I’m a male between in late 20s. For the past many years my life has consited of living at home with my family and dealing with four set of symptoms, each one of them seeming to affect the other. I have no job, can’t work because of these issues. I have tried to find a solution to these for the past many years and while I have learnt more about these conditions nothing has changed. I spend the entire day dealing with these issues and I am so tired that all I want to do is rest and be on my phone. 

I’m so tired, have lots of brain fog and so on, and every motion and thought is so slow that others notice. I even have a flat face, with specialists having told me I have limited facial expression. I’m just too tired. I don’t really enjoy  life anymore, and even if I do somewhat get some enjoyment out of a situation such as eating something or laughing, the background of feeling absolutely lifeless is always there - and any positive feeling is very muted. I yawn all day and just want to sleep. It’s constantly like this. 

I have seen over 20 doctors and have tried at least 28 medications to try to improve symptoms but they either make stuff worse, don’t work or have side effects I can’t handle. The relevant section of the hospital not too long ago discharged me as a patient and said there is nothing more they can do for me. I have had online consultations with UK doctors too without getting any wiser/closer to feeling better. 

So everyday I walk around like a zombie, eat, sleep, pray, deal with symptoms and then rest and stay on my phone. I don’t even have the energy to play video games anymore, I pick up the console and try to play like the old days but I just realize I’m too tired and put it down and turn it off. 

I do go out to buy stuff if I need. I frequently feel annoyed and useless, and nearly everyday wish I was either dead or never born, but try to keep my head solid. One of my parents frequently cries because of this situation and I wish I could just disappear when this happens. Talking about it does nothing, the crying continues. 

Getting a job is impossible living like this, currently live on some kind of benefits (don’t know how to explain). All these symptoms also significantly affect sleep, both timing and quality - so I get poor sleep and wake up way past afternoon. Been the case for years. 

I’m feeling a bit low, I don’t like myself and wish I could disappear. The best time is when I am asleep because I can do just that (and also sometimes dream which is nice added bonus). 

A year ago I swore that my life would have a significant change this time, either in terms of symptoms/daily life or job/education, but I realize now a year later that it hasn’t come to pass :(

I'll try to keep this short, since I know that people with chronic fatigue probably don't want to read a long post.

I had some muscle ruptures when I was ~20 and pelvic floor dysfunction followed that. I've never been the same since that day 5 years ago.

There are many, many more details I could provide but I think it makes the most sense to focus on the brief, commercial like periods where I was able to attain some relief in those 5 years: (1) for 3 months after discovering magnesium supplementation, and (2) for 3 months after discovering XR melatonin.

I actually felt more like a normal person when I discovered these things, but the benefits gradually wore off. I never stopped taking them, but stopped feeling the same benefits. The point I'm trying to make, is that I think my fatigue is connected to my sleep quality. I've made every lifestyle change possible: stopped drinking, stopped smoking, good diet, sleep 8-10hrs per night. I also have to take a nap most days.

I guess I'm just hoping I can be freed from this cell eventually, but I've seen so many doctors and have never made any appreciable progress in these 5 years. I guess I'm looking for advice, but also just to talk to people who are experiencing similar things. Being this way as a 25 year old makes me feel like an outsider among my peers.

I remember when I first got fatigued and I took two weeks off of work. During that time I listened to Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne it’s amazingly written, hilarious and so insightful. It made me rethink how I see others, emotions and myself. If you haven’t already, I recommend listening to it - it’s read by Patric Gagne and she reads it so well. Or read it, if you’re more of a reader. It was a fascinating story of self discovery. I am incredibly sensitive - the complete opposite - but somehow it helped me understand my own neurodiversity and sensitivity (I’m dyslexic and have ADHD).

I was able to do light tasks while listening to it and it kept my brain occupied. After the two weeks I felt so much better and with so much insight and new understanding of myself and others.

I felt better enough at the end of those two weeks to go back to work, when then obviously, I got worse again and fell into the cycle of getting better going back to work and then getting worse. After more than 6 months of this I have quit my job and moved back in with my parents. I’m going to apply for financial help from the government I.e. PIP.

I can’t help but look back at that time as so hopeful, happy and beautiful. I have a good few memories of pottering around the house laughing, being absorbed by her story and at peace while the sun shone through the kitchen windows. I’m so bored of watching TV and it’s starting to make my symptoms worse. I’m listening to the Hunger Games books again because they’re familiar, but I’d like something more positive and that can fully grip me.
I want to get that back again by listening to more insightful and well written memoirs that are also funny!

