Aa
do i have chronic fatigue syndrome???
I'm a 17 year old female and have been feeling ill for about 5 months now. It started when i started college and i had a bad cold for about 2 weeks prior to feeling nauseous and tired. I dropped out of school because of my nausea and I as feeling exhausted. At first they thought i had an ulcer or something with my gall bladder then they thought it was my thyroid. So I had an endoscopy, ultrasound, liver test and many many blood tests. EVERYTHING IS FINE... well just waiting to see if it's celiac...
I saw my doctor about a month ago and she thinks its depression. I started thinking about it and i came to the conclusion that maybe i'm a bit depressed, but only because i'm not doing anything and feel horrible and i don't know why.
Lately, my stomach has been somewhat getting better...i think... well some days is better than others. I've also realized that i get exhausted from doing nothing. I sleep at least 12 hours a night and still feel tired. But I didn't think it was CFS because i had trouble falling asleep despite my tiredness. I've also started getting headaches and my body just always feels weighed down. Usually stuff that excites me, i don't feel like doing anymore because it takes too much energy. Yesterday i was walking downtown and had to sit down because i was so tired and i had slept 14 hours. I also find that lights on the tv hurt my eyes (especially red) and my upper back and neck muscles have been in pain.
I don't know if this could be hypoglycemia or CFS.. i dont really understand the connection between the two... but my mother is hypoglycemic and i have not yet gotten the 6 hour test for that. They just checked my glucose when i had my first blood test and said i wasn't diabetic.
Anyway any insight would be GREATLY appreciated. I start school again in 9 days and if i get tired by not doing anything... i don't want to experience the feeling when im actually doing something.
I saw my doctor about a month ago and she thinks its depression. I started thinking about it and i came to the conclusion that maybe i'm a bit depressed, but only because i'm not doing anything and feel horrible and i don't know why.
Lately, my stomach has been somewhat getting better...i think... well some days is better than others. I've also realized that i get exhausted from doing nothing. I sleep at least 12 hours a night and still feel tired. But I didn't think it was CFS because i had trouble falling asleep despite my tiredness. I've also started getting headaches and my body just always feels weighed down. Usually stuff that excites me, i don't feel like doing anymore because it takes too much energy. Yesterday i was walking downtown and had to sit down because i was so tired and i had slept 14 hours. I also find that lights on the tv hurt my eyes (especially red) and my upper back and neck muscles have been in pain.
I don't know if this could be hypoglycemia or CFS.. i dont really understand the connection between the two... but my mother is hypoglycemic and i have not yet gotten the 6 hour test for that. They just checked my glucose when i had my first blood test and said i wasn't diabetic.
Anyway any insight would be GREATLY appreciated. I start school again in 9 days and if i get tired by not doing anything... i don't want to experience the feeling when im actually doing something.
Oh and hypersensitivity to light, like from bright sun or the TV, was also a problem for me early on in the CFS, as well as sound and smell hypersensitivity. Only the smell hypersensitivity has stayed though. I didn't get any of those from the Celiac.
As someone who has both Celiac and CFS, I'm probably in a good position to comment. :) But before I do, let me say that for both of them, symptoms vary HUGELY from one person to the next, so my experience may not be indicative of yours in any way...or they might be so close it's uncanny.
First off, for the Celiac, what test is your doctor running? Did s/he do a blood test or have you been scheduled for a biopsy? The modern blood tests are very accurate, but not 100% foolproof, so a biopsy is considered the "gold standard"...though even there, recent research has shown that in rare cases, the biopsy may not be foolproof either, as was previously thought.
Celiac is often, though not always, noticeable from childhood. You may have noticed that large amounts of pasta, bread, and other wheat/rye/barley-contiaining products upset your bowels (often as much as a day or more later) either making them loose or causing constipation, you may have been told you were anemic, you may have had irregular periods, some people with Celiac get kanker sores in their mouths...there's a whole raft of possible precursors/symptoms. Some people, however, remain symptom-free.
