Extreme fatigue, dizziness and short of breath symptoms worsening over time

Over the past 10 months I have been having symptoms of extreme fatigue, dizziness, head rushes, and shortness of breath. Additionally my heart always feels like it beats very heavy and I occasionally get heart palpitations. Anytime I drink caffeine I get very jittery and feel as if all of the remaining energy I had has been completely drained.

At first I only noticed symptoms the day after drinking alcohol, however every month has been getting much, much worse and has now gotten to the point where I can't do some of the physical activities that I could do just a year ago. Throughout the day, I feel my head feels "foggy" and "cloudy" and my overall quality of life has been declining. I am an athletic 24 year old and my echocardiogram, lung tests, and sleep clinic studies all came back normal, however the sleep clinic did show that I don t get adequate sleep.

From everything I read, these symptoms are very common and could be from anything. Does anyone have any ideas of what I could be suffering from? Many thanks.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Extreme fatigue with breathlessness could be due to low testosterone in males, anemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or due to kidney or liver problems. Another possibility is sleep disturbances (like sleep apnea, imbalance of rapid eye and non rapid eye movement sleep etc.). You may sleep your customary 7-8 hours and yet feel fatigued. You need sleep studies to rule this out. Other possibilities are chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, low Vit B12, low iron, low calcium, sodium and potassium. Hyperthyroidism too causes increased sweating and tiredness.   Postviral fatigue syndrome is another possibility. Persisting EBV infection or mono can also be the cause. A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind. Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Take care!