I need help, life changing fatigue.

Hello, need some help. I am 20 months post op and so tired. I can'tfunction normally for more then 30 mins without needing to rest. My eyes burn after a few hrs my eyelids are heavy. I feel so weak. My labs are good, protein and calcium low normal, rest in normal range. Have you been thru this and what do I do to get my life back?

A couple thoughts...do you know your actual lab values? Sometimes, people are told by office staff that "everything is ok" when labs are just barely within the "normal" range, and going in the wrong direction. In other words, it helps to know not just the actual values, but also the trends.

Next, the first 2 things that come to my mind with fatigue are low protein and low iron/hemoglobin. Maybe protein supplements would help, even with you being within the normal range. And did they check not just your blood count (CBC) but also ferritin and TIBC (total iron binding capacity)? If these are low, it could be the problem.

But mainly I would say contact your doctor and discuss this, because the cause could be something totally unrelated to your DS. I think all of us who have been through such a major change, when something goes wrong, the first thing we think of is that it's due to our DS. Might be, might not be. Bottom line, I don't think anyone here can resolve this for you, and a work-up may be in order.

I hope you and your doctors are able to get to the bottom of this and get you feeling better.

Larra

I was also going to suggest low iron or ferritin. I became iron deficient and always fatigued. They run my hemoglobin and it's fine, but my ferritin was a 5 and had to start doing weekly iron infusions. Wish you the best at finding out what is making you so tired. Please be sure to take your vitamins. I wasn't really compliant in it for years and am paying the price now with iron, potassium, and vitamin d deficiencies

You also may not be getting good oxygen supply to your brain.  You really need to call your doctor about this, like now.  It may be something diet can correct or could be serious.  These boards are wonderful but none of us are going to replace your doctor and he/she really needs to look into this.

 

I developed this same issue about 14-16 months after my DS. Labs were in the upper good range, so it was hard to find the issues. I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It was determined that I now have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. Medication helps somewhat, but the fatigue and lack of energy still remains. Makes it very difficult to function normally. Mayo's think my condition started as a result of having major 3 surgeries in an 18 month period, (DS, hernia, common channel lengthened/extreme fatigue/malnutrition), but there is no way to know for sure. And it doesn't really matter how I got it, now I (we) have to live and deal with it. It has cost me a very good and fun job, and now I am working on disability.

  Not quite the way I expected this all to go, but this is how it went.

I have had horrible fatigue issues since I was a child.  Most doctors run basic tests for the obvious culprits and then have no idea where to go from there.  I was always told to lose weight, exercise and thrown on an antidepressant.  It's difficult to find doctors to treat fatigue especially in a world where everyone thinks they suffer from it.  I know that my fatigue is more extreme than the average person. 

A few things that I would recommend is also to track labs on one spreadsheet so you can see trends.  If iron and ferratin are dropping it could be a cause.  I would also highly recommend finding a hormone specialist that is knowledgeable on bio-identical hormones.  Even though I am within normal range on thyroid I was put on meds and it does help a bit.  I am currently scheduled to be tested for human growth hormone to see if that is also low (this can occur with shortened intestines).  I take estrogen, progesterone and testosterone as well.  I have viruses that my body will fight forever which is the main culprit for me but it is really important for me to make sure the rest of my system is functioning well.  Hormone issues can wreck your quality of life.  It is also hard to find great practitioners for hormone balancing.  

I would also recommend more protein.  I hope you find your root cause and get it under control.  Best of luck.

I would research Adrenal Insufficiency. I am dealing with it at almost 6 years post DS. Best of luck!