For myself, when I was hit with CFS strongly, it very much felt like 7 months of food poisoning. I was nauseous all the time, I had horrendously painful cramps and "the runs", I felt like my head was stuffed with cotton often accompanied by tunnel vision, and I felt generally easily tired and sorta weak. Because I was unable to fast, I never had the biopsy done, so I had to just figure it out for myself by trying a GF diet. It was only a matter of days before I was certain I was on the right track...though other people take as much as a few weeks to have noticeable improvements. Becoming completely symptom-free can take as little as 3 months for the lucky ones to a couple of years for the unlucky ones, but usually there will be marked improvements early on followed by a gradual tapering off of the remaining symptoms.
Only months after I figured out the Celiac, I was hit by CFS. There were some similarities in symptoms, but the fatigue and weakness from the CFS made the fatigue and weakness from the Celiac seem like a walk in the park. My legs especially felt like water...I was afraid they would simply collapse under me, and every other part of me felt tired all the time and sometimes watery/crampy as well. I had minor neurological coordination difficulties where my muscles just didn't QUITE want to move the way I told them to, ringing in the ears 24/7, and horrible horrible dizziness that would increase and decrease dramatically (often following a daily pattern, though the pattern would change over time) but never went away completely. There were also a host of minor, intermittent symptoms, including an increase in the frequency of migraines and other headaches (migraines are still uncommon, but for me happen maybe every two months instead of every six), small dark spots in my vision that would come and go, the sensation of my ears being clogged, frequent muscle twitches...and probably several others that aren't coming to mind.
Since you mention it specifically, for myself, I've always had intermittent insomnia, but that clearly got worse after the CFS hit as well. What you describe of sleeping 12 or more hours at a time is not unusual either, though I don't get that, myself.
As with the Celiac, there was also some nausea, but nowhere near Celiac levels. The nausea I get with CFS is relatively mild...I may not want to eat, and may even feel a need to retch, but nothing on the order of the constant intense nausea and retching I had with the Celiac.
Also comparing the Celiac and CFS in terms of brain fog, with the Celiac, it was more...intense...almost like I was going to faint or like the drug-induced fog you'd get from older cold meds. With the CFS, it's not as intense, but it's more pervasive...concentration is more difficult, learning is often extremely difficult, and remembering things or coming up with the right word is also a bit off for me.
Anyway, I think I've gone on MORE than long enough. Sorry this post is a bit jumpy...there was a lot to post and thoughts often came to me after I'd just constructed a nicely flowing para...I gave up on presenting my thoughts entirely coherently at some point. :)
First off, for the Celiac, what test is your doctor running? Did s/he do a blood test or have you been scheduled for a biopsy? The modern blood tests are very accurate, but not 100% foolproof, so a biopsy is considered the "gold standard"...though even there, recent research has shown that in rare cases, the biopsy may not be foolproof either, as was previously thought.
Celiac is often, though not always, noticeable from childhood. You may have noticed that large amounts of pasta, bread, and other wheat/rye/barley-contiaining products upset your bowels (often as much as a day or more later) either making them loose or causing constipation, you may have been told you were anemic, you may have had irregular periods, some people with Celiac get kanker sores in their mouths...there's a whole raft of possible precursors/symptoms. Some people, however, remain symptom-free.
For myself, when I was hit with CFS strongly, it very much felt like 7 months of food poisoning. I was nauseous all the time, I had horrendously painful cramps and "the runs", I felt like my head was stuffed with cotton often accompanied by tunnel vision, and I felt generally easily tired and sorta weak. Because I was unable to fast, I never had the biopsy done, so I had to just figure it out for myself by trying a GF diet. It was only a matter of days before I was certain I was on the right track...though other people take as much as a few weeks to have noticeable improvements. Becoming completely symptom-free can take as little as 3 months for the lucky ones to a couple of years for the unlucky ones, but usually there will be marked improvements early on followed by a gradual tapering off of the remaining symptoms.
Only months after I figured out the Celiac, I was hit by CFS. There were some similarities in symptoms, but the fatigue and weakness from the CFS made the fatigue and weakness from the Celiac seem like a walk in the park. My legs especially felt like water...I was afraid they would simply collapse under me, and every other part of me felt tired all the time and sometimes watery/crampy as well. I had minor neurological coordination difficulties where my muscles just didn't QUITE want to move the way I told them to, ringing in the ears 24/7, and horrible horrible dizziness that would increase and decrease dramatically (often following a daily pattern, though the pattern would change over time) but never went away completely. There were also a host of minor, intermittent symptoms, including an increase in the frequency of migraines and other headaches (migraines are still uncommon, but for me happen maybe every two months instead of every six), small dark spots in my vision that would come and go, the sensation of my ears being clogged, frequent muscle twitches...and probably several others that aren't coming to mind.
Since you mention it specifically, for myself, I've always had intermittent insomnia, but that clearly got worse after the CFS hit as well. What you describe of sleeping 12 or more hours at a time is not unusual either, though I don't get that, myself.
As with the Celiac, there was also some nausea, but nowhere near Celiac levels. The nausea I get with CFS is relatively mild...I may not want to eat, and may even feel a need to retch, but nothing on the order of the constant intense nausea and retching I had with the Celiac.
Also comparing the Celiac and CFS in terms of brain fog, with the Celiac, it was more...intense...almost like I was going to faint or like the drug-induced fog you'd get from older cold meds. With the CFS, it's not as intense, but it's more pervasive...concentration is more difficult, learning is often extremely difficult, and remembering things or coming up with the right word is also a bit off for me.
Anyway, I think I've gone on MORE than long enough. Sorry this post is a bit jumpy...there was a lot to post and thoughts often came to me after I'd just constructed a nicely flowing para...I gave up on presenting my thoughts entirely coherently at some point. :)
Whether genetically modified (GM) foods are beneficial or harmful is still controversial. Most foods we eat may contain ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs)--everything from baby formula and food to our dairy to even our meat. If you live in Europe, avoiding GM foods is easier since laws require labeling. However in the US and Canada food manufacturers are not required to label if their food is genetically modified or not. As such, here are some guidelines for steering clear of GM foods in your diet, if that is your choice.
Cited: http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Foods
If the food is a concern to you, here is a link that will provide more information about what to foods to avoid. Regardless, please follow through on testing to rule out any other possible causes for your symptoms.
Take care and I hope you feel better soon.
Cited: http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Foods
If the food is a concern to you, here is a link that will provide more information about what to foods to avoid. Regardless, please follow through on testing to rule out any other possible causes for your symptoms.
Take care and I hope you feel better soon.
I have Epstein Barr Virus, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue. My Epstein Barr Virus titers are off the charts and indicate a current reactivation. I have the nausea on and off for the last 6 months now along with many of the symptoms you describe. I thought I had an ulcer too.
Find a doctor (probably an alternative medicine doctor or a Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Center) who will test you for Epstein Barr Virus and other viruses and/or bacteria and treat you. I also have hypothyroid (probably caused by the virus). The routine thyroid tests may not pick up on the thyroid problem and some doctors don't interpret the test ranges adequately. I had a TSH 3rd generation test which showed my TSH is 2.22. Acceptable range is .5-1.5. Labs will have normal ranges much more broad than this. My regular TSH tests kept coming back 1.17.
Don't let them tell you it's depression when you know it's not (at least not primary depression, but secondary depression because you feel ill all the time). You probably don't have Celiac Disease either, but do have a gluten intolerance. Many people with Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia/Epstein Barr Virus have gluten intolerance including myself. This may go away once the virus or hypothyroid is treated and gluten is not causing all your problems.
Warmest Regards,
Ree4tu
Find a doctor (probably an alternative medicine doctor or a Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Center) who will test you for Epstein Barr Virus and other viruses and/or bacteria and treat you. I also have hypothyroid (probably caused by the virus). The routine thyroid tests may not pick up on the thyroid problem and some doctors don't interpret the test ranges adequately. I had a TSH 3rd generation test which showed my TSH is 2.22. Acceptable range is .5-1.5. Labs will have normal ranges much more broad than this. My regular TSH tests kept coming back 1.17.
Don't let them tell you it's depression when you know it's not (at least not primary depression, but secondary depression because you feel ill all the time). You probably don't have Celiac Disease either, but do have a gluten intolerance. Many people with Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia/Epstein Barr Virus have gluten intolerance including myself. This may go away once the virus or hypothyroid is treated and gluten is not causing all your problems.
Warmest Regards,
Ree4tu
Hi ! I am happy that you are here. I hope that you will check our Health Pages because we've added diagnostic tests that can help your physician rule out CFS. In addition, we have symptoms of CFS and other helpful information:
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/list?cid=39
Feel free to ask any questions after you check out our health pages.
Best,
PlateletGal
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