Chronic Fatigue

[Lucyr]

Does anyone have any experience of chronic fatigue and whether the condition or treatment interacts with blood sugars other than the obvious unable to exercise meaning don’t get the bg benefits?

I’ve had post viral fatigue syndrome since Christmas, with main symptoms of exhaustion, aching, headaches and migraines. It started after a bad cold / mild flu at Christmas and came back with renewed force after Covid.

Spoke to the GP this week who said it likely is chronic fatigue at this point, and there are medications we can try or a service I can be referred to for advice. First though I need to do some blood tests and a physical examination to make sure there’s not a physical cause been missed. I have those booked in for 2 weeks time.

Surprisingly though, no one’s yet said “it’s because of your diabetes”. I can’t find an indication of what medications may be reccomended though to check if likely suggestions are okay for blood sugars.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

If your diabetes is mostly well managed then there’s no reason to think that diabetes is the cause of the fatigue. Blood tests are a good idea to check things like anaemia, B12, thyroid function etc and if they all come back clear then you will get info on chronic fatigue. If your headaches/migraines are chronic they may be the cause of a lot of the fatigue (pain is very tiring) so appropriate treatment for that may help with the fatigue and either way easing pain is good. Avoid any suggestion of pushing through the fatigue or of building up tolerance for exercise as this doesn’t work for chronic fatigue and can make symptoms much worse long term.

 

[Bloden]

Sorry to hear about everything you've been going thru @Lucyr. I hope the medics come up with a treatment plan that gives you some kind of relief. (((hugs)))

 

[AJLang]

I've had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 10 years. It was diagnosed by a rheumatologist after a wide range of blood tests. As far as I'm aware the main "treatment" for it is pacing yourself. NICE has recently updated the CFS/ME guidelines and they provide recent good advice but some NHS areas have been slow to take it up. As far as I'm aware the only medications are if you are in pain or have migraines.

 

[Lucyr]

I've had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 10 years. It was diagnosed by a rheumatologist after a wide range of blood tests. As far as I'm aware the main "treatment" for it is pacing yourself. NICE has recently updated the CFS/ME guidelines and they provide recent good advice but some NHS areas have been slow to take it up. As far as I'm aware the only medications are if you are in pain or have migraines.

GP mentioned there being medications that we can try that aim to give you a more restful night sleep, I didn’t ask what these were as will wait to see what is diagnosed, but google didn’t have any ideas either.

I have taken amitryptaline for the headaches before, and sumatriptan for migraines, don’t have either on my repeat prescription at the moment though. Amitryptaline helped headaches and sleep but made me tired even more in the mornings, so couldn’t really decide if I want more of that or not!

For generalised pain/aching I’m just taking paracetamol and ibuprofen, or naproxen (though again not got that on my repeat yet and it made me tired) and those seem okay.

 

[Lucyr]

If your diabetes is mostly well managed then there’s no reason to think that diabetes is the cause of the fatigue. Blood tests are a good idea to check things like anaemia, B12, thyroid function etc and if they all come back clear then you will get info on chronic fatigue. If your headaches/migraines are chronic they may be the cause of a lot of the fatigue (pain is very tiring) so appropriate treatment for that may help with the fatigue and either way easing pain is good. Avoid any suggestion of pushing through the fatigue or of building up tolerance for exercise as this doesn’t work for chronic fatigue and can make symptoms much worse long term.

I don’t know if pushing through the postviral fatigue to get back to work as soon as I did is what’s caused this to become the chronic problem, I’m still hoping they find something in my blood instead. The headaches only started with the postviral reaction, so it does seem likely that it will be chronic fatigue. Hopefully they will refer me somewhere to learn about how to build up activity levels safely again.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Amitriptyline is one of the first ones they try. If you feel too groggy on it the next day you can try gabapentin or one of the others that are similar but stay in your system less time.


If you’re taking naproxen long term you should also get omeprazole or similar prescribed as the long acting nature of naproxen can make it more of a risk for stomach ulcers etc.

