I am so SICK of being so tired all the time! (vent)

[Rajah]

ARGH!!

Okay, I know I just got back from vacation and it always takes a bit to recover from that, but I had a relaxing vacation overall and I had a fair amount of energy yesterday. And I've been like this for way too long for it to be related to the vacation.

Despite going to bed at midnight last night and getting up at 9 (meaning 9 hours of rest/sleep), I've still been so tired today I can't function well. I'm sluggish, my thinking is slow, reaction time slow.... All I want to do is sleep.

I'm so TIRED OF THIS!!

I've tried medication, vitamins, diet coke, changing diet, exercise, getting more sleep, getting *less* sleep... the only thing that seems to make a difference is a change of scenery (like vacation) and even that doesn't work too well. I've had all sorts of tests done, but nothing shows up. I'm betting it's thyroid (every woman on my mom's side it seems has thyroid problems), but it's not showing up in bloodwork. I don't feel *sick* (for once), just *tired*. Unless the zyrtec I take at night is making me tired all day, none of my medication is supposed to make me sleepy like this.

I felt so much better on the trip that coming back to Houston and resuming my usual "always tired" stuff is just like a slap in the face, and I HATE IT!!!

ARGH!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Have you considered sleep apnea? My DH is having trouble feeling tired all the time, and I've researched SA, I think we will have him tested.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Sounds like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

 

[Christine]

Zyrtec is famous for causing drowsiness. My DS takes it everyday. He does fine with it; however, my DD feels like she can't stay awake when she takes it (and they both take it at night).

Also, I know that when I get tired like you describe it is due to stress. Stress REALLY drags me down. Sometimes I'm not even aware that I am stressed. But my everyday lifestyle is so frenetic that sometimes I feel like I can't move. It's awful.

As for your thyroid, do you know what your thyroid numbers are? They are recognizing now that thyroid levels on the low to high *normal" range sometimes still require treatment.

 

[monkeyboy]

Originally posted by Rajah
Despite going to bed at midnight last night and getting up at 9 (meaning 9 hours of rest/sleep), I've still been so tired today I can't function well. I'm sluggish, my thinking is slow, reaction time slow.... All I want to do is sleep.

you just described how my cousin felt when she was ...dare I say it.... pregnant

 

[faithinkarma]

My advice is do NOT let this go. Insist they do more tests until they find out what is wrong. I learned this lesson the hard way.

 

[Eeyore1954]

There are a couple of different thyroid tests your doctor can (and should) do. It took my doctor a few tries (and a lot of complaining from me) to do both blood tests on me at a couple of different times and compare the readings.

 

[Teris]

Could be a bit of depression. That would be why the symptoms go away when you are on vacation. Also, could be your blood sugar is a bit high. Could be many things really.

 

[shelbyjosh]

Rajah...I was thinking the same thing here. No matter how much sleep I get, I am still tired. I have tried staying up later and still get up at 6:40 and I wake up tired. Go to bed around 10ish and still the same. I could take a nap every day if I had the opportunity. I take Allegra-D for allergies as needed. Even when I am not on it, I am still tired. We were up at the cabin this past weekend. I pretty much took it easy. The kids were catching frogs and DH was cutting up firewood. I sat by the fire and slept in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe I should go to the doctor?

 

[Rajah]

I have considered sleep apnea, but haven't done anything to look into it. Other than being tired, we haven't noticed any other symptoms that usually come with sleep apnea.

CFS is something we've thought about too, but I was told there wasn't anything that could be done about that one (yet) so no point in testing for it.

The Zyrtec is a possibility. I think I'm going to stop taking it for a bit (allergy dr said it was okay to do that) and see if that helps. I'm taking it at night, but if it's still causing some people to be sleepy even 12 hours later, that's a strong possibility. But not the entire problem -- I've been exhausted for years. Been on Zyrtec for only a year.

Stress I'm sure is part of a factor, but there's not much I can do about it right now. :/ Already went on vacation and I'm going on another one in a few weeks. I've cut out everything I can stressful from my schedule. Not much more I can do. :/

I'm not sure what the numbers are, but I think they *are* on the "low" end of "normal". I've got another endocrinologist appointment next month, and I'm considering asking him if we can *try* the medicine since I'm on the low end of normal just to see if it'll help. Because I can't keep functioning like this.

Not pregnant, MB. Either that, or I'm horribly pregnant, since this has been happening for years.

We do bloodwork every 3-6 months. He's done 3 different type of bloodwork tests. Nothing's shown up.

Tess -- I'm sure depression is part of it, but I don't know if the depression is the *cause* or a *symptom* of another problem. I'm already on some medication for depression, but I've been feeling so much more depressed the past 2 or 3 days after returning from vacation.

 

[dbogen]

I have to say the same thing was happening to me. i went to the Dr. and told him I could fall asleep while driving with a toddler in the care and that scared the you know what out of me. It turns out we think it is the way my body reacts to allergies. Kind of like taking Benedryl but without the medication. He put me on allegra and I can tell when I don't take it. I don't know if the Zyrtec is making you tired and counteracting the antihystimine. Did that make sence.