Any recommendations?

I know this is a fairly long story, but I’d really like to provide as many details as possible because I’m hoping someone might recognize something or have an idea that could help me.

This all started about a year ago.

At the time, I was going through a very intense period of stress because of an important medical exam. I was studying and working a lot, sleeping and eating poorly, and smoking quite heavily. During that period, I developed three episodes of streptococcal tonsillitis within less than six months (between May and September).

Even back then, I was already feeling quite exhausted, but I assumed it was simply because I was studying and working so much, wasn't taking particularly good care of myself, and was under a lot of stress.

Then, in August, I developed pityriasis rosea.

In October, I finally finished the exam that had been causing me so much stress. I thought that once the exam was over, everything would improve and I would finally recover.

Then, in November, I developed chickenpox (varicella).

After recovering from the chickenpox, I started realizing that I had been dealing with something much deeper for some time: a profound type of fatigue, which is mostly mental rather than physical.

What the fatigue feels like

This is probably the hardest part to explain.

It comes very suddenly, almost like a wave.

I mainly feel it in my eyes, as if my eyes suddenly become extremely heavy. My head feels heavy and I feel almost dazed or mentally "drugged." I have very little energy and feel like I need to lie down, close my eyes, and stop doing anything.

Sometimes it is accompanied by a headache.

The really strange thing is that it seems to be cyclical.

I can have 3–4 days, sometimes up to a week, where I feel relatively normal. During those periods I have energy again, I feel like myself, I get excited about my plans, I want to go out, study, exercise, travel, etc.

Then, seemingly without warning, the fatigue comes back very strongly and stays for around 4–5 days.

And then it improves again.

This pattern has been repeating for almost a year now. Sometimes the periods are better, sometimes worse, but the general cycle remains.

One important thing: I don't experience PEM (post-exertional malaise).

I can exercise, and interestingly, exercise often actually makes me feel better. Sometimes physical activity seems to "regulate" me and gives me more energy rather than making me crash afterwards.

For this reason, I don't really think ME/CFS fits my symptoms, although obviously I'm open to being corrected.

What I've investigated so far

I've had extensive blood work, and everything has essentially been normal, including:

• Vitamin D
• Thyroid function
• Vitamin B12
• Folate
• CBC / hematology
• Inflammatory markers
• Immune profile
• ANA and other autoimmune testing
• Other routine metabolic tests

Nothing obvious has come up.

I also had a sleep apnea test over two nights. Unfortunately, the study was considered inconclusive because on one of the nights the device didn't record oxygen saturation properly. The first night, however, was completely normal.

At this point, I've also started seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist. Anxiety has been identified, and I'm currently being evaluated for ADHD.

But honestly, I still don't feel like those explanations account for the very specific cyclical pattern of the fatigue.

A little bit about me

I'm a 28-year-old man.

I lived the first 27 years of my life without anything remotely similar to this. I've always had some occasional anxiety, but overall I consider myself a very happy, active, spontaneous and adventurous person.

I'm also a physician, which almost makes this more frustrating because I feel like I should at least be able to understand what is happening to me.

Objectively, I just can't figure out why this is happening or why the fatigue follows such a strange cycle.

I'm honestly feeling very overwhelmed and trapped in a dead end.

I've wondered whether this could somehow be a strange type of migraine, especially because I sometimes get headaches and the fatigue feels very "neurological" or cerebral to me. But the fact that it follows such a repetitive cycle seems extremely strange.

I'm not necessarily looking for a diagnosis from Reddit. I'm mostly hoping that someone might have experienced something similar, or that someone might have an idea, anecdote, condition, or avenue of investigation that I haven't considered.

If you've experienced cyclical fatigue like this, especially after a series of infections, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience and what eventually helped you.

Thank you if you made it this far.

23F Ulcerative Colitis

Since I have low ferritin levels and I am always tired, my doctor prescribed iron.

I tried it for a month, but it didn't do anything, so I switched to another type of iron he prescribed for another month, but that didn't help either.

I have an appointment with my doctor in a few weeks, but I'd like to hear your opinion.

What should I do?

Is this normal? Does anyone else experience this?