topic Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues in Long-term support over the journey

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 05:40:54 GMT

I haven't been using the forums much apart from a couple of responses to others posts. I stopped as I was too busy & trying to keep up with the forums was becoming too stressful. In September My husband went to Europe which was great although tiring due to the pace of the tour we did. Unfortunately a few days before returning home I fell heavily on concrete steps hurting my right side. I continued on relying on icepacks to manage the pain. I couldn't sleep because of the pain when lying down. The last day I came down with a bad cold which developed into a chest infection later on. The pain eased after 6 weeks & I recovered from the chest infection but have ongoing problems with fatigue & abdominal discomfort. My GP arranged pathology tests. The blood tests are normal but urine isn't. Today I was sent for a ultrasound of kidneys & bladder. Next week I have a gastroscopy & colonoscopy. My stress levels seem to be escalating out of proportion each time I see the GP & get sent for more tests. Prior to my accident my mental health issues were settling down but the last week it is much worse. I have lost my temper a few times in the last week without much provocation. This is not normal for me. I have been on a diet for several months but I am now finding it really hard to stick to it I just want to go & eat food I know will make me feel worse. The diet is a healthy one which I normally find easy to stick to because the food is satisfying.

I just want to get back on track & feel in control of my life & not feel so stressed & down. I also feel guilty for feeling this way because There is no confirmation of a serious illness.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

white knight — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:17:07 GMT

Hi Elizabeth, glad to hear from you again,

These period whereby all sorts of things are happening come and go in our lives. I tend to expect them now and that makes it easier to accept...if you know what I mean.

I also say to myself "it could be worse" and imagine an extra few serious issues arising.

As for guilt I know that that is possible to overcome. Guilt is illogical and non productive. Continue to pigeonhole those thoughts in the box marked "silly thoughts".

I hope you get well soon and resume that great progress you have been having

Tony WK

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

pipsy — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:44:18 GMT

Hi Elizabeth. In spite of your unfortunate mishap, I hope you enjoyed your European trip. Not a good end, however. With everything that's gone wrong since you returned, your mental health would be on a downward spiral. You've had so much to contend with, hubby's ill health, I seem to recall you had problems with son and DIL staying with you, now your own physical health is causing you concern. I would expect you to be a bit short tempered seeing as you have been under such a lot of strain. Is there anybody who can offer some support for you at this time? You have had to be the rock for everybody, you need to be cared for now. Diets are no fun when you're unwell, even though you would normally enjoy the food, you tend to want 'comfort' food, rather than 'sensible' food. I hope all is well when you get your results from the tests. Are you able to talk to your Dr about your stress levels. He needs to know where you are emotionally. Stress can elevate blood pressure, so if the Dr is aware of your stress, he can help you.

Lynda

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:25:43 GMT

Thanks Lynda & Tony, One problem with thinking it could be worse is I then feel guilty about feeling bad. Thoughts like 'I haven't got anything serious & nothing is concerned so I should be coping better.' My GP commented yesterday that my ongoing fatigue may be due to stress & depression. She recently renewed the referral to my psych so I assume she thinks that is his job not hers. On a positive note my blood pressure is fine (I tend to have low BP not high) & my cholesterol levels have improved since dieting. My husband is aware of my concerns & is trying to be supportive. My children know I'm having tests but I don't want to say too much till I have a clearer idea of what is wrong. Trying to stick to the diet & exercise regime is requiring a lot of emotional energy which I don't have. It is harder now because of all the disruptions/temptations later. 5 of my grandkids have had birthdays in the last month apart from Christmas functions & babysitting which has been needed. I am worried that if I go off the diet at the moment I will go completely off track & put back the weight I lost & will then feel worse physically & mentally. Fatigue has a huge influence on my mental health so that is a big issue at the moment. .

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

MarkJT — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:54:57 GMT

Elizabeth, have you considered seeing a dietitian to see if there are any ways where you can tweak your diet to make it easier on you? Dieting is great and eating healthily is massive for mental health but it takes time and effort to do so. A dietitian may have some tips where it makes it easier.

With the exercise, are you being to stressful on yourself? As in are you pushing harder than what you need to do? Exercise should be enjoyable. For example, I used to push myself pretty hard but now i just do my 5km every morning at a leisurely pace. I have nothing to prove to anyone and not impressing anyone. I have found that, that is ideal for me. Gives me my 25 mins of exercise i want per day. It might also be worthwhile to seek out some personal trainer, a good one, to refine your exercise to match what you want. I have a mate who is a PT and he sees so many people doing the incorrect types of exercises for what they are trying to achieve. Not saying that you are doing the incorrect types, but it would be good to know that you are doing it right.

Are you practicing mindfulness? If not, I would well recommend that you start doing it. There are some great apps out there for help you. I use "Smiling Mind" daily and after persisting with it, I am now a lot more calm than what i was.

I would think it is pretty normal to get anxious when more tests are ordered but at the same time, you need to keep that anxiety in control. I used to think that if i sneezed, I had cancer as I catastrophised that much. It was the mindfulness that keeps that in check. I still do it to a degree but I am now able to calm myself down.

Great work getting back on here and posting. Understanding why you went off and well done for recognising that.

Keep posting and see if can help guide you through this journey of yours.

Mark.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 06:03:04 GMT

Hi Mark Thanks for your reply. I don't think I need a dietician at the moment unless the test I'm having show up something suggesting I need a special diet. I am close to my goal weight. Ideally I'd like to lose more but at the moment it is more important to be within my healthy weight range rather than the ideal. The diet I use was effective when I stick to it and I felt satisfied after meals & I felt healthier after going on the diet than before. The problems are sticking to it when out with so many temptations. The odd day off is OK but lately there are many things affecting the diet. The issue is more psychological feeling bad when eating wrong when out and then eating more bad food & feeling worse physically & mentally.

I was seeing a physiotherapist who gave me specific exercises to assist me recover from multiple injuries. I was diligent but have let it slide lately now my injuries have healed. Exercise means any physical activity improving or maintaining fitness. I don't enjoy gyms & can't stick to traditional exercise regimes long term hence I don't want to see a personal trainer. I try to walk 30min a day at least usually to a set of 120 steps near us & try to climb them 3 times. I enjoy walking & figure the steps at least increases my fitness level. I can do the walk at when it suits me each day. Last year after injuring myself I had several incidents where I went out for a walk & then became so tired that I struggled to get home or to the car. This was so embarrassing & frustrating & stopped me being able to anything I enjoyed so I started doing VERY tiny walks each day & gradually increasing them. I now need to maintain the ability to walk both on the flat & on hills, steps etc because I hate not being fit enough to do things. Your 5 km a day sounds good. For me with my walking I need to remember why I'm doing it (so I am not restricted from doing things I enjoy particularly exploring places when we go out) Doing it to be able to what I want is more motivating than because I should achieve a goal.

I'm not good at mindfulness. I Know many people say it helps & it makes sense so my logical brain accepts I should do it. I need to get that logic into inspiration or motivation so I can learn to use it. to benefit me.

My challenge is knowing when to relax, recover or cope with the stresses & not beat myself up about not being productive & when to force myself to do things to take my mind off things & feel good about being productive.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Guest_1055 — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 06:27:56 GMT

Oh Elizabeth, my virtual Beyond Blue walking partner.

We can open up the walking thread again or perhaps start up another one. If you think it might help you in achieving your fitness goals there. I would jump at the opportunity to join you, because it was encouraging me before. But please don't feel pressured, I don't want to add anymore stress upon you.

Shell xx

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 06:51:39 GMT

Hi Shell. We can go back to our original thread if you like I found the walking thread very inspiring. It really helped me get started on regular walking. I hope you are feeling better. I won't do anything untill after Monday as I have to prepare for tests tomorrow & go in Monday so I expect to feel not too good for the next few days.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

MarkJT — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 00:03:21 GMT

Elizabeth, you certainly know what you have to do and have been doing it but you are just facing the same battles that we all face, keeping on track. Can be really hard to do and yes, i do fall for temptations regularly!

Love the idea of the walking thread. Where is that? Can you post a link to it.

Mark.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Guest_1055 — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 10:59:17 GMT

Ok Elizabeth, I will re open the walking thread. I will look out for a post from you whenever you are feeling up to posting. No stress. Hope you feel better soon. And yeah I am okay, just struggling some with frustration and anger a bit is all.

Shell xx

Mark..I will open up the walking thread, pretty much after I leave Elizabeth's thread here.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 08:25:46 GMT

Today I'm feeling better than I was. Still tired but that is to be expected after the last few days. I had some tests yesterday under anaesthetic & following 1 1/2 days of no solid food & some other unpleasant prep. I fell asleep early last night which I needed. I go back to my GP next week to get results of this tests & last week's test. I felt I needed a break so I deliberately made only one appointment when both sets of results are available. I presume if last weeks test showed anything really sinister I would have been told to come earlier. In the meantime I'll bury my head in the sand & pretend nothing is wrong!!!

I saw my psychologist today & discussed strategies to manage my weight without overstressing or over eating. We came up with a few strategies.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 10:51:53 GMT

Just an update. I thought I was doing OK on Tuesday & assumed I would continue to improve. Unfortunately Wednesday & Thursday I was more exhausted