Extreme fatigue : I'm starting to suffer... - British Liver Trust

British Liver Trust

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Extreme fatigue

45 Replies

I'm starting to suffer daily with very bad fatigue. Is there anything I can do to help this I'm worn out most days. Without doing much at all. Can anyone help me

45 Replies
AyrshireK profile image
AyrshireK

Now's a bad time with all the scary stuff going on, it's draining doing not a lot and that's without liver issues.

Make sure you still exercise, not full on gym sessions but a nice walk every day at least, get fresh air, get your lungs working, good for physical and mental health.

Make sure you eat and drink properly to keep fuelled.

Katie

in reply to AyrshireK

It's not the situation tbh. Nothings really changed for me. I started a job I lasted a day. Felt to tired and weak to work. My eyes always heavy from morning until night. Never used to be like this. My eyes are permanently red and blood shot and watery. I keep fit I eat super healthy diet. Nothing helps with it. Even coffee doesn't work. Its hard to live like this. And I'm worried I have to live like this for reat of my days. I'm only 47.. Is there any medication to help me?

Jojochr profile image
Jojochr in reply to

Do you think you could have hay fever, it can make you tired and you spoke of red watery eyes? Also I felt like that and turns out I had diabetes too, getting on top of my blood sugar has made a difference, not perfect but a definite improvement.

in reply to Jojochr

No it's not hay-fever. There red and watery as I'm so tired. Feel shattered all day everyday. Think it's part of liver condition. It's hard to live with. Can't even work. Too tired to work. Diabetes could be the cause but like anything at min can't get tested. I was pre diabetes a while ago. But changed my diet drastically when they said that. So I'm clueless

Koassilator profile image
Koassilator in reply to

👂Take your mind of it man. It's only doing thee head in. 😱 Maybe easy for me to say but say what you see Repeat Anxiety repeating itself is tops ATM. 🤔

Beauport profile image
Beauport in reply to

I felt the same way a while back. My regular 6 monthly blood test showed up anaemia, so my hepatologist prescribed a course of iron tablets. Since then I've had lots more energy, although I do sometimes get hit by an overwhelming fatigue, at which point I have to sleep for a couple of hours.

Perhaps you should ask your GP for a blood test in case you're iron deficient. But on no account take an iron supplement without medical advice, as excess iron is harmful to the liver.

Dbltz profile image
Dbltz in reply to

Do you have hemochomatosis is a high Iron Deficiency that effects the liver, and can be corrected by being bleed out to lower the iron spike, how is your thyroid it can effect that too please get this checked they can detect it threw a simple blood test. This disease can / will kill off all your organs if not keeped under control.

in reply to Dbltz

Having my blood done next Wednesday to see if they find anything

popupstands profile image
popupstands

get yourself some organic green tea, it contains polyphenols that help reduce stress, boost energy and improve mental focus

in reply to popupstands

I've got green tea. Not organic tho. I've tried lots of things. Nothing helps up to now.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to

My wife was the same she found that PEMF helped her so much

in reply to popupstands

What's pemf

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to

blog.daveasprey.com/pemf-th...

ajandy profile image
ajandy in reply to popupstands

Did your wife have cirrhosis? My wife had acute liver failure a little over a month and has no energy at all. There is a clinic near us that offers the therapy and I am wondering if her liver is too far gone At stage 4 for it to be of benefit.

Beture47 profile image
Beture47

Hi have you had your Vit D

Checked

Mine was checked on my last liver outpatients appointment it was very low

I have now been taking for 2 months

Feel so different

E

CarpeDiem11 profile image
CarpeDiem11

Have you had your iron levels checked? Even if your iron levels are normal, ask them to check the ferritin levels also. If either if these are low, they could be contributing to your fatigue. I have had extreme fatigue with low ferritin levels; they can prescribe iron tabs, but will be reluctant if you are at risk of bleeding. Good luck.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to CarpeDiem11

My wife was diagnosed end stage liver disease with fibroscan reading of almost 60 it’s now in mid 20s within 6 months and we went to kings back in January and they said it was now chronic liver cirrhosis, she changed her diet to plant based no diary at all and she’s in around 20 vitamins, also she as regular infrared Saunas around 4 to 5 per week and I believe the PEMF as not only helped with her pain but is healing her, she could not walk 18 months ago she now walks 15000 to 18000 steps per day, if you would like to know what vitamins she on just send private message, I have trusted my own gut and reading about lots of natural things we can do to help ourself, I have trusted the experts too much having lost my dad and younger brother to cancer in last few years, just remember experts won’t prescribe natural supplements even if there is evidence because guess what they cannot make any money out of that, so do your research and make your own decisions and don’t be bullied into the scaremongering that goes on, best of luck to everyone

CarpeDiem11 profile image
CarpeDiem11 in reply to popupstands

If you have a well balanced diet, there is no need to add vitamins to supplement. Many vitamins are water soluble and so any excess you consume will be urinated out, so ultimately not used by the body and in fact expensive urine!! Orhers are fat soluble and the excess can be stored in the body and in some cases, this will cause more harm than good. As someone with a scientific background, I prefer to rely on scientific evidence.

I can't comment on the pemf system since I know nothing about it, but if you are finding these things helpful for your wife, then I can totally understand why you would use them.

I have an autoimmune disease, so until they discover how to switch off the right part of my immune system, then it looks as if I cannot reverse damage done to my liver( they have been researching this for approx 50 years to my knowledge).

Many thanks for your suggestions and I hope that all continues to go well for you both.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to CarpeDiem11

I would suggest you look at The Dr Sebi diet and the herbs required to help you

CarpeDiem11 profile image
CarpeDiem11 in reply to popupstands

I'm not actually looking for advice on diets, sorry if I gave you the impression I was! My original comments were intended for the original poster and were suggestions only, not advice. I am perfectly happy with what I eat and listen to my body.

Phoenixv profile image
Phoenixv in reply to popupstands

Hi we are always looking for things to help can you tell me what PEMF is thanks

ajandy profile image
ajandy in reply to popupstands

I was able to get an appointment for Monday (we are in the States). The doc recommends PEMF and Ozone. Kind of a shot in the dark for us, but the regular liver doc wants to just wait and see and my wife has had no improvement.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to ajandy

Also if you can do a few sessions per week in infrared sauna might be hard with the lockdown currently but if you have space in your house they are not that expensive, best of luck

ajandy profile image
ajandy in reply to popupstands

The doc doing my wife’s PEMF treatment is recommending Himalayan (sp) sea salt, and my other docs say no salt with cirrhosis. Any thoughts? Conflicting information from multiple Docs drives me crazy.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to ajandy

Hi yes we only have Celtic sea salt



davianne profile image
davianne in reply to ajandy

Hi, I was just wondering what is Himalayan sea salt? AFAIK, the Himalaya's are no where near a sea. Your "other doc" was right, any salt is bad for people with cirrhosis, no matter where it comes from, so please, keep away from it.

David

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to ajandy

Celtic sea salt supplies all 82 trace minerals needed by the human body for optimal health and longevity.

Since it is unrefined, it does not contain any chemicals, preservatives, or any other additive.

Jan_Noack profile image
Jan_Noack in reply to popupstands

but it is still mostly salt..about 99% probably! If you can't avoid it, yes it does contain allt he extras.. but I will be trying to cut down as much as I can..actually my body doesn't like much salt...so I listen to it on that one and add no salt to most of my cooking now. I purchase some meals on wheelsor prepared meals but I find them all salty these days! Thanks for the tip to avoid salt..I do give in occasionally so knowing it is bad for my liver will help that lack of self control

popupstands profile image
popupstands

I forgot to say my wife’s ferritin levels were 1950 off the scale 18 months ago and her last 2 blood tests have been normal ie within range

RosaRugosa profile image
RosaRugosa in reply to popupstands

Popupstands, that an amazing drop in ferritin levels! Has your wife had a hematologist (blood specialist) evaluate her ferritin levels?

I can think of several reasons why ferritin might go down on its own -- none of them good. I also wonder if she has undiagnosed hemochromatosis and internal blood leakage has temporarily fixed her toxic, high iron levels. As her iron toxicity goes down, she might feel better -- but she really needs to rule out internal bleeding.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to RosaRugosa

She has been tested for all and that were my own concerns but all is well I put it down to PEMF plus infrared sauna, plant based diet and herbal remedies positive thinking and exercise I don’t know if we can reverse her cirrhosis but things are moving in the right direction

RosaRugosa profile image
RosaRugosa in reply to popupstands

Glad your wife got checked out and those things were OK! It's great that she is feeling so much better. I will look into PEMF.

I have been a vegetarian for the last forty years, but I do eat dairy. Can you tell me where your wife got her information for her diet, and what herbs she uses?

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to RosaRugosa

If you send me a personal message with your email I can send you a book in PDF about PEMF and also look up on you.tube herbs by Dr Sebi also I can send you a list of supplements I have introduced, I have put my wife on apple cider vinegar mixed with Magnetised water that has been filtered using Alkaline (Water Filter Jug off amazon and magnetic place mat off amazon) she has aprox 3 litres per day, and the only other drink she has is Organic Green Tea and very occasional a Black coffee, I cut up fresh Garlic each night before bed aprox 2 to 3 cloves IMPORTANT let this sit for 15 mins before having with glass of water, throughout the last 18 months my wife as been amazing and I can honestly say she must be getting almost back to normal because she is nagging me to do things like decorating etc and just generally, The PEMF device I purchased was aprox £4000+ the Infrared sauna was aprox £1600 but I was prepared to travel abroad before lockdown last year to try stem cell therapy which was aprox £25,000 but I am happy with what we have achieved currently and her fibroscan was 60 Kpa now mid 20s back in January 2020, the most difficult job was dealing with Ascites and now we have that under control with a herb from India, I am no expert I have just been guilded by my gut and I would suggest anyone read a book called the clever guts diet by Dr Michael Mosley, I truly believe that we will reverse things the other important thing I forgot to mention is she did Andreas Moritz Liver Cleanse, she did it once a month for 5 months the first time there was thousands of stones that were passed the next time less until no stones were passed, she will now do this once a year to maintain things.

popupstands profile image
popupstands in reply to RosaRugosa

PEMF or Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field therapy is now widely studied and used within integrative medicine and therapy. The process involves directing energy waves to the human body. Each one of our trillions of cells vibrates at a certain frequency, which balances and continually recalibrates the body. Waves from a PEMF device communicate with each cell, in essence aiming to balance our electrical and magnetic fields.

