Fatigue and Stiff, Sore Neck and Shoulders

[xamlxambx]

I have been feeling like  I am "getting sick" for more than 45 days now. It started with the overall malaise, fatigue, muscle soreness, stiff neck, and a tickle in my throat. Within the last three weeks I have progressed to having all those symptoms along with burning in my lungs, an ear ache, headaches, an irritated cough, Also I have had sores in my nose and mouth within the last three weeks. I cannot tell you how incredibly tired I am and the intensity of the pain in my neck and shoulders especially when I first wake up in the morning. Nothing seems to truly help. I went to the doctor and they put me on Amoxicylin, Afrin, Flonase, and some ear ache relief drops, but nothing is getting better (except my right ear). What in the world is going on with me?

[panda2526]

I am sure others can attest to this as well...coming back "within the normal range" can mean nothing. The reference ranges labs use vary, as well they are often not sensitive enough to flag something that is seriously wrong. What is "normal" and what is optimal is very significantly different. Two examples of this are thyroid and iron levels.

Thyroid tests are usually run with TSH. This is a very non-specific test, and the reference ranges the labs use are not the updated labs that were changed about 10 years ago. They are now a lot more sensitive. TSH is not a good indicator of your actual thyroid. You also NEED to have the FREE T3 and FREE T4 along with it for an accurate portrayal of how your pituitary gland is functioning, along with the thyroid. One talks to the other...

Next thing is iron levels...these are often looked for by a dr running the routine CBC's...from there they can see your hemoglobin and RBC's, etc. and say whether you could be "anemic" or low in your blood counts, and if your blood counts come in low they could say you need iron supplement. This is not the case. If they have not done any further testing for a full iron panel, they will not know your TRUE iron level in your body, not just your blood count. For the full iron picture you need ferritin, transferrin saturation %, TIBC and serum iron. From there, they can ***** your true iron status, as these numbers show how your body STORES iron. We need so little iron for proper health, and any excess or misplaced iron in our body causes many many health issues, organ damage, and joint damage, damage to immune system as the iron slowly builds in our bodies becoming toxic.

These are just two examples of tests that often fall withing "normal" range yet are highly specific and sensitive to fluctuations and even small increases and decreases for a person to feel ill of health. Iron also damages the thyroid and pituitary glands, so as people age the more iron they have the more symptoms they will experience of adrenal and other side effects.

Hope you get some answers soon, but I encourage you to get copies of all your tests and results and research what the optimal levels are for each of your results, and compare with your symptoms. There are many people on multiple forums here that can help you read the results in different areas of health and interpret meaning the dr might be missing or reluctant in many cases to even investigate further if you are within their range...I have found out the hard way, as has my husband (he found out after over 10 years of fighting with drs. he has a genetic disorder that runs in families no one knew they had until he was diagnosed) so now we scrutinize everything. A person really needs to become their own advocate.

Take care, C

[Motowngirl67]

Just wanted to check in and see how you are feeling and how your xray went..  Any news?

[xamlxambx]

Thank you for your input. I had a full workup done and everything came back within normal range... still don't know what is going on. I have gotten better from the ears and throat, but still fatigued and in pain. I was put on flexaril, so I am waiting to see how I do. Going for X-rays this morning... wish me luck.

[ando35]

Get a complete physical blood test that includes  thyroid as part of the blood test.

[losttolong1111]

have you been out of the country? Also have them check for lyme disease and west nile virus, This might sound crazy but have them check for parasites, what can you lose.