I had a 1st appointment with doc for being tired.

[Tilly]

I've been going to my primary doctor for about 9 years saying "I'm tired all the time". Nothing happens. She does a few tests thyroid etc. and I'm left feeling tired.

It seems to get worse every year. Now I'm somewhat tired on most days and I'm wiped out for about 2 weeks a month. You can imagine where those 2 weeks might fall. I never feel energetic anymore. I used to be a big ball of energy.

I don't know if it's age, I'll be 40 next month. Or if it's because I'm a veggie. I've looked into what vitamins I might be missing and have been supplementing for awhile. I think they help a little bit.

Anyway, I had my first appointment a couple weeks ago. She did some blood work and she went over my supplements. I was already taking some of the ones she reccomended like Q10, chromium (for craving carbs and sugar), methyl b12, flax seed oil. chondrointin and glucosemine (for crunchy knees).

She also reccomended taking vitamin D and C, as well as calcium, but they are for over all health.


And she told me to take "D-ribose" 3 x per day. This is to give energy to my muscles. I've been taking it for a week and I don't see a difference. It might take longer to show.

She also told me to eat 20 grams of protein at each meal and have 2 snacks, this is somewhat challenging, but I'm getting there. I added cottage cheese and am eating more nuts. I'm still tired, but I'm sure it's important.

I just thought I'd share what I'm doing. Maybe if it doesn't help me it will help someone else.

I'll give an update after my next appointment in early Nov.

[20trackedmind]

Any possibility you have ADD? When I don't take my medicine, I can sleep all day long. Before my Dx I would just feel like I needed an hours more sleep all the time. Of course I am also hyperactive so I get spurts of energy. But, never when I need them.

[QueensU_girl]

Could be Fibro or CFS or sleep apnea (dx'd by sleep study) or RLS (PLMs showing on a sleep study) or anemia (check your SERUM FERRITIN, not just Hgb).


Tonnes of ADDers seem to have anemia or undiagnosed sleep disorders.

There are so many differential diagnoses, it's really not funny.

I hate how women's health concerns are ignored.

[Tilly]

I'm sure I have ADD, just not diagnosed. It never dibilitated me. I learned coping skills. I write notes to my self etc...

I used to be hyper if anything and now I'm just tired.

I always did well in school because I had a good short term memory and I could ace all my tests. But just ask me a question a week later and not much left.

For the most part my add (if I have it) has not interfered with my life.

But now my memory is worse than ever. I told the doctor that as well. I guess it has improved since I've been taking my supplements and eating somewhat better. But it's not where I want it to be.

I really think my iron is part of the problem because everything is worse the two weeks around..... I can't afford to be a zombie for two weeks.

I hope I don't have sleep apnea. Gosh that would stink. My mother in law has that mask. I feel like I sleep very well.

I have chronic nasal allergies as well. I haven't really smelled anything in years. I'm hoping it's all connected and she can find a root cause with a simple solution.

And I just pray if I have a food allergy it's the same as one of my son's.

I'll remember that Iron. Er well I'll write it down. Just curious is it a different form of iron that you buy as a supplement? Maybe I didn't get that one.

I definately need to get back to exercising too.

Thanks guys!

[Imnapl]

Just a note: my husband's monitored results showed severe sleep apnea, but he doesn't fall asleep while talking or eating - not yet, anyway. He will fall asleep every time he sits down to watch t.v. at anytime during the day or night. This list of symptoms doesn't list irritability so I will have to find a better source.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Sleep Apnea - Symptoms


The most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that you may notice include:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness, which is falling asleep when you normally should not, such as while you are eating, talking, or driving.
• Waking with an unrefreshed feeling after sleep, having problems with memory and concentration, feeling tired, and experiencing personality changes.
• Morning or night headaches. About half of all people with sleep apnea report headaches.²
• Heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth at night.
• Swelling of the legs if you are obese.
• Getting up during the night to urinate (nocturia).
• Sweating and chest pain while you are sleeping.

Symptoms of sleep apnea that others may notice include:

• Episodes of not breathing (apnea), which may occur as few as 5 times an hour (mild apnea) to more than 50 times an hour (severe apnea). How many episodes you have determines how severe your sleep apnea is.
• Loud snoring. Almost all people who have sleep apnea snore, but not all people who snore have sleep apnea.
• Restless tossing and turning during sleep.
• Nighttime choking or gasping spells.

Older adults may normally have periods when they stop breathing during sleep, making it hard to know whether they have sleep apnea. Short lapses in breathing during sleep usually do not cause a large drop in the blood oxygen level.
Symptoms in children

In children, symptoms of sleep apnea depend on how old the child is:

• In children younger than 5, symptoms include snoring, mouth breathing, sweating, restlessness, and waking up a lot.
• In children 5 years and older, symptoms include snoring, bed wetting, doing poorly in school, and not growing as quickly as they should for their age. These children may also have behavior problems and a short attention span.

Children who have sleep apnea nearly always snore. But they may not appear to be excessively sleepy during the day (a key symptom in adults). The only symptom of sleep apnea in some children may be that they do not grow as quickly as they should for their age.
Although rare, in children sleep apnea can cause developmental delays and can cause the right side of the heart to get bigger (cor pulmonale).
Other conditions with symptoms similar to sleep apnea include an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) and other sleep disorders, such as suddenly falling asleep (narcolepsy) or an intense urge to move the legs (restless legs syndrome).

[Imnapl]

Some more facts about sleep apnea here.

• Sleep apnea is as prevalent as adult diabetes and asthma. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately 18 million Americans, or roughly 20 percent of the U.S. adult population, suffer from sleep apnea.

• The consequences of obstructive sleep apnea range from disruptive to life-threatening. Disruptive consequences include daytime fatigue, depression, irritability, sexual dysfunction, learning and memory difficulties, and falling asleep while at work, on the phone or driving. Life-threatening consequences include congestive heart failure, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, cardiovascular disease and fatal car accidents.

[Tilly]

Thanks Inupal.
That doesn't sound like me.
Plus allthough I'm usually somewhat tired everyday it gets worse in cycles.

I'm in a bad cycle this week.

I'm anxious to see if my blood work shows anything.

[whirlygirl]

If you know you have ADD, have you considered getting a diagnosis and trying meds? Before starting Adderall, I felt completely exhausted most of the time, but never attributed it to my ADD. I've since learned that fatigue is often the case for those of us who are inattentive. Now that my brain fog has lifted a bit, I'm amazed at the difference in my stamina, both physically and mentally. I think I was largely exhausted by my own racing mind. Add that to my lack of sensory filters and I was worn out by 11:00 am. most days. It's been so strange to realize that it was more brain chemistry than physical.

Please know that I'm just sharing my own experience to raise another possibility. I had blood work done to rule out other conditions before I started stimulant meds. I'm glad you are seeing your physician to determine a cause-- I know how miserable it is to be that tired!

[Tilly]

My being tired is something that started happening over the past say 6 years. So I don't think it's related to add.

One thing I do need to do is exercise. As soon as I finish up some projects I'll get back into the swing of exercising.

I guess if I can't function right and I don't get help from my integrative doc I'd consider meds. I'd prefer to try other approaches first.

I'm sure part of the equation is also that I have a 3 yr old, 7 yr old and 9 yr old.

But I didn't realize add can make you feel tired too. Thanks.

[Tilly]

still tired, still haven't changed my diet.

The d-ribose didn't help my fatigue, but wow does my shoulder feel good. I stopped taking it after a few weeks of being pain free and the pain came right back. I had forgotten what it felt like to be in pain all day. It has been years, so it had just become just a part of the way I am.

I stopped taking it to see if the pain came back and it did. I'm just hoping the ribose kicks in fast because ouch my shoulder hurts and I need to take tylenol to sleep.

