# Tired, Dizzy, Fatique, Headache



## cleung

I posted this on the IBS general forum as well, and asked for Gatorade substitute. I am not sure if I have CFS or FMS.I have always been tired, feeling dizzy, disoriented, headache and nausea since I have my constipation and severe abdominal pain issue. Usually a few sip of Gatorade will take those symtoms away. However recently I am getting episodes drinking those sport drinks, and heartburn. Also I have been diagnosed with interstitial cytitis, the urologist put me on Elimiron and Macrobid. My family doctor also suspected me to have Endometrosis, but no ultrasound, MRI or CT scan revived anything. She also suspect that I have IBS, although she hasn't officially diagnose me of anything for 2 years! I had severe menstrual pain since the first day I have period, so I have been on the birth control pills called Marvalon for years. The pain have gotten so bad my doctor also presribed me Anapox as pain killer. My right shoulder also hurts during and after period. So I do suspect I have endo, however the only way to tell now is to do the laparoscopy which I cannot really effort to take time off work for so long. I also found that taking multi-vitamins also make me feel a little more energized, and less menstrual pain. I was taking Total One for Woman from Swiss Natural. Since I am taking so many drugs already, I decided to lay off the multivitamins.I have been in bed for two days, I couldn't concentrate on anything, I fall asleep on the wheel which really scared me, I went home after work and slept till the morning, so tired that I couldn't even have dinner. Seriously I cannot live like this, I feel that I am going disable totally very soon. I am the breadwinner, need to take care of my family and my mom and dad. If I cannot work, everybody will go homeless. And I am getting very frustrated with my doctor, who has sent me to do so many ultrasounds and all results are normal. My question is, does it sounds like I also have FMS or CFS? From googling I found that Endo, IBS, IC and FMS tends to relate to each other, and all of them has no cure and no known causes. How do they related? Does it has anything to do with missing nutrients? Diet? Hormon inbalance? Is there any drugs? Alternative medicine? Natural remedies that can help solve all these problems? (I am sure the answer is no magic pill available, just trying). Cecilia


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## M&M

It doesn't particularly sound like FMS or CFS to me at all. But it's definitely something.With the Endo pain, do you have a very heavy flow too? Have you been checked for Anemia?Are you actually falling asleep while driving, or is it more like a fainting/losing consciousness episode?


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## cleung

M&M said:


> It doesn't particularly sound like FMS or CFS to me at all. But it's definitely something.With the Endo pain, do you have a very heavy flow too? Have you been checked for Anemia?Are you actually falling asleep while driving, or is it more like a fainting/losing consciousness episode?


I do have heavy flow with the pain, but the flow tends to become much lighter when I took pain killers. Yes the doctor checked me for anemia, came out negative.It is hard to say if I am actually falling asleep, I feel headache and dizzy, aching everywhere, just feel like I have no energy at all that I can just collapse if I let my eyes close, which I struggle to have them stay open.


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## overitnow

cleung said:


> just feel like I have no energy at all that I can just collapse if I let my eyes close, which I struggle to have them stay open.


That is exactly how I used to be every afternoon before I started supplementing. It's been gone for over 11 years, now.Mark


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## jasonibs9

cecilia , I've been dealing with the daytime fatigue on an off through out the day for many months now. The only time I recouperate is when the weekend hits and I'm able to sleep in a little. Those days are much easier for me then the days I have to be up at 7am for work. This could also be a phase you are going through in your life. There are things our body's go through for absolutely "no reason" you can have no stress whatsoever in your life and then it just hits which scares you cause you think its something serious . That in turn causing you to panic about it , which causes you to lose sleep... and the cycle repeats itself... as long as you can get through a month or 2 longer , you'll get desensitized from it. This doesn't mean it will "go away" but you'll learn how to cope with it. Everyday you wake up and you get that fatigue feeling is another day that you will understand it more. Of course going to the dr. helps too because you learn stuff about your body... 99% of the time , this is nothing though.


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## M&M

I have a few more questions, if you don't mind! When these "attacks" occur, have you ever actually fallen asleep? Or are you able to pretty well fight it off? If you fall asleep during an attack, how long do you typically sleep for? How do you feel when you wake from it?Have you ever spoken to your doctor about this? If it happens when you're driving, it has the potential to be very dangerous indeed! So I would definitely NOT say "it's nothing".


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## cleung

M&M said:


> I have a few more questions, if you don't mind! When these "attacks" occur, have you ever actually fallen asleep? Or are you able to pretty well fight it off? If you fall asleep during an attack, how long do you typically sleep for? How do you feel when you wake from it?Have you ever spoken to your doctor about this? If it happens when you're driving, it has the potential to be very dangerous indeed! So I would definitely NOT say "it's nothing".


Of course I don't mind! I was able to get back home, but yes I did actually fall asleep right away once I got home. I was dead tired I didn't even have the energy to get change. I could sleep from let say 5pm till the next morning when I need to really drag myself up to go to work around 7am. I usually woke up have a headache, but not as dead tired as in the afternoon. No I haven't told my doctor about this, my doctor is really hard to book, I finally have a booking to see her first week of next month. Maybe jasonibs9 is right, my body is definitely changing as I get older. My sick become very dry. I used to have normal to oily skin type, now I need to put tons of lotion from my dry inchy skin, and my face started flakered so I switched to a heavy lotion for dry skin, which is working well on my face.


