fatigue

I’m waiting to see a rheumatologist but it’s taking awhile. The doctor that recommended I see a dermatologist thinks I may have an autoimmune disorder. After a lot of research and reading about it.. I do believe it’s a good possibility.

While I’m waiting is there anything I can do in the meantime? I’ve hit another fatigue spell mixed with some depression. My joints and body aches. I’ve got no energy and sleepy. It seems to hit every few weeks hardcore but there isn’t a day goes by im not tired. It’s a lot of pushing myself. I take a multivitamin and magnesium for supplement. Any suggestions for coping mechanisms until I can see the doctor would be greatly appreciated. ❤️ #AutoimmuneDisease #ChronicFatigue #Fatigue #Depression #TheMighty #Undiagnosed #Anxiety #BipolarDisorder #MedicalProfessionals #Pain

Well, there’s not much morning left, and here I am, dragging along both physically and mentally. I’m so tired these days, it’s painful. As I’ve noted in previous posts, I need to get back to my sleep apnea therapy (especially because I’m on a new medication that makes me drowsy!), but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do that yet. While I’m super grateful (and actually look forward to) therapy this afternoon, I worry (—there’s a surprise!) I’ll be too fatigued to really gain something from it. Furthermore, I haven’t completed all the tasks I’d planned to for said session, and that always makes me feel guilty. Anyone else dragging this last January Monday?
#Depression #Anxiety #MentalHealth #Fatigue #Guilt #MightyTogether

So I have a problem. And before anyone comments, “just go to the doctor!” I am trying but I live in America with crappy insurance so it’s… difficult.

Anyway, all my life I’ve had fatigue, brain fog, and social anxiety. So I’m used to panic attacks and all that. But the past couple of years symptoms seem to have skyrocketed to what feels like an actual illness but nothing I’ve researched seems to perfectly fit. I was wondering if anyone on here has had this myriad of issues to help ease my mind that I’m not dying until I can get to a doctor:

Fatigue is present always, along with anxiety. Like, the jitteriness NEVER lets up. I’ve also developed constant dizziness. It feels like the earth is moving beneath me when I stand and walk and I also always veer to the left, so when I walk I look drunk. There’s also what feels like leg weakness. And when I stand my chest is heavy and I can’t take a deep breath until I’ve sat down for at least an hour.

Then, on what seems to be part of my monthly cycle during my period of ovulation and my actual period my heart RAMPS up. My resting on a good day is 73bpm. During these periods it stays at a constant 100-125bpm. It’s gotten as high as 160. But after this period it always goes back to normal. I also get even more anxious and emotional during these times and my previously listed symptoms get a thousand times worse.

I also get very hot very easily. Like, I have to stand in the freezer at work in the winter to feel normal type of hot. I lost like 50lbs very quickly during the onset of all these symptoms and now I’m always hungry. I also developed light sensitivity to where it hurts sometimes to watch my favorite superhero movies.

There’s also times where it sort of feels like I’m out of my body? I can’t really describe this sensation other than a combo of not being in reality and mildly losing my mind. But then the sensation passes and I’m just left in a weirder brain fog.

Has anyone else had this and did you ever get it diagnosed? The closest thing I’ve been able to find is a thyroid condition. It covers the heat and light sensitivity. But is it possible this is all just anxiety in it’s most annoying form? I just need reassurance.

Thanks for reading! #Anxiety #Hormones #thyroid #medical #Dizziness #BrainFog #weakness #Fatigue

Hi! For those of you in the US who have stopped working and applied for disability, what was that process like? Not just the bureaucracy, but the internal process of accepting that you can’t work anymore? Did you try to switch jobs multiple times? What was the breaking point? I feel like I’m getting there…

Also, how do you live without income during the process of applying? Were your family and friends supportive?

Thanks in advance! #ChronicDepression #Disability #DisabilityBenefits #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ChronicMigraines #Fatigue

I recently had an important revelation.

In the five years since first experiencing chronic illness, I have never actually accepted its presence in my life.

You see, as somewhat of a "spiritual" (though I hesitate to use that overused term) person I have grown to view the world in a very fate-based way. I believe that the unfolding events of our life are all deeply meaningful and I appreciate that our hardships in life all happen for a reason.

However, I have never been able to extend this line of thinking to my health. In my mind, my illness was the golden exception to this worldview- God's terrible mistake.

Whenever I have been in the middle of a particularly bad flare-up, I find myself fixated on one stressful line of thought. This should NOT be happening.

When I reflect back on periods when illness brought my life to a halt, I would feel tension and stress. I would think of all the wasted time, the days spent in bed, and the unmet goals and would despair. The existence of these periods felt wrong, painfully wrong.

Why then, has it been such a challenge to accept my path through life, warts and bumps and all?

Why has it felt so impossible to accept this part of myself? To come to peace with the fact that I have lived an atypical path of alternating illness and wellness?

I can think of two main reasons.

The first has to do with identity. As someone who has always identified as a motivated high achiever, chronic illness has come into direct conflict with my self-perception.

Stripping away my ability to meet my goals at times, (financial, career, etc) has felt like a direct challenge to my true self, my achieving self. I have perceived it as an obstacle whose purpose is sole to knock me off my correct path in life.

But of course, whether I like it or not, my illness has been a part of my true journey on this earth. Outside of my judgments of it, it simply is part of my life, whether I like it or not. Therefore It is inherently part of my true path in life, simply because it ion my path.

The second reason it has been so hard to accept my illness is that I have often perceived myself through the eyes of those around me.

Very rarely in my life have people been able to validate this path for me- and who could blame them, for how could you understand such a foreign experience as chronic fatigue without firsthand experience of it?

For a long time, have been unable to validate myself in the face of being unacknowledged or dismissed by others. This has led to a bizarre state of mind whereby others' denial of my reality has ultimately caused me to doubt and deny my reality myself.

Due to the pain of being misunderstood or labeled a hypochondriac, my illness has become something of a hushed secret. I have avoided talking about it with those around me, I have hidden my symptoms and gone absent from my relationships during my flare-ups. In this way, by hiding and minimizing it from others, I have hidden and denied my reality to myself.

Regardless of the reasons for resisting my illness, I finally felt a sense of peace when I actually decided to accept it as a part of my journey.

No longer does my health history need to be a shameful secret, something I avoid speaking about for fear of making others uncomfortable.

It is a part of my life path, and therefore a part of my purpose. And I can incorporate this purpose in all kinds of small ways, like bringing more compassion to others with health issues. Or choosing to write about my experiences openly and honestly. I could even see myself moving into a role within the health field one day, with the expertise of someone who has walked this path for many years.

My illness does not have to be a destroyer of opportunities. It can also be the bringer of them.

#CFS #Fatigue #CIRS #autoimmune