Extreme Fatigue

Z

Zikibala

Pigeon
About a year ago I became ill for about 2 weeks, felt like a flu just worse - whole body aches, cold to the bone, sore throat and inflamed glands etc. Even after blood tests from the hospital they couldn’t tell me what it was and even though I tested negative for it, they said it was probably glandular fever as a lot of people test negative and still have It.

Now, for as long as I can remember after that I’m constantly tired. I do a very physical job and climb some evenings but even when I take time off, I feel just as fatigued.

Any ideas? Is it worth getting looked at privately?
 
R

RWIsrael

Woodpecker
Jewish
I'm not a physician but there are a few things to consider in addition to the medical checks.

Obvious stuff but worth going over to get a better idea of the situation :

How old are you?
How active is your lifestyle? Do you work out?
What hours do you work and do you have a daily routine?
How is your diet? Enough fats sugars carbs protein vitamins?
How are your stress levels?
How is your general health? Habits like smoking and drinking?
How often do you go out in the sun vs sit in a cubicle, on the tube / subway?
 
R

RWIsrael

Woodpecker
Jewish
Also how does your typical off day look like? Do you go to bed late the night before? Stay in bed until late? Do any activities or just zone out in front of a screen?
 
Z

Zikibala

Pigeon
Cheers for the speedy reply!
Im 28, super active, heavy physical job, I have a pretty general routine (6am alarm), diet is reasonably healthy although could do with plenty of improvement, a little stressed at the moment though I was pretty stress free before and still had a lot of fatigue, out in the sun all day....
 
R

RWIsrael

Woodpecker
Jewish
Zikibala said:
Cheers for the speedy reply!
Im 28, super active, heavy physical job, I have a pretty general routine (6am alarm), diet is reasonably healthy although could do with plenty of improvement, a little stressed at the moment though I was pretty stress free before and still had a lot of fatigue, out in the sun all day....
Click to expand...

In that case my bro-science non-medical knowledge can't help you my man.

See a private doctor / psychologist / priest or wait for the more qualified forum members to respond
 
A

Athanasius

Pelican
Protestant
Zikibala said:
About a year ago I became ill for about 2 weeks, felt like a flu just worse - whole body aches, cold to the bone, sore throat and inflamed glands etc. Even after blood tests from the hospital they couldn’t tell me what it was and even though I tested negative for it, they said it was probably glandular fever as a lot of people test negative and still have It.

Now, for as long as I can remember after that I’m constantly tired. I do a very physical job and climb some evenings but even when I take time off, I feel just as fatigued.

Any ideas? Is it worth getting looked at privately?
Click to expand...

My first thought was something like Lyme Disease, but it sounds like what you had checked would've caught that (?). I would keep pressing to get answers but not sure what direction to send you. If you go to another doctor, try a DO instead of an MD.
 
Epicus Dominicus

Epicus Dominicus

Pigeon
Lyme disease or something similar related to anything job wise should be tested for and discounted. In the UK, the main NHS test for Lyme is apparently (or used to be) a poor test for diagnosis but that may have changed. I would check what they are exactly testing for here.

It could be just 'standard' Post Viral Fatigue which I've seen in work colleagues and that can last well over a year sadly. It's not great and quality of life will suffer - rest/good nutrition and eating lots/proper recovery deep sleep are the key points to address - having a physical job though won't help here. How you can deal with that though is obv. going to be tricky. I was speaking to landscape gardener who had something similar last year - Glandular fever - and he mentioned it taking a long time (as in months+) to get back to normal - was constantly exhausted and constantly hungry.

What age are you and when you picked up the initial flu and were you run down/stressed out ? It does appear than if you are weakened in any way when you get a bug that it's easier for the body to get into an auto-immune type scenario.

Also - and I can only speak for UK tests but the majority of the bloods here test the amount of a substance in your blood e.g. B12 but not the bio-availability - if you are spending more on these, try to get the availability to your body.

Same way that Testosterone levels can be meaningless without knowing SHBG levels and the free test. available.

Maybe check out some CFS/ME forums as well for other potential pointers.

I suffer from something similar although far more long term - went from mountain running to house bound and has taken a number of years with peaks and troughs to recover (even slightly) and far from my previous fitness/energy levels - mine was more a chronic decline that I didn't address rather than an acute 'hit' of a virus which from what I gather is quicker to return to normality from.
 
Johnnyvee

Johnnyvee

Ostrich
Other Christian
Zikibala said:
About a year ago I became ill for about 2 weeks, felt like a flu just worse - whole body aches, cold to the bone, sore throat and inflamed glands etc. Even after blood tests from the hospital they couldn’t tell me what it was and even though I tested negative for it, they said it was probably glandular fever as a lot of people test negative and still have It.

Now, for as long as I can remember after that I’m constantly tired. I do a very physical job and climb some evenings but even when I take time off, I feel just as fatigued.

Any ideas? Is it worth getting looked at privately?
Click to expand...

I would guess that you contracted Epstein-Barr virus or CMV. (human herpes virus 4 and 5 respectively) HHV4 is usually the pathogen that causes mononucleosis. (It could also have been Covid though?)

The cause of post viral fatigue syndrome is that viruses deplete the molecule NAD+, which is one of the essential molecules in all life and for all lifeforms (including viruses) together with amino acids and ATP. Cells infected with a pathogen upregulate enzymes that help in fighting the infection that require NAD. (PARP) Viruses can also use up the NAD+ in cells to propagate themselves. Since NAD+ is essential to so many cellular processes, including ATP/energy synthesis, it`s depletion can leave you feeling dead tired until it`s eventually restored. It`s the same thing that happens with ageing basically, but in young people it will come back in time.

The way to get out of this fast is to oxidize fat, since there is a 4:1 ratio in terms of ATP synthesis between glycolysis-TCA and fat oxidation/ketone metabolism and TCA. The biochemistry is a bit complex, but this is basic biology and not controversial at all. So fat oxidation will save NAD, which is one of the main reasons that ketogenic diets and fasting regimes etc. work. I`m not certain what is the best strategy here, but a nutrient dense Paleo/keto diet, exogenous ketones, NMN or NR supplementation and long term fasting would all have some of the same effects. Maybe the first alternative is the best one. Of course plenty of sleep and sunlight etc. is also important.

Illustrated below; The 4:1 ratio of energy synthesis with glucose, (4 NAD+ are "used up") and ketone body BHB (only 1 NAD+ to NADH conversion necessary.

NADc.png
 
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RexImperator

RexImperator

Crow
Gold Member
The fatigue does sound like a post viral syndrome. It may simply take a couple of months of recovery to have normal energy levels again.

I had something similar back in April/May, which I suspect was from coronavirus, though I was never tested.
 
DeWoken

DeWoken

Woodpecker
Orthodox Inquirer
Any updates, OP?
Have you tried the Carnivore Diet? :)
Health can be mysterious in that you are okay until suddenly you aren't. It's like when you go on a shopping spree and your bank account hits bottom.

EMF radiation from the phone is probably zapping you.
 
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