I'd GUESS that the tiredness you describe is not that abnormal and you are probably just a bit worn out, why not take a full week off the cycling commute, get early nights and lay off alcohol completely. You might feel a bit better after that?
Bike Forum
Why am i so tired, medical advice appreciated
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Posted 1 year ago #
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She's been banned from advising on heart disease, asthma, contraception, breast cancer and vaccination.
Do you think the GMC does that lightly?
So in answer to your earlier question about "dissing one of my own"...?
Need I go on?
Thanks for the link by the way, I was almost taking adrenal fatigue seriously till then.Posted 1 year ago # -
Tony - was just about to post a similar thread - pretty much the same situation bar the commute (6 miles each evening with the lttleun in the trailer instead though)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Bushwacked, I can totally sympathise with what you have been through and are going through. And the reaction/attitude of the others on this forum is just so typical of what people who have been diagnosed with CFS/ME have to endure.
It would appear that just because the "wonderful" NHS does not have the capacity or willingness to understand something then it quite obviously must be made up!! LOL.
I too spent 5 or 6 years going to my GP complaining of being tired but with "no fault found". All my NHS tests were negative and I was continually told that there was nothing wrong, so I just carried on trying to live a normal life. However, it all came to a head about a year ago when my body has just simply had had enough and literally shutdown. At which point my GP finally diagnosed me with CFS. The ironic thing was the NHS had not even followed their own guidelines/protocols in ruling out all possible causes before diagnosing me with CFS and had not run half the tests that they should have done. What a joke.The NHS simply recommended CBT and graded exercise. I couldn’t possibly see how this would help and like you I took it upon myself to find out what was really wrong with me and went to one of the most respected ME clinic in the UK. Within 2 weeks they achieved more in terms of a diagnosis than the NHS had not achieved in 6 years. Turns out I am gluten intolerant and that I also had a number of nasty parasitic/bacterial gut infections. (The NHS had never run and gut type tests). I too was also told that I had adrenal fatigue, following years of my body being under stress from the gluten intolerance and infections I had.
Being naturally sceptical of alternative/complimentary medicine I was wary at first. But coming off gluten was a revelation and a year on, the treatment I have been following has literally turned my life around. I am all too aware that the term adrenal fatigue is not recognised by our astute colleagues in the NHS and when I showed my GP my adrenal test results he just told me that was normal for me! I find it funny that if you have clear symptoms and your tests results are normal, then there is nothing wrong with you. And when you have clear symptoms and your test results are clearly abnormal, there is still nothing wrong with you.
I have clearly seen a massive improvement in my adrenal function over the last year and have test results to back it up. So perhaps it not the witchcraft that some in the NHS & GMC would have you believe!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Feildmarshall - clearly the NHS is not good at managing chronic fatigue / me / post viaral syndrome whatever you want to call it. even diagnosis is not clear and there is certainly no agreement or completre answers
However the adrenal fatigue thing and quite a number of similar conditions "diagnosed" by alternative practitioners is clearly bunkum and piffle.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm certainly not having a go at Bushwacked, or defending the NHS, but I am most assuredly having a go at the pseudo-scientific cobblers that gets peddled to the (largely) worried well in the name of 'treatment'.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Lesson of the week- don't look for sensible medical advice on the internet!
Posted 1 year ago # -
PMSL! And don't ask a Dr to have an open mind
Posted 1 year ago # -
+1 on the liquids in and out..
I've never been a great hydrator unless I'm on the sauce.. but I find that I get very significants boosts in general energy levels if I remember to drink a pint of water before bed and another on waking..
quite remarkable results really.. one of which is bedwetting.. which mrs yunki finds so endearing..
Posted 1 year ago # -
I am suprised that your blood pressure is as high as that if you are as fit as I would assume you would be doing that commute daily.
Do you have any history of type 2 diabetes in the close family?
One of the sypmtoms (before the peeing like a horse and drinking gallons) is a feeling of exhaustion for no apparant reason.
I suffered for about 5 years before going fully type 2 with blood sugar level spikes and troughs that made me feel shite even after a good nights sleep.
