Anyone else with fatigue, aches and pains?

[NorthCoastCA]

I am a 39 year-old male who has had life-long allergies to grass/tree pollens.  And for the past 39 years, my allergies always resulted in classic hay fever sympoms (runny nose and congestion).  For the past several months, I've been hammered by fatigue, aches and pains that at first seemed to come and go randomly, but with only minor congestion and no runny nose.  Blood work has revealed no obvious reason for the fatigue.  I'm currently using a combination of prescription and over-the-counter medication to combat "stuffy" symptoms; but there is no relief for the fatigue.

I live on the coastline of Northern California.  After moving here more than a decade ago, I have not felt the usual "hay fever" symptoms, unless I traveled into other areas with different plant life (such as the agricultrual Central Valley of California).  We've had a very windy spring that has left our vehciles covered with a film of fine yellow pollen on an almost daily basis.  I didn't think anything of it (especially since it wasn't making my nose run) until one extremely windy day, everyone in my household seemed to be complaining of the same fatigue and aches that I was suffering from.  It was then I realized that the fatigue might be allergy-related after all.  I also then started to recognize a pattern to the fatigue (late morning through mid-afternoon) -- about the same time that the wind would pick up and die down around here!  Fortunately, I've been able to sleep through the nights (no wind at night).  And no, there is no evidence of sleep apnea.

Anyway, keeping the windows closed is not an option as we do need fresh air, as well as some sort of temperature regulation (and it seems silly to run A/C equipment with a sea breeze outside).  So I've invested in extra air purifying equipment to run even while the windows are cracked open.  I'm also going to try a somewhat expensive "microairscreen" (new product), as I've heard that HEPA filters for windows don't allow much air flow.

Has anybody else made a connection between pollen and flu-like symptoms (fatigue/pain)?    If this is truly a pollen issue, then it's as if my autoimmune system is fighting off this particular kind of pollen systemically, more like it would fight a virus, rather than just swelling at the point of contact (my nose).  I'll post again after I've had a chance to experiment with filtering air (of course, that might be at the end of pollen season here anyway).  But I thought I'd share my observations now just in case anyone else might be able to make a possible pollen connection with their situations.  Since I'm desperate to get rid of this fatigue, anything is worth a try at this point.

[rugger22]

Hi- I live in upstate NY and have noticed similar things.  I've been told before that I have mild allergies because whenever I go to the Dr. it's for a sinus infection.  However, this year my street has been COVERED in that yellowish tree pollen.  For about a month I felt very stuffy and short of breath and coincidentally my breathing has been getting slightly better as the trees are becoming more full and less pollen is floating around.  I have been getting a lot of swollen neck glands and achy nose and eyes.  I bet the pollen is the cause of all this where you are too.  Feel better

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Have you consulted an allergy specialist for your symptoms? What medications have you tried?

You could take oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine or loratadine and see if it helps with your symptoms. Also take steam inhalation and saline nasal drops several times a day.

If your symptoms still persist, you should consult your doctor because then you would need to get certain investigations done and would probably need steroid nasal sprays and a course of antibiotics.

Let us know about any other doubts that you have and post us on how you are doing.

Regards.