that my system was already struggling with. They explained that the anxiety I'm personally experiencing is just another symptom of an underlying illness. Food, environment, and stressors can cause widespread inflammation in the body and lead to aches, dizziness, digestive problems, and weakness. Stress hormones get released all day, and your body is exhausted by it. So when you go to your doctor with these mystery symptoms that seem to be from all over the body, their first thought is anxiety and they just try to treat that. Yet you still feel sick, and have no answers.

I definitely found an improvement with the diet the doctor put me on. I went completely gluten, dairy and sugar free (apart from natural sugars in fruits etc) and it made a huge difference to my pain levels within about a week. I started feeling more improvements after two weeks. Unfortunately, as my previous GP wanted to test for celiac, I had to go back to standard diet after the third week. Low and behold, the chronic pain returned. However, I tested negative for a gluten allergy (then I discovered many people can test negative if they've previously cut out gluten and it hasn't built up in their system enough to detect) I did however, have high inflammation markers. I was also extremely low in folate and my GP gave me folic acid supplements to get my levels back up.

A very interesting thing happened when I was eating clean, whole foods. My "anxiety" faded tremendously. Not completely, but enough to be noticeable by people around me. I just looked more comfortable in myself if that makes sense. Probably because my pain was lessened, I wasn't dizzy, and those weak spells hadn't happened. Recently, when I started taking folate, I felt a similar reduction in the anxiety. A symptom of low folate can be...anxiety! It can also cause fatigue, muscle weakness, and headaches. It might be worth getting your b12 and folate levels checked by your doctor as a potential cause.

So, in case this helps you, the foods and changes I stuck to were: Gluten free (where possible, but if you tolerate it, don't worry about cutting it out completely, just try to reduce breads and simple carbs like white bread, pasta etc). No processed foods at all. No dairy. Brown rice, lentil pasta and quinoa for slow release carbs. Meat was mostly fish and chicken with some red meat now and then. Lots and lots of leafy greens and salads. Lots of veggies in general. Small amounts of fruit for sugar. Vegetable soups played a big part in what I ate. I added fermented kimchi for good gut bacteria as problems with this can also cause anxiety in the body too. I gave up soda. I made sure to stay hydrated, but I didn't stick to the strict 8 glasses of water a day (that's a myth). I drank when I was thirsty, and I spaced my water evenly throughout the day. I made sure I kept a regular sleep schedule to try and give my body a routine.

This was definitely working. Maybe it wasn't fixing everything, but I 100% felt positive changes and I was improving day by day. My body felt calmer inside, like it had less to struggle with.

Unfortunately I got stopped in my tracks due to a tooth extraction going wrong. They popped the tooth out, the socket refused to heal three times until they put me on really strong antibiotics to prevent a jaw infection, which then landed me in hospital with liver inflammation and tachycardia. So I'm currently slowly getting back to the original plan, while waiting for my body to recover from all of that.

I'll update this thread with some slightly more coherent information when I'm back in track!

I hope some of that was helpful, and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them

[BadCompany]

Please give an update
I have a lot of your symptoms plus left side joint pain....very scary

[WorryRaptor]

Please give an update
I have a lot of your symptoms plus left side joint pain....very scary

If you take a look at my reply to Becky earlier, you can read my recent update. Still recovering from the other stuff mentioned, but will update this thread when I have a bit more energy! Hope you feel an improvement in your symptoms soon

[WorryRaptor]

I promised to update this, so I will try

Changing my diet has helped tremendously with pain levels, migraines and bouts of tachycardia. Unfortunately, the weakness/exhaustion and numbness has stuck around. I created another post about left sided numbness and tingling getting worse recently, but wanted to update here in case anyone is reading.

So doctors are guessing my neurological issues are coming from my neck, namely some kind of pressure on the spinal cord from cysts/growths/discs, or misalignment squishing something or inflaming something. My joints are extremely hypermobile (my ligaments are too stretchy and don't keep everything nice and tight and this runs in my family). They ran an MRI on my head and neck, but instability due to hypermobility doesn't tend to get picked up on a supine scan. I've yet to get the full report from that at my next appointment.

So in short, I'm in a bit of a limbo while they try to figure things out. I'm just getting on with my day, making sure I don't do any heavy lifting or twisting. Oddly, when faced with very real symptoms recognised in a clinical setting, I'm not "anxious". (I lost sensation all down my left side and there was a marked difference when they examined me). I'm trusting the doctors to do what they need to do.

[Scass]

It’s good to see how positive you are being, and that you are making changes for yourself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WorryRaptor]

It’s good to see how positive you are being, and that you are making changes for yourself.

Thanks Scass

[Andermant]

How do you deal with mood swings? I notice in myself that the deterioration of my health makes me frail and apathetic. Well, it's hard to be cheerful when you're sick, but this state remains strong even when the acute pain periods pass. I'm sad because I'm weak and can't function properly. Recently I started reading articles from here https://7goodminutes.com/definitions...th-definition/. I understand that I can't allow my mental state to deteriorate as much as my physical state.