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What Causes Severe Fatigue, Extreme Dyspnea And Anorexia?

Posted on Thu, 10 Mar 2016

Question: I am 49 years old I have been through a battery of tests most of the time I am too weak to do much of anything extremely fatigued exhausted pain experienced in almost every inch of my body muscles skin and bone joints etc abdominal pains are off the charts flu like symptoms times 10 migraines are in the same most of my muscles feel like they are being fed toxic waste poison. Nausea feeling quite often lack of appetite is extreme shortness of breath is an understatement XXXXXXX XXXXXXX 12 as far as regular testing stuff like that comes out good what test was what is your opinion

Answered by Dr. Naval Mendiratta (52 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Fibromyalgia

Detailed Answer:
Good evening

thank you for writing on health care magic

I have gone through history, and it seems it looks like the tests results are continously proving to be inconclusive, and still the symptoms are persisting which are affecting your quality of life.

I would like to ask you a few more queries to be sure about the disease:

1. Any symptoms of forgetfullness/irritability??

2. Do you feel better in the mornings or is the fatigue worse?

3. When were the last tests done?? Did they check for inflammatory markers?

4. Have you lost any weight along with your apetite loss??

5. Have you been tried on any other medications other than Gabapentin for chronic fatigue syndrome?

Do let me know these queries

Would guide you further from here

Regards
Dr Naval

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (38 minutes later)

The fatigue and weakness has become as time goes on increasingly debilitating I would have to say the weakness fatigue exhaustion would be more severe in the morning but still to a level of near incapacitation all throughout the day especially this last year. As far as inflammatory markers rheumatoid arthritis hands showing up and tests in tests. Decrease in saliva glands decrease in peer production XXXXXXX production. They tried venlafaxine and lyrica but lyrica cause me to go into deep depression. It interacted with some of the other medications weight loss has occurred major problems with constant diarrhea on an explosive scale most of the month every month nearly every day as far as irritability is concern that has been a factor and the other thing you mentioned in conjunction with that the answer is yes I just don't remember what it was you said I remember reading what you wrote and answer was yes to it and in relationship to right next to it is said irritability and something else and both of them were yes one of the two of the greatest things is the pain and all of the muscles in my body feeling like they are toxic like they're puking like there the flu times 100

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (2 minutes later)

It was forget Permit without a doubt confusion forgetfulness foggy minded unable to focus or hold a train of thought at all even remember what I did the day before or the entire week or maybe even the entire month sometimes long-term memory seems to be fine like things that had occurred years ago flawless on that type of memory memory today is a little bit better than it has been probably in past 90 days

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (2 minutes later)

One of the medications that I did list is tizanidine that they have me using now and levothyroxine

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (7 minutes later)

My mind seems to work a little better in the evenings I don't know why I can't sleep much any and all if ever I do think I feel better early morning very late evening any exertion of energy whatsoever promotes and will cause me to experience all symptoms or at least half of the symptoms 50 - 100 times what they were 24 to 48 hours earlier 5200 * what day were 24 to 48 hours earlier and that will continue for 9 to 60 days before it dissipates back down to the level that it was Before I exerted Energy and we are not talking about a lot of exertion or for a long. Of time it does not take a lot at all to make things horribly horribly horribly worse then every once in awhile maybe every 28 - 45 days I will have a day to where I feel almost normal but it doesn't last whether I do anything or don't do anything it doesn't last now if I do something exert energy at last for even a shorter period of time which might be a couple of hours you know me feeling you know halfway human or I don't do anything and maybe I get a whole dayBut that is short lived because it goes right back to being horrible again within 24 to 48 hours of feeling normal

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (5 hours later)

If you look above what I have written there are the answers to the questions you had asked earlier in your questionnaire I am looking forward to your response shortly thank you so very much have a blessed day thank you so very much for helping me in any way that you can God bless

Answered by Dr. Naval Mendiratta (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Is it fibromyalgia

Detailed Answer:
Good evening

Sorry for the late reply...Just got done with my evening shift

Well, the symptoms you have told do fit in a lot with Fibromyalgia...That is a disease of the pain regulation center in the brain which causes irritability, fatigue, forgetfullness , bowel upset( loose stools), headaches and worsens the quality of life.

I am not sure, but would like to know if there are any stressors affecting your life. Be it in the present or the past which has made an impact on your life and still holds true at some place inside??

The treatment part is always tricky. You have tried a few medications so far, but I would suggest give it a try to Duloxetine or AMitryptilline as they have been the better drugs in this disease.

Second, apart from treatment we need to put you on some meditation as well. Develop a hobby and work on it. Meditation does help free the mind and helps in coping up stress. Getting good hours of sleep will help you as well

The problem with medication alone is, you stop getting response to the same dose after a while. Then either we increase the dose or add another medication.So both the therapy need to go hand in hand

Hope the information was useful

Do let me know for more queries

Regards
Dr Naval

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Naval Mendiratta (38 hours later)

yes there were a number of traumatic horrible things that happened to me as a child but they have strengthened me I have overcome everything I excelled in life is everything I have ever done except for this has wiped me out and its hard to accept

Answered by Dr. Naval Mendiratta (13 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Further guidance

Detailed Answer:
Good evening

Well, as of now if your blood results have been good so far and your life is getting affected, I would recommend you go through the following article and see if your symptoms match here.

www.rheumatology.org--> Patient education ==> Fibromyalgia

I would like you to switch to tablet duloxetine as it will help better in your case. But dont just depend on the medicines. ALong with medicines, we need to focus you on some form of meditation as well, to free your mind.

Dont be disheartened, you will rise up again and be back to your normal self

Do let me know once you go through this article and see if your symptoms match

REgards
Dr Naval

Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar