Why am I soooooooooooooooooooooo tired?!?!?!

[babygrant]

I've been getting 10 hours of sleep a night, and I could still sleep for at least 5 hours. 

I had my gallbladder out just over a month ago.  I'm still very nauseated at times so I have a hard time eating sometimes.  During those times I can tell my blood sugar is off, so I'll eat whatever I can force down.  I live in BC canada, so very very little sunshine.  I've been taking 1000 iu of vitamin D, a multivitamin, sublingual B complex, and 500 mg of viamin C.  I have a history of anxiety and still have a bit of lingering anxiety.  Maybe a contributing factor to some of the nausea.  I have a bottle of theanine....but I'm scared to take it (I'm always afraid of a reaction).

Any ideas what I can take/do to fight this fatigue?  I've had my thyroid checked and it was ok.

[Nosebite]

Have you had you iron levels checked?

[babygrant]

I had a CBC done and it was fine....I'm thinking iron would be tied in with a CBC.

[kjbrown92]

Have you had your thyroid checked?

I don't think 1000iu of Vitamin D is enough. I thought 2000 was the minimum recommended these days?

[babygrant]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 

Have you had your thyroid checked?

I don't think 1000iu of Vitamin D is enough. I thought 2000 was the minimum recommended these days?

Thyroid was checked yes.  Levels I believe were 0.74.  Normal is anywhere above 0.50.  I thought the new studies came out that vitamin d wasn't even recommended anymore?

[Crafty]

Have you been checked for Epstein Barr/mono? I was sleeping 16+ hours a day and everything came back normal on my blood test, until my psychiatrist listened to me complain about being tired, told me I looked exhausted and then asked if I'd ever been tested for EB. I hadn't, so she ordered some blood tests, and sure enough, it was EB. By that time, the infection wasn't...what's the word I'm looking for? Active? and I was actually starting to feel better for the first time in a year- it took me a REALLY long time to recover, and now, every time I'm more tired than normal, I panic that it's EB coming back. As far as I know, there's not all that much they can do for EB, but man, it would've been nice to KNOW, instead of my dh assuming I was lazy or me just figuring it was because I was a mom and moms are just tired...

Good luck, I hope you find some answers. That kind of fatigue is just wretched.

[Marnica]

adrenal fatigue perhaps.......

[crunchy_mommy]

I had been the same way for years (I can pinpoint almost to the day it started!!!) and by this time last year I couldn't even function. It was horrible. 5-6mos ago I cut out all gluten completely & I am feeling much better. Still not 100%, so I think there is something else going on (or it's taking awhile to heal from all the gluten damage? I suspect I have celiac's) but I can function now!!! That would be something to try, it would take a couple weeks to see a difference (and you may feel worse for the first week or so) but it's relatively easy/cheap/low-risk compared to other tests & treatments... However, it doesn't sound like you have had a very thorough blood panel if all you had was a CBC... Depending on your other symptoms, I'd have things like your T3 & T4 levels checked, ferritin levels, possibly autoimmune diseases -- rheumatoid arthritis, celiac... lyme disease... I guess I'm saying, go back to your doctor & see if s/he can get to the bottom of this!

[Ethelpea]

Get checked for Epstein Barr, as a pp suggested.  I was the same way, tired beyond belief for years, before I was diagnosed.  I fought mine off with mega doses of vitamin c.  I probably took in excess of 80 grams (80,000 mg) a day for weeks and NEVER hit tolerance, when I finally did hit tolerance, I felt like a different person, instantly.  I know most people can't stomach the amount of vitamin c I took orally - if I had known about intravenous vitamin c back then, I would have definitely gone that route.

I know I also took some other supplements to help, but can't remember what they were - except I do remember taking a zinc supplement and a mega probiotics because after my blood/stool/saliva workup, it was determined I had almost ZERO beneficial microbes in my system.

I also cut out gluten and dairy. 

Good luck.

[sbgrace]

I would imagine your vitamin D levels are low. You can get a 25(OH) D drawn and see what they are. You want 50's or above. But you could also just supplement as if at levels safe no matter your levels. That's what I would do given your location and present supplementing. For comparison the average person needs 1000 IU per day per 25 pounds to maintain their current levels. So 1000 IU per day is less D than you need to maintain a level. You're almost certainly low. A healthy adult can take up to 10,000 IU per day of D3 without any toxicity. So I'd recommend you take 10,000 IU 6 days per week of D3. If you want you could do 5,000 on that off day too. That's to keep you at the less than 10,000 per day level. But I'm sure you're low and I'd supplement. You can use 5,000 IU capsules/caplets for easier dosing of those high amounts.

Chronic epstein bar has been shown to be linked to mitochondrial issues so if that is the case I'd likely look into mitochondrial stuff. That was my issue (along with low D and some mild sleep apnea to boot). I can give you mitochondrial information but my first step for you would be getting your D levels normalized.

Sleep issues are another possibility. I would have never dreamed I had mild apnea and in most cases my body was actually coming out of deep sleep before I had apnea to recover the airway.

[Ethelpea]

sbgrace, could you elaborate and/or provide some links with information on the mitochondrial issues?  I'm not at all familiar with this.

I currently supplement with about 15,000 IU vit d3/day and haven't had a relapse of the EBV. 

Thanks!

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by Ethelpea 

sbgrace, could you elaborate and/or provide some links with information on the mitochondrial issues?  I'm not at all familiar with this.

I currently supplement with about 15,000 IU vit d3/day and haven't had a relapse of the EBV. 

Thanks!

Sorry I missed this. I'm certain there are lots of things that can go wrong and cause chronic epstein barr and certainly there are a multitude of things that can cause severe fatigue. Vitamin D deficiency alone can do that (and pain too) and vitamin D has to do with autoimmune reactions as well so it wouldn't surprise me if it was a link in some chronic epstein barr causes. I guess I'm saying that if correcting a D deficiency has you healthy I wouldn't go borrowing trouble!

But what happened was I noticed that chronic EBV sounds very similar to much of what I experienced when I had adult onset mitochondrial dysfunction symptoms. So I googled and sure enough there does appear to be a link. I'm sure it's not the only cause though!
http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/publications/pathophysiology/epstein_barr_virus.html

Those who developed post-infective fatigue had gene expression profiles indicative of an altered host response during acute mononucleosis compared to those who recovered uneventfully. Several genes including ISG20 (interferon stimulated gene), DNAJB2 (DnaJ [Hsp40] homolog and CD99), CDK8 (cyclin-dependent kinase 8), E2F2 (E2F transcription factor 2), CDK8 (cyclin dependent kinase 8), and ACTN2 (actinin, alpha 2), known to be regulated during EBV infection, were differentially expressed in post-infective fatigue cases. Several of the differentially expressed genes affect mitochondrial functions including fatty acid metabolism and the cell cycle.

So if a person has the issue continue it might be worth looking at mitochondrial function as there is some treatment available.