FWIW I got a lot of help for my migraines by seeing my chiro regularly as mine were mostly tension related. It can be helpful with chronic pain to see a chiro/osteo/physio if you can afford one.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

When I was diagnosed with ME many yeas ago I had a lovely HCP come visit.
Her advice was to keep your cup/battery half full so that you never hit rock bottom.
Her suggestions were do something for 10 mins then rest for an hour and gradually build things up if you needed longer rests then have them.
The no1 rule in her book though was that the word NO was the most important word in the dictionary. People ask you to do things say no.
Someone else can do the job/favour not you.

Even though it was a misdiagnoses and ME was in fact MS the advice was and is ace and it has helped me no end in my journey so far.

 

[gll]

Her suggestions were do something for 10 mins then rest for an hour and gradually build things up if you needed longer rests then have them.

Clearly she hasn't ever tried to convince Lucy to rest before

Hoping bloods turn up something but I'll be here, nagging you to chill. You might ignore me but it wont stop me

 

[eggyg]

I can honestly say I’ve never “felt right” all year after two stinking colds within two months ( not Covid as I had PCRs both times). I am always exhausted but not good at resting/or have the chance TBF, my limbs are so weak I struggle lifting even the washing off the line, as for folding it, well that’s another story! I keep thinking it’s “ old age” ( 62) or just running round after grandkids. I have absolutely no stamina. My walking has taken a hit, I used to walk for miles almost every day but I can’t face it most days. I end up doing big walks once a week then I’m shattered again! It’s hard to know what to do, I’ve not been to the GP, I definitely don’t want more drugs as I rattle now! I’ve tried amitrypeline before for pain but like many others it left me drowsy. I just stick to paracetamol for now. Unless I’ve a stinking headache, which, touch wood, haven’t been too bad recently, I also take one ibuprofen, any more upsets my already dodgy innards! It’s awful feeling like that all the time, I’m stubborn and just push on but maybe @Pumper_Sue and @AJLang are right and we need to at least try and rest up more. Easier said than done though isn’t it?
I hope you find a resolution soon @Lucyr.

 

[Lucyr]

Well @Pumper_Sue and @gll id never get my full time job and volunteering commitments and housework and hobbies on top of that all done if i tried to do it in 10 minute chunks with hour long rests in between!!! My current strategy is a cycle of go until cup is empty, crash out at zero energy empty cup until I reach minimum energy to start again and then repeat. This did work fine until the energy problems this year…

Here’s hoping it’s something with a magic cure instead!

 

[Lucyr]

I can honestly say I’ve never “felt right” all year after two stinking colds within two months ( not Covid as I had PCRs both times). I am always exhausted but not good at resting/or have the chance TBF, my limbs are so weak I struggle lifting even the washing off the line, as for folding it, well that’s another story! I keep thinking it’s “ old age” ( 62) or just running round after grandkids. I have absolutely no stamina. My walking has taken a hit, I used to walk for miles almost every day but I can’t face it most days. I end up doing big walks once a week then I’m shattered again! It’s hard to know what to do, I’ve not been to the GP, I definitely don’t want more drugs as I rattle now! I’ve tried amitrypeline before for pain but like many others it left me drowsy. I just stick to paracetamol for now. Unless I’ve a stinking headache, which, touch wood, haven’t been too bad recently, I also take one ibuprofen, any more upsets my already dodgy innards! It’s awful feeling like that all the time, I’m stubborn and just push on but maybe @Pumper_Sue and @AJLang are right and we need to at least try and rest up more. Easier said than done though isn’t it?
I hope you find a resolution soon @Lucyr.

This sounds familiar. Honestly I’ve not been into the office this week because it’s a 15 minute walk and I don’t have the energy spare this week. Maybe going to the GP to rule out anything else if you haven’t had bloods recently would be worthwhile for you too?

 

[eggyg]

This sounds familiar. Honestly I’ve not been into the office this week because it’s a 15 minute walk and I don’t have the energy spare this week. Maybe going to the GP to rule out anything else if you haven’t had bloods recently would be worthwhile for you too?

It’s a thought, I had bloods take a couple of months ago for another problem but don’t think anemia was tested for. I just keep thinking I’ll wake up one morning and I’ll jump out of bed and feel “normal”, wherever that may be.

 

[gll]

So I went for bloods about a month ago now and it highlighted low foliate.
Back on prescribed folic acid and I defo feel less tired (still have my moments). Before I couldn't get through the day without a nap and now its a rare occurrence.
Low foliate can be caused by excessive peeing and between high BGs over the last 10 months and taking water tablets, it kinda all fits as to why.

Anyway simple bloods and a simple fix for me (take folic acid), so worth a check @eggyg or at least see what was tested last time 🙂

 

[Thebearcametoo]

It’s a thought, I had bloods take a couple of months ago for another problem but don’t think anemia was tested for. I just keep thinking I’ll wake up one morning and I’ll jump out of bed and feel “normal”, wherever that may be.

Definitely worth getting checked for anaemia and also things like thyroid and getting your blood pressure checked. If there’s an issue that can be solved then you’ll be able to build up your stamina again.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thankfully I don't have chronic fatigue or such likes, but whatever you do please ensure you eat nutrition dense foods and if you are having bloods done please ask for the usual FBC, Us & Es etc, but also vitamins and minerals, including Vit D Folate, ferritin and B12.

if your thyroid isn't on the radar, or if it's a while since bloods were done, maybe worthwhile having that checked too.

I hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[eggyg]

S

So I went for bloods about a month ago now and it highlighted low foliate.
Back on prescribed folic acid and I defo feel less tired (still have my moments). Before I couldn't get through the day without a nap and now its a rare occurrence.
Low foliate can be caused by excessive peeing and between high BGs over the last 10 months and taking water tablets, it kinda all fits as to why.

Anyway simple bloods and a simple fix for me (take folic acid), so worth a check @eggyg or at least see what was tested last time

Spookily enough I’ve just taken my BP as part of a seven day thing the doc wants be to do as my BP was raised when I had my diabetes review in June. Todays readings range from 127/75 to 145/75, pulse 70/76. This is my first day! Never would have thought about the BP aspect. I’m on the lowest dose of bisoporol, I can’t take “prils” , also take indapamide. Well, it should certainly start the conversation re the fatigue. Thanks for that info.

 

[Lucyr]

Thankfully I don't have chronic fatigue or such likes, but whatever you do please ensure you eat nutrition dense foods and if you are having bloods done please ask for the usual FBC, Us & Es etc, but also vitamins and minerals, including Vit D Folate, ferritin and B12.

if your thyroid isn't on the radar, or if it's a while since bloods were done, maybe worthwhile having that checked too.

I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Vitamin D isn’t on the list but I think everything else is: Full blood count, connective tissues, hba1c, b12, ck, crap, ferritin, folate, bones, liver, kidneys, thyroid

 

[AndBreathe]

Vitamin D isn’t on the list but I think everything else is: Full blood count, connective tissues, hba1c, b12, ck, crap, ferritin, folate, bones, liver, kidneys, thyroid

Bearing in mind it's cheap test and one of the main symptoms of deficiency is fatigue, for completeness I'd still prefer it to be done in your shoes. He/she may resist as it's summer, but if you don't spend much time in the sun, or use lots of sunscreen the season could be irrelevant.

 

[Lucyr]

Bearing in mind it's cheap test and one of the main symptoms of deficiency is fatigue, for completeness I'd still prefer it to be done in your shoes. He/she may resist as it's summer, but if you don't spend much time in the sun, or use lots of sunscreen the season could be irrelevant.

Don’t think I can change the list as the GP already sent it electronically for the appointment, so see what the existing list comes back with