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## M&M

Hmm, dry skin too? Have you had your thyroid levels checked? A good panel for checking your thyroid is a TSH, FreeT3 and FreeT4 test. Some common symptoms of being hypothyroid are fatigue and weakness, menstrual problems (including heavy flow) and dry skin. There are other symptoms too, but those are some of the ones you had mentioned. (Constipation can also be a symptom of hypothyroidism, but not sure if you have that or not.) I was also wondering today if you've ever been tested for diabetes?Could even be, as jason mentioned, the dreaded getting older and going into menopause or perimenopause. I know that many menopausal and peri-menopausal women have the dry skin, the poor concentration, and the severe fatigue.Gosh there are so many things, I'm afraid I'm not being helpful at all. LOL At first I was really thinking Narcolepsy for you too. Those are a few things that struck me right off the bat. Not sure if any of this is helpful, and you may have already considered these things with your doctor too. Excessive daytime sleepiness is a pretty common problem, even though it doesn't seem like it. And unfortunately, it can be hard to nail down the cause, because so many things can cause it.You could even look into poor sleep at night - if you have sleep apnea or insomnia or another sleep disorder.


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## overitnow

M&M said:


> Excessive daytime sleepiness is a pretty common problem, even though it doesn't seem like it. And unfortunately, it can be hard to nail down the cause, because so many things can cause it.


All of the above conditions that M&M suggests are possibilities and the doctor's office is a good place to start; but we both know how much time can be spent getting examined, seeing specialists, blood tests, sleep tests, and if none of that works, "try this and we will see if it helps." I normally think addressing causes makes the most sense; but if your symptoms are as dire as mine were, you really should address the symptoms or stop driving. (And we all know how impossible that is, given the state of fast transit outside of Toronto and Montreal.) And yes, getting older is a challenge, but recovery is possible without major interventions. If I had just accepted my conditions in my 50s as something I brought on and deserved--and I was well on my way to that state back then--I would most likely be still fouling my pants, worrying endlessly about my heart (I had a 50% chance of an attack in the following 10 years, 11 years ago), complaining about my arthritic hip and doing almost no exercise at all, if I hadn't either died or had to live with the consequences of my decision to keep driving in the face of that fatigue. I know how difficult it is to figure it out when you are in the middle of a number of competing symptoms; but acceptance is the last alternative. Why make it your choice? Fight it. I have supplemented my way out of it and won. You can, too.Mark


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## Lookin'foraLife

Hi Cleung, your symptoms sound very much like some of mine!I am awaiting treatment for parasites. My doctor says they can all that you've mentioned: http://www.prohealth.com/library/showartic...&t=CFIDS_FMhttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IS...ag=content;col1The Gatorade helping is interesting and it may be the sugar in it is helping you, in which case you may want to be checked for hypoglycemia. I will be tested hopefully sometime this week. Good Luck, and let us know if something helps.


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## cleung

Thanks M&M. Well, I guess age is not really the problem here then.... I am still in my early thirties, no near close to menopause. I have all the symtoms you mentioned, including constipation. I have always constipate I don't even know what a normal bowel movement is like anymore. It is funny when you mentioned thyroid. My dog had some health issues a year back, and after research and talking to some breeders on the internet they suggested me to take him for a thyroid test. We have asked the vet three times if he thinks it is thyroid problem and he insisted it wasn't. Anyway, my dog have gotten better since we moved (so it must be the air, or water, or the parks he went to). I wonder if I asked my doctor to give me a thyroid test will she listen.Diabetic test is a good suggestion. Both my parents have diabetes, one with type A and other with type B, so I am in the red zone, but then I thought annual check up include blood test that can tell if I am diabetic. Some coworkers also tell me about a shake called Ensure. Anyone know what does that do? It is looks like a protein shake of some kind.


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## M&M

Well, your dog is gorgeous. I know it's off topic, but what kind of dog is he? He's gorgeous and I'm glad he's feeling better, even though you aren't. Ensure is a nutritional drink/shake. It's got all kinds of vitamins and such in it. It's not super high in protein (I think it has arond 9 grams), but could make a good breakfast if you aren't a big breakfast eater. I drink a high protein Boost for breakfast every morning. (It's a similar shake/drink thing.) It has around 19 grams of protein in it I think. I'm not sure why they would want you to drink it, other than maybe they think it would give you a boost of energy. Here is a link to learn more about Ensure. http://ensure.com/ You can order a free sample too, so that might be nice.







It would depend what kind of blood work they do at your annual check up. One would think that since both your parents are diabetic they'd be testing you for it, but it can be dangerous to count on those kinds of things from others. Wouldn't hurt to ask, that's for sure.


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## cleung

He is an Akita. He does look handsome doesn't he, but good to look at, not good to touch. He is very protective and very good with the family and the kids in the family, but not strangers. He bite a small piece of nose off one of our neighbor where we used to live. The neighbor tried to kiss him on the nose! Anyway, I think the people who suggested me to take ensure is to gain weight. I lost so much weight, from a size 7 to now I can't even fit into size 2. I can see my ribcase, looks like I am anorexic.


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## M&M

Very interesting about your weight loss. Unexplained weight loss (while food intake and appetite remain the same) is also a common symptom of a thyroid disorder. I sure hope you can make an appointment either with your GP or an endocrinologist to get all these symptoms checked out. Putting them all together, it definitely sounds important for you to figure out what's going on. I think you and your kids will be safe in your house as long as you've got your dog by your side! That can be a good feeling in this day and age.


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