I would like the others say go back to the GP's and insist on some more tests but also have two weeks off from any exercise at all. You could plain and simply have been overdoing it and be burnt out.Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm a teacher and love my sleeps after work.
If I can get in around 4ish I can get an hour sometimes two if I'm being greedy sleep.
However I then get back up and continue working normally until around 11pm, then back up at 5:30am
I have been known to sleep for three hours on a bad day and only do an hour or so of work before going back to sleep until the morning.
It's a tyring job. Don't let it kid you.
These two half terms are long remember.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Some of us sickly folk have had to look 'outside the box' due to not being taken seriously by a GP. A GP is a General Practioner and can not be expected to know the answer to everything so why are they so reluctant to refer patients to a specialist/have further tests?
I'm not happy with my quality of life but feel that I'm having to push to get anything done.
Bushwacked - I remember your previous posts and how frustrating it was for you. do hope that things are getting better, allbeit gently.
Apologies for hijacking the thread.
Posted 1 year ago # -
well i started my new regime last night, no laptop after 8, drank 2 pints of water, went to bed at 9 but read until 10 followed by good nights sleep. Felt ok this morning but still a bit groggy, drove to work and i'm part way through a litre bottle of water to finish before lunch. I'm not missing my regular thursday night ride though!
Posted 1 year ago # -
CG - Thanks - Things are really good now, things on the up and I'm having more consitantly good days albeit slow improvements. Amazing how just taking on board some simple advice such as rest and eat wel can really improve your energy levels.
Sorry to hear about your GP, I have to say my GP has been great. While she doesn't know the answers she is quite happy to refer me to nutritionists and accupuncturists so I can go private with it.
+1 Suggsey for saying go back to your GP. Always the best first line of dealing with this sort of thing.
Posted 1 year ago # -
At the risk of highljacking this thread again and raising my head above the parapet to be be shot down, I just don’t get this reluctance to accept that your adrenal glands can be under performing.
People are regularly tested for low (or high) thyroid function and also the function/output of many other glands in the body. So why is it that the conventional medical fraternity only considers that your adrenal glands are either fully functional or totally failed. It just does not stack up.
I think people are right to be wary of what they read on the web and there are no doubt cases where companies are cashing in on peoples real or perceived ill health. However, I (and many like me) have lived with the real world effects of poor adrenal function and have physically experienced the benefits that the adrenal support can bring.
Coming back onto topic, based on my own personal experience, all I can say to anyone who has “unexplained” tiredness is don’t give up and keep pushing your GP for referral. And if you are not getting the support you feel you need then you are fully entitled to find a different and more sympathetic GP.
Posted 1 year ago # -
At the risk of highljacking this thread again and raising my head above the parapet to be be shot down, I just don’t get this reluctance to accept that your adrenal glands can be under performing
.Yes it is odd isn't it? Why would the medical profession accept that your thyroid gland can not function properly but not your adrenal gland? Is it because there is a global conspiracy against those with adrenal fatigue or... and this is just a long shot... because there isn't a scintilla of evidence that the condition exists. You can believe what you like, but it is just that. Your belief. You are pefrectly entitled to pay snake oil salesmen what you like, but before you do I would seriously recommend trying one of these.
http://skepticbros.com/store/Most efficacious in every case!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hi guys&girls. Look up addisons disease to see how the medical mainstream views adrenal function
Posted 1 year ago # -
FieldMarshall - encouraging to read that you are back on track but it really shouldn't have taken so long.
I was tested for underactive thyroid and showed borderline. Took a month of thyroxine then another blood test which was clear. Therefore I was told I didn't have an underactive thyroid and, here you go, a prescription for antidepressants. I queried this, GP took offence and told me to see another GP.
Yep, high heart rate upon waking, breathlessness, slurring speech, feeling in a fog, extremes of body temperature, hair and eyebrows falling out, weight gain, swollen limbs, extreme exhaustion, no appetite etc etc etc. Antidepressants? Shove 'em.