My nails are nice and healthy now.

She increased my vitamin d to 2,000 because I was difficient.

So all and all I'm certainly pleased with my integrative experience. Being pain free is no minor thing to me.

But that darn fatigue is still here. I took the vitamin b12 shots, but apparantly I'm allergic to them. I got hives and the areas were itchy. So I need to discontinue and see if she gives me a different type when I go back.

I hope they have something good to offer me, or that I dig in and do my rotation and mold free diet.

[Tilly]

I feel so much better. I dived in and am doing the mold diet.

No more wine, canned foods, coffee (I think mold might grow where you poor the water in and the tubing), dairy products..... I've pretty much given up everything I like and am learning what I can eat.

For now I'm basicly eating salad without dressing, homemade soup with homemade broth, rice and edaname and ugh I bought a juicer.

It is a complete pain in the butt and I can entirely understand why someone would not want to do this.

Feeling better keeps me going though. I have so much more energy and my allergy problem is almost corrected. When I walk into my kitchen I smell food cooking! I haven't smelled for years.

I did eat off diet a couple times once was an official last hurrah. The other I got some fancy tea at a restaurant. The next day my head was filled with a fog and I was exhausted.

The problem with the pizza besides yeast being moldy is that you don't know what kind of tomatoes they are throwing into canned sauce. The tea can get moldy as it's drying out.

My memory seems pretty good too, but I need to watch that a little more.

I'm just so glad to have energy. This past year has been particularly exhausting.

Not that mold is a problem for everyone, it just happend to be my problem.

[EYEFORGOT]

I'm glad you've found something that is helping you feel better. Good luck, sincerely, sticking to it, it doesn't sound easy, but definitely worth it.

[Tilly]

It's going to be horribly difficult. I wanted to stuff all the holidays samples down my throat as I walked through the grocery store. I started smelling things just to get a fix.

But supposedly this isn't a life time thing. I need to do it long enough to get my allergy down. Right now it's a 3 out of 4. My son's is a 4 .
The way I see it if I can get down to a 2 maybe I can have something every so often. 2 allergies go on a rotation schedule, per my doctor.

The good news is, I've been loosing weight fast! Loosing a few pounds won't hurt me. I'll be going in the opposite direction on the scale for the holidays!!!

Anyway, thanks for the good thoughts eyeforgot!

[bumblebe]

Sounds a lot like me before i was diagnosed w ADD. You mentioned taking a suppliment to help curv your cravings for carbs and sugar. I struggled with that one my whole life! My doctor explained to me that those cravings are my bodys way of self medicating. When the frontal lobes dont stimulate like a normal persons would we naturaly seek out a substance that will. Carbs and sugar are great for that....If thats all you know. I also had a problem driving because of this....seriously I wuld fall asleep....pull over buy candy, be somewhat ok..start to fall asleep...pull over again..OMG! Those days were sooo hard. Do you feel like you are in a fog most times? I spent my whole childhood that way. My adult life to up untill a few years ago. You dont have to live this way...I know its hard!

There are different typed off ADD. I was never a behavioral problem as a kid. My brother on the other hand was diagnosed at an early age. I was labled as lazy or unmotivated. And that was true but not by choice. I hated that feeling.

I really relate to you. Hope everything goes well for you!

Merry Christmas!!!

[Tilly]

So what did you do to change the way you felt bumblebee?

I have a friend who is the same way in the car, she has to pull over and take a nap. she's working on diet now. She took away gluten and yeast, and she takes probiotics now?

I survived Christmas on my horrible diet. It actually wasn't that horrible. I just can't eat stuff like cheese. I made fresh hummous and veggies and fruit salad.

Hopefully I'll stick with my new diet.

It makes sense to me that our bodies weren't made to eat all this crap. I do love crap food, but for me it's an addiction.

I'm just so glad to feel better.