Anyway from someone who needs a nap every afternoon - or altleast wants one - Good Luck

Deanna

 

[Carl]

Ah, but aren't you heading for Europe in a few weeks? That should wear you out real good ie: jet lag. But, then you will cheer up and enjoy yourself - I hope. We'll be fairly close to eachother over there. I'm going to Brixon in northern Italy after visiting Austria for 6 days. I leave for Austria on June 15th. Aren't you going to be over there somewhere around that time?

 

[kylara]

Rajah,

I would suggest a sleep study. I had the same problem for years and the same battery of test. The thyroid was always brought up, so was stress and depression and even CR was mentioned...however none were stated as the reason. Finally, even though I didn't think it was apnea, I had a sleep study done. It wasn't apnea but the sleep study showed something was off. The doctor ordered another one that was all night and all the next day. At the end, they stated I had symptoms of narcolepsy. Now, they make the distinction between symptoms of narcolepsy and narcolepsy, but either way it amounts to the same. Somewhere in my brain, the sleep cycle is off making me tired and fatigued all the time. I fall asleep much faster than what is considered "normal" etc. They now have me on medication and it has helped immensely. See if a sleep study can be done...even if nothing comes from it, it rules out one more possibility.

 

[C.Ann]

I'm putting my money on depression - and heaven knows you have CERTAINLY had enough to be depressed about recently..

You might want to run that by your doctor and see what he/she says.. Wouldn't hurt and might help..

Hope you are able to perk up soon!

Hugs,
C.Ann

 

[Rajah]

Originally posted by Carl
Ah, but aren't you heading for Europe in a few weeks? That should wear you out real good ie: jet lag. But, then you will cheer up and enjoy yourself - I hope. We'll be fairly close to eachother over there. I'm going to Brixon in northern Italy after visiting Austria for 6 days. I leave for Austria on June 15th. Aren't you going to be over there somewhere around that time?

Yup. We leave for Lugano, Switzerland on the 17th.


Kylara -- I'm thinking that I'll stop the Zyrtec for a few weeks and see if that helps. My allergist said that would be fine to try. But if I'm not doing better by the time I get back from Switzerland (and have given time for the jet lag), then I'll look into getting a sleep test done.

C.Ann -- I'm already on meds for depression. Other than increasing the dose, what more could be done to help that? Already went to a counselor as well and she helped me as much as she felt I could really be helped *by her* right now.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Rajah
C.Ann -- I'm already on meds for depression. Other than increasing the dose, what more could be done to help that? Already went to a counselor as well and she helped me as much as she felt I could really be helped *by her* right now.

---------------------------------

How long have you been on the antidepressant? They can take as long as 6 to 8 weeks before they finally "kick in".. I swear - I can tell you the EXACT DAY that mine kicked in.. I woke up that morning and felt like someone had suddenly thrown on the light switch in an otherwise dark room..

Also - depending on the degree of depression - just one type of antidepressant might not do the trick.. DD was on two different ones in the hospital - now she's on only one..

 

[Christine]

Rajah,
Depending on what thyroid test they gave you, the "low end of normal" could be HYPERthyroidism.

The most common thyroid tests doctors use is the TSH test. It measures the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone in your body. If your thyroid is not working well, your pituitary gland secretes TSH to kind of jump start the gland, so if the TSH is high it means your thyroid is low. If your TSH is low, it means your thyroid is working to hard or is "high." Make sense? So, if you're on the "low end of normal" than you might not have a thyroid problem at all. Now, if the doctor did a Free T4, that works in reverse!!!!

 

[philaround]

Exact same problem here but I have also been suffering from Vertigo for several months now. I have been diagnosed with a severe sinus infection, with probable inner ear complications. My doctor also thinks I am suffering from chronic fatigue syndrom as a result of sleep apnea. I will be sleeping at the Yale Center for Sleep Disorders next Monday, 6/7, to find out for sure if I have a sleep disorder.

I suggest that you get your Doctor to get you an appointment with an ENT to see if you show any outward signs of breathing problems that might indicate sleep problems. The ENT I went to said I have a deviated septum and very small breathing passages that could cause sleep apnia.

Good luck Rajah

 

[arminnie]

I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and there really isn't anything that you can do for it except learn how to pace yourself.

There really isn't a test for CFS. The main thing is that they eliminate everything else, and it becomes the default diagnosis.

There are several symtoms besides being tired and if you have enough of them AND everything else is ruled out then they call it CFS. Mine started after a bad cold turned into a sinus infection. It is very common for CFS to begin after a viral infection.

It took several years, much surgery before the diagnosis finally was declared.

I had obstructive sleep apnea (breathing passages too small) and had many sleep tests at Stanford University which is THE PRIMO sleep apnea clinic in the nation. There are other very good ones but this is the one where all of the major discoveries - including the very definition of sleep apnea - were made. I had surgery to correct it from the doctor team who invented the surgery and it worked to cure the apnea. I developed the CFS several years later.

The good news for you is that the younger that you are the more chance of it going away.

I sincerely hope that you do not have CFS.