There are various commercial PEMF devices available which affect our magnetic field, and act in different ways; but essentially, the waves utilized by a PEMF device painlessly and quickly pass through the cells in the body, increasing the ‘charge’ of the cell’s electrons, helping to stimulate them and promote healing.

The process is widely compared to a battery charging. Our bodies contain tiny ion surges created by the flow of sodium and potassium ions both inside and out of our bodies’ cell membranes (as well as the flow of calcium and magnesium). In unhealthy bodies, the ‘flow’ through the ion channels is disrupted and slowed, in terms of both the flow of water and nutrients in, and harmful cytotoxins (toxic agents) expelled out of the body.

Importantly, in addition to aiding the ‘flow’ of energy, PEMF has the potential to create antioxidant electrons which stop free radicals, and restore cell metabolism to a higher, more optimally-charged level.

Greenham profile image
Greenham

Hi

I work full time in a hospital ( Well 50 hours a week ) 12 and a half hour shifts and on my days off I am exhausted and want to sleep all the time

Jojochr profile image
Jojochr in reply to Greenham

50 hours is a lot for anyone and worse with a health condition. I work more or less the same as you. Since lock down I have been working from home and working around 42 hours a week. It has really helped. I am actually going for a walk after work most nights, I used to be too exhausted. After lock down I think I will be looking for a way to change my life style, maybe even a chang of jobs. I'm.not sure what to suggest for you but try to see if there us anything you can adjust to help, going to bed earlier, mediation or yoga....

Beautysmum profile image
Beautysmum

I have suffered with this extreme fatigue since being diagnosed with an Acute Liver Injury and Hepatitis E in September 2018. I was also discovered to have NASH a few months later. Some days it just hits me out of the blue. I haven't really found a solution yet and the Hepatologists have just told me to increase my exercise and lose weight. Sorry I don't have much of a solution for you.

Meteocal1 profile image
Meteocal1

I am, as well, going through some daily fatigue. Sometimes I just can’t seem to get enough sleep. What works for me is just to allow my eyes to dose off whenever possible. 10 minute at least helps.

RosaRugosa profile image
RosaRugosa

I am 57 and have been ill with cirrhosis (caused by NASH) since age 45. As with the original poster, also have extreme fatigue. In my case, I have good days and bad days (and good months and bad months.) I had to quit my job and have not been able to work since.

For a while, I had anemia, and I did feel better once it was treated, but only by a modest amount. Iron-deficiency anemia is very common among people with cirrhosis, so that's one thing to check out. Other than that, I had not found anything that helps. I have lost the ability to walk and often spend most of the day in bed. (It makes me quite angry when people tell me to exercise or start a walking program -- I used to exercise at least an hour a day. It didn't stop my from getting ill, and now I have difficultly walking from my bed to the bathroom without a assistance.)

The nurse at my liver clinic tells me not to despair -- she's seen lots of patients go from a wheelchair to normal activity following a liver transplant. However, at least here in the US, liver transplant criteria don't match my symptoms well at all. I doubt I will ever qualify.

I had not heard much about PEMF -- seeing the replies here, I'd like to know more about it. Does anyone know how expensive it is or where to get it in the U.S.?

ajandy profile image
ajandy in reply to RosaRugosa

In San Antonio it is about $60 for about a 10 minute session. I did an online search to find our doctor. Insurance does not cover it.

jacobsmum24 profile image
jacobsmum24

Are you taking plenty of Thiamine ? It's normally prescribed by the GP for Cirrhosis/Liver patients. Amongst the many symptoms of Thiamine deficiency, are Fatigue and Muscle Weakness . I suffered a lot from fatigue at the beginning of my journey, but with help from the liver dietician, I am pretty much ok now. Good luck x

in reply to jacobsmum24

Yeah I've just started taking it. 100mg I'm on does that sound about right. Thanks

jacobsmum24 profile image
jacobsmum24 in reply to

I am supposed to take 100mg three times a day but am not very good at remembering to take one at lunchtime !

popupstands profile image
popupstands

Helping to Prevent Mitochondrial Damage

Interestingly, high intensity PEMF is known to stimulate mitochondria, the cell structures that orchestrate cellular energy production, synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and transfer the ‘ion exchangers’, like calcium and magnesium.[6] We now know that mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to a wide range of human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and diabetes.[7] Therefore, if mitochondrial damage is central to so many serious disorders of the human body, it makes sense to take steps to optimize our health utilising integrative systems and therapies such as PEMF.

Dogbot profile image
Dogbot

The trouble with fatigue is the cause of it can be so many things, the first thing is to get a blood test to see if they can find anything much easier than trying all the different things .

Hope it works out, I do know that fatigue is very much a part of liver disease??

Good luck stay safe

Dogbot 🐶🌈

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