Crushing Fatigue

[LymeEnigma]

I went off the cat's claw about a week or so ago, for reasons I would rather leave out for now, and I just need to vent....

I'm so freaking tired. I can't stand the feeling of waking up, feeling like I still need a full eight hours ... and that dizzy spaciness that comes with it....

Still doing okay, otherwise....

[nyxie63]

So do you think cat's claw was helping? Or do you think the fatigue might be withdrawl?

Hope it passes soon.

[cobweb2]

Weeellllll-during my time of crushing fatigue-(and cat's claw was not a factor because I never took it, but that doesn't mean I won't some day)

It was suggested to me to check thyroid and B12.

ps- my own grand experience to try to get off Ambien and Zoloft are decidedly on hold.

I also have found out in the past couple of days that I can't stand the heat. I feel like I am going to die-literally.

Maybe I should go visit my daughter in Alaska-it's in the 50's there- nearing 100 here.

Anyway HEAT is another energy drain for me.

Warm is nice- HOT is deadly.

[LymeEnigma]

I do not know if this is withdrawal or relapse ... all I know is I'm in bad shape. I may just go back on the cat's claw, despite my issues. I think my sleep patterns might be going weird on me.

I felt like I dreamed the same dream all night last night ... how weird is that? I haven not remembered a dream for months, and this one was very vivid ... but I also feel like I may have been on the fence of "still awake" during just about all of it.

I'm waking every morning feeling hung over, but without the headache, and I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open all day. To quote the great Alanis: I feel drunk ... but I'm sober.

I'm going to kick myself if this is a relapse.

[LymeEnigma]

Cobby, I don't even try to endure the heat anymore. When it gets hot here (and when the heat finally starts hitting 110, it just doesn't cool off again until fall) Haku and I turn into a vampires; it's just not feasible to leave the house during the day. Neither of us handle the heat well.

I have been wanting to go in for a "physical" for a while, now; I will ask again about my thyroid and B12 levels. I'm also wanting to rule out anemia, although I ate a good dose of iron last night and am no better off for it.

I'm also considering requesting a few different blood titers....

[cobweb2]

Just remembered Vitamin D is a big player,too.

It's possible an agoraphobic would be particulary susceptible to Vit D difficiency.

[LymeEnigma]

Good point....

[LymeEnigma]

So, I'm still off the cat's claw. It was very difficult to get out of bed this morning, but (at least subjectively speaking) I'm not feeling as "hung over" as I have in the mornings. Still tired and heavy, but maybe just a little less so....

So, my little experiment, given the fact that I would rather make myself the Guinea pig than test my theories on others (not to mention the fact that I haven't the means to conduct a real clinical trial): was the cat's claw keeping at bay the sequelae, or the actual illness ... or a little of both?

The bulbous lymph node has not returned, but my head has definitely been in space for a good week or two, and I've been in more pain than usual. I also have been having trouble with my allergies, which I can gauge as allergies, objectively, due to a comparison against Haku's. More joint swelling, and in places where I haven't had it in a while, like my fingers and toes. Concentration has slowed, but not gone to a complete standstill; I can still think, but I'm definitely not processing like I could ... and I'm having trouble reading long spans of print, my eyes straining easily. I'm still experiencing daytime sleepiness, and (allergies could be contributing to this) my lungs and throat are more irritated than usual. Appetite has increased.

More later.


*edited to shorten a tongue-twisting sentence ... coffee, please....

[cobweb2]

Allergies in Nevada?

I'm too lazy to look at a map right now-but isn't that hot and dry? and near Arizona?

My oldest daughter had terrible allergies here on East Coast. She went on a mission trip to Arizona-her first-I worried insanely about her-but she came back feeling and looking better than ever.

by the next morning she was already beginning to stuff up with allergies.

[itsybitsyone]

www.lymeneteurope.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1369

I posted this over at LNE. I think I'll put it at lymeblog too!

OK...word to the wise from the wise. Don't let your hemoglobin fool you.

Mine's been 12 or 13 for a few years now and I THOUGHT my anemia was gone.

However, because I have been feeling particularly crappy, when I was at the LLMD last week, I wanted to have an iron panel done, as while hemoglobin and counts were ok, my red cells kept showing up as being funny shapes. My RDW and MCH have been screwed up for a long time, and I wanted answers cause it didn't make sense.

So, being the reasonable person she is, she ran the blood work. I highly suggest for those of you who experience crushing fatigue, palps, headaches, weakness, etc, to get this done. Especially those of you who have either had babs OR thought you might have and didn't test positive. (She was sure I had babs, I disagreed. Turns out it was severe iron deficiency from chronic disease)

Ferritin: Lab norms were 10-291. Mine was 3
Iron: Lab norms were 50-150. Mine was 14
Iron binding capacity: Lab norms are 260-400. Mine was 480
Iron Saturation: Lab norms were 20-50. Mine was 3
Trasnferrin: Lab norms were 171-302. Mine was 343

I have to go on 300 mg of iron daily with Niferex for the next SIX MONTHS.

No wonder I feel like crap...I mean, beyond the norm...

So, no excuses...next time you get your regular bloodwork (or your kid, husband, whatever)...Get an iron panel done, even if your hemoglobin is OK!!

Get it?

[LymeEnigma]

Thanks for the info, Nancy. I definitely need to get in for some lab work, and I know this procrastination is doing me no favors....

Cobby, you wouldn't believe how many different kinds of cacti and succulents live out in the desert, that give off all these horrifric pollens in the middle of the night; and then, of course, people drag in all sorts of plants in from all over the place, and then just water them to death, despite the drought. When I first moved here, my asthma cleared up for a while, but it eventually came back with a vengeance ... and I never had seasonal allergies until years after I moved to Nevada. Go figure.

[nyxie63]

Nancy, you smoke, right?

That's probably one of the reasons I never showed as anemic on tests, but my ferritin was at 7. Smoking raises the RBC, hemoglobin, and hematocrit levels. So even if you're really anemic, it's not going to show.

[LymeEnigma]

That's good to know, Nyxie! I wonder how long after quitting the levels continue to be affected...?

Speaking of, I had a dream last night (yep, had another dream night) that I bummed a cigarette off of someone. I remember thinking, "I hope this doesn't push me off the wagon!" but it wasn't that same horrific sense of panic that I used to get when I'd dream about smoking.

Yes, even ex-nicotine addicts get pipe dreams, from time to time ... and apparently they can occur even years after a person has quit!

[LymeEnigma]

Doing better today! I didn't wake up with that groggy, going-to-fall-over, why-do-I-feel-hungover feeling this morning ... and instead of waking at ten, feeling like it's the crack of dawn, I woke up around eight, feeling like it was around ten.

I think that's a good sign....

Still dealing with some body aches and such, but at least I have my brain back today. I took a milligram of melatonin last night; I guessing it helped me get in a full cycle of sleep patterns...?

Whatever the cause, I feel like I may just be on the upswing.

[cobweb2]

woo hoo ! ;D