Unexplained fatigue and perceived muscle weakness

[tigershot]

Hi, everybody.  I'm a male in his 20s and I have fatigue, perceived muscle weakness, soreness while doing physical activities, and sensitivity to loud noises like utensils clinking together.  The fatigue and perceived muscle weakness feels like somebody would have if he had a fever.  I play tennis for fun once a week to keep my body healthy, though it's a bit difficult to move around easily.  Sleep doesn't cure the fatigue.

My problems started during an extremely stressful college semester.  The stress most likely weakened my immune system and I got hit hard one day with an ear infection, bronchitis, fever, dehydration, and really sore throat.  A few months later after final exams, the fatigue and many other symptoms set in.  My first physician thought it was either depression or chronic fatigue syndrome since my blood tests were normal so I decided to try traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).  The acupuncture and herbs didn't help and I had tried all kinds of things for a long time after that from colon cleansing to vitamin supplements.  The only breakthrough I had was from taking a supplement called liposomal vitamin C.  It had cleared a number of symptoms I had before like shortness of breath and tingling sensation in the hands and feet but stopped working a few months later.  I couldn't afford to keep taking it since I wasn't working (I'm still unemployed) and decided to see another physician and a rheumatologist.  This physician didn't think I had depression and thought my problems were due to stress.  My CBC blood tests were normal but he didn't think I had chronic fatigue syndrome since I didn't fit the criteria.  I did test positive for EBV as a past infection but that's not really saying much.  He recommended I go to a psychotherapist and I went for a few months.  The visits did help with stress but not the fatigue  The rheumatologist thought fibromyalgia was the closest match but I didn't have any tender points.  My physician and rheumatologist suggested I exercise.  I finally decided to try see what a psychiatrist could do (though I was strongly against it and my psychotherapist told me I could make the decision).  The psychiatrist told me that I had depression.  I told him a number of times that I didn't feel depressed but I went along with his treatment anyway for about half a year.  I finally had to walk away from him since he wanted to try different medications and I was seeing zero improvements.  In fact, I was actually feeling worse and you could say I was dumbfounded when he asked me one time if I was faking depression.  Acupuncture helped to reverse the side effects of the medications afterwards.  I decided to try TCM herbs one more time which I'm currently doing now.

I'm strongly thinking of visiting an infectious disease specialist since my rheumatologist suggested visiting one when I asked him what he thought I should do next but I'm wondering if there are people who have gone through the same thing I'm going through and have some ideas.  I'd also love to hear other people's thoughts.

[tigershot]

Thanks for your comment.  I had been looking at post viral fatigue syndrome not too long ago and this does seem like a likely cause.  I'll go ahead and further consult with my PCP.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Apart from anxiety and panic disorder, increased sensitivity to sound is seen in migraine headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, TMJ disorders, Lyme’s disease, post traumatic stress disorder, and ear damage by toxins and medications.
Extreme fatigue could be due to hormonal problems, 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 (quite likely in your case). Persisting EBV infection or mono can also be the cause (recheck this). A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind.
Since I cannot examine you and know other related conditions you may be having, nor is a detailed history possible on net, I have listed the various possibilities that should be looked into. Please consult your PCP for primary examination followed by proper referral. Take care!