There is so much that is not known about, ie with regard to long-term effects of foodstuffs/medication/pollution/stress etc etc and different ways in which people can be affected. After all, we are individuals and no two bodies work in the same way.
An open, and enquiring, mind is needed by both patients and the medical profession.
Apologies for rantette.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Sorry, I've not read all of this but I've been through a similar set of symptoms.
I'm bigger than thee (100kgs) but moderately fit, near enough tea-total, ok blood pressure, decent diet (but could do better). I do however snore at a level that would make the four horsemen shudder. What worried me is that when I got to bed at night (9.30) I'd be off to sleep in an instant and sleep through til 6.00 and I assumed I was sleeping brilliantly so something else was causing it.
After blood tests for the usual nasties (Diabetes, thyroid bla bla) my GP referred me to ENT who then put me on to respiratory for a sleep study.
Did the study about 8 weeks ago and get results on Monday, which I am expecting to be that I have sleep apnoea (letter says appointment at sleep apnoea clinic so seems to be a bit of a prelude!). Wife's colleague's boyfriend has it. Sleeps attached to a machine - since diagnosis, twice the energy, more alert etc.
I think what I'm saying is if you're a major snorer flag this to your GP.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Addisons as described on wikipedia discusses that the adrenal function is not a switch with just two states - functioning and non functioning. It talks of symptoms being able to be reversed by stimulating the adrenal glands using the same methods as my so called snakeoil salesman have advised - PMSL!!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Interesting thread this. Silly question but how can you actually sleep attached to a machine? Is that every night?
Hope you get sorted out garage-dweller!
Posted 1 year ago # -
CG, thanks for your kind words.
Really starting to feel myself again after so many years of being underpar and its great not having to constantly push myself physically just to get through everyday life. I've alreday ridden my bike more this year thus far than I did in the whole of last year.
There is so much that is not known about, ie with regard to long-term effects of foodstuffs/medication/pollution/stress etc etc and different ways in which people can be affected. After all, we are individuals and no two bodies work in the same way.
An open, and enquiring, mind is needed by both patients and the medical profession
I couldnt agree more.
I grew up in a family that had a lot of links to traditional medicine and the NHS and thus when I became ill, I had no reason to doubt that the NHS could find the reason and I was a complete sceptic when it came to alternative medicine.
However, my experience over the last few years has really forced me to open up my mind and look at all forms of treatment. And I'm so glad I did.
I dont blame my GP and/or the NHS, as they have neither the time nor the resources to deal with these kind of illnesses. But I also dont think that simply prescribing antidepressants is the way ahead (they tried that one on me too).
And I bet that much more money is being raked in by the large pharmaceutical companies in sales of anti-depressants than is being made by snakeoil salesmen in the sales of natural adrenal support.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm intrigued bushwhacked, are you prescribed hydrocortisone?
(that is the treatment for addison's, or were you referring to something else?)Posted 1 year ago # -
Any updates on how this is going? Hope well!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Similar symptoms to the OP but not as severe, just put it down to getting old. Last week the doc told me I had a slight gluten intolerance and put me on a gluten-free diet for six months. After just a week I fell transformed, rode on Saturday and managed to clear a climb I struggled with recently (the last, short, steep climb out of the black at Llandegla) which I used to be able to clear OK. Felt fine on Saturday night instead of falling asleep at 8pm and getting a bollocking off Mrs Pembo. Out again on Monday for a ride and felt great. Anyone struggling with fatigue should try gluten free for a week, easy to try and it may just do the trick. Further info here
Posted 12 months ago # -
The possibility might be related to what TJ said.
I suffer from this fatigue problem a while back and went to doctor. No help there but only advised to take things slowly with proper rest and I can sleep for 12hr (once I slept for nearly 14hr) easy not lazy. The only way I try to deal with this is make sure my sleep pattern is not disturbed too badly but then I cannot sleep early for whatever reason. So I am temporarily stuck for now. It sucks when / if I try to concentrate as I just want to sleep. I can hit tonnes of coffee and still sleep like a log within 5 mins. So need to time managed properly.
