Suffering from severe fatigue

[meanioni]

One thing I have noticed is that I suffer from fatigue far more readily these days. Beyond tired to almost exhaustion.

Did some research and was interested to see that coeliac disease is sometimes linked to chronic adrenal insufficiency which can cause excessive tiredness.

Going for blood tests tomorrow so will be interesting to see what comes out...

[meanioni]

Sorry, forgot the question <slaps head>.

Do any of you suffer similarly?

I find particularly if under a lot of stress at work I get wiped out much quicker these days.

[SpinningCat in reply to meanioni]

Yes!

Fatigue and joint pain were my pain problems before diagnosis and although there has been some improvement this has mainly been due to my iron levels improving (with help from supplements), resolving most of my insomnia problems (Amitriptyline) and getting some painkillers which dull things down a bit (yes, I rattle with pills now)!

It feels like my brain is moving in second gear a lot of the time and if work is busy it all gets worse. At Easter this year this all spiralled horribly - I knew I was tired, I knew I was prone to making mistakes at work so I kept checking and double-checking everything which made me even more stressed, made my insomnia worse and my joint pains rocketed - I ended being signed off work for over a month.

Things have improved but are not resolved. I often feel that the levels of tiredness are totally disproportionate to my activity levels.

[sassyl]

Yes, until a very recent diagnosis of reactive hypoglycemia (which my endo says affects alot of coeliacs).

If your bloods come back with your cortisol ok then look into getting a glucose tolerance test too.

[meanioni]

Thanks, they are doing the full works, to include glucose too.

[sassyl in reply to meanioni]

Glucose Tolerance Test is not the fasting glucose on normal early morning blood test. It's a 4 hour test where you drink glucose then have bloods every half hour to see how your insulin/ glucose levels react.

[Maryelle]

Yes to the point I have to lie down mid afternoon, it hits me like a brick wall.....

Looks like a trip to the doctors for me.......

[freelancer]

I had this with B12 deficiency, which I understand can happen with Coeliac.

[maidforit]

hey Meanioni, thanks for the info. I've just gone to the GP for loads of tests, I'm waiting to get the results back and when I visit my GP I will bring this up when we discuss my results.

If you are interested I've written a blog post about the blood tests I'm having a background on my health and symptoms

[Hidden]

My blood test came back clear for Coeliac and it seems i'm allergic.

When i've accidently ingested the evil i start to fall asleep though i felt find before .

It was days of wanting to sleep all day on odd days dispite having a full night sleep that made me decide it was time to see the doctor.

[Lynxcat in reply to Hidden]

I often wonder if becoming coeliac as an adult rather than a child means for some that the disease presents itself over many years before a person test positive.

There is no way of knowing whether this is so, because people are not given a blood test every 10 years or so as a matter of course. In fact, they are not given a blood test at all unless they either go to the doctors and ask for one - or the doctor may think that they could be presenting as a coeliac with different symptoms they are describing. who knows there could be thousands upon thousands of people walking around with coeliac disease and never find out. One thing that cannot be argued is the high incidence of people either believing that they are suffering from IBS or similar. People who are laid low, spending hours in bed - hands clenched around their tummies or with violent headaches and bouts of sickness.

I do know that I had a variety of symptoms and yet believed that it was normal to have them because in truth although I had met and knew someone with coeliac disease they had had it from childhood. They had been thin with a large tummy .. the symptoms that they described were not the same as mine. In fact - how can anyone really even suspect coeliac disease if they have never heard about it? It is rarely mentioned in the press and media and even when it is, it is never really talked about constructively with advice about potential symptoms.

There really needs to be much more information around freely accessible .. an advice advert on the television would also be good .. but I am living in dreamland as this sort of thing doesn't happen and it is a shame as it would in the end benefit us all.

If I were you - I would ask for another test in a few years time. Especially if you are experiencing symptoms - good luck with your trip to the doctors, I hope that it turns out well and you feel full of pep very soon once again!

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Yes it is pretty common. It maybe due to being glutened or more likely due to nutritional deficiencies i.e. low ferritin, iron, B12, Vitamin D.

I could barely walk and discovered my Dr hadn't read the letter from the hospital saying I was severely vitamin D deficient (common in coeliacs). Once these levels are boosted your energy normally returns in two weeks.

In terms of adrenals that is also very true. The knack is to try and go to bed at 10pm so they're not overly strained, avoid salty food cravings - eating little and often and slowly they should improve. After years of battling gluten both adrenals and cortisol levels are often all over the place. It takes a while for the body to rebalance.

Your Dr can also do other tests to exclude any other AI diseases that often have fatigue as a common symptom like pernicous anemia, Thyroid, Arthritis etc.

Good luck with the tests and let us know how you get on.