Posted 12 months ago # -
+1 for Docrobster from me as well I am afraid.
This is far from off topic for me and whilst I am happy to acknowledge the existence of Addisons/Adrenal insufficiency I too have had a look at the info on Adrenal Fatigue ( and the author of the page I found claimed to have coined the phrase in the late 1990s and no earlier ) and my initial thoughts are much the same as the other medical professionals who have commented.
Adrenal insufficiency isn't simply an on/off phenomenom but can clearly occur to differing degrees e.g. some people need steroid supplementation all the time and some only need it when they are ill for other reasons and the system is under stress. The Synacthen test which is done to assess adrenal function is open to interpretation, but one also has to bear in mind that long term treatment with steroids itself may well result in the adrenals switching off - so the diagnosis becomes a self fulfilling prophecy - and although if you need steroid replacement then the risks of side effects are minimal, because you are simply putting back what should be there, if you don't need them you are increasing the risk of diabetes, infection and osteoporosis to name but a few.
The fact that the results of the tests are open to interpretation and most endocrinologists will want some proof to start/continue treatment long term, coupled with the fact that steroids have a mildly euphoric effect and are anti-inflammatory, which means that when you first take them any aches or pains you have may well disappear and you will feel "better", means that this is one of the areas of endocrinology which has been open to alternative interpretation or exploitation depending on your viewpoint.
I am also in no doubt of the existence of Chronic Viral Syndrome and would agree that the NHS management of that is inadequate even by the standards of the NICE guidance of a few years back. NICE did look at all manner of remedies and did not find any useful evidence in support of most of them, indeed its recommendation came down in favour of the supportive management that not unreasonably winds up those who suffer from the problem and want it to go away now.
As to the medical profession being slow to accept change, an accusation traditionally levelled in these sorts of discussions, believe me that if there is clear evidence to show benefit in the face of an acceptable level of risk then the new treatment etc. will be adopted rapidly. In my time, I have seen medical practice change virtually overnight on occasion on the basis of clear published evidence. Arguably, we are sometimes too quick to adopt new treatments rather than the opposite.
I also currently have an open mind about gluten intolerance. Coeliac disease is well established but there is also some anecdotal evidence at least to support a wider, milder effect and as the increase in the consumption of wheat is a relatively recent phenomenon from an evolutionary perspective it isn't unreasonable to suspect that some of us may be better able to cope with it than others.
Which finally leads on to my view that if you do find something that helps you, for which there is no risk of harm and which is, for want of a better term, cost effective, then I have no problem with that and wish you well.
Posted 12 months ago # -
re. gluten intolerance - look what a gluten free diet has done for Djokovic - was an also ran and now is cruising towards being no 1 player.
In todays Sun it 'reports' that Robbie Williams takes testosterone injections to fight off feeling fatigued.
Posted 12 months ago # -
Also see what gluten intolerance did for Casey Stoner in MotoGP. Before he went gluten free he was suffering from a mystery illness that caused fatigue and was seeing him vomit in his helmet and having to be carried off his bike at the end of races in a massively fatigued state. He went gluten free and has had no recurrence of the problem since then.
Posted 12 months ago # -
I'm not qualified to judge the OP's doctor's diagnosis so I'll ask a question that my former GP asked when I suffered from similar symptoms:
Could it be psychological and would you consider counseling?
I didn't know if it could but said yes to the counseling. Worked for me.Posted 12 months ago # -
sounds like what i had,i was tired all the time,have you been on antibotics in the past,or been on holiday somewhere exotic before these systems appeared?
Posted 12 months ago # -
Yep, someone told me about Djokovic but I didn't realise Stoner had the same problem. In a nutshell Gluten damages the small intestine of people who have celiac disease. This damage keeps your body from taking in many of the nutrients from the foods you eat, including vitamins, calcium, protein, carbohydrates, fats and other important nutrients. Your body can't work well without these nutrients.
Also, if you have Irish blood you may be more susceptible to gluten intolerance.
Posted 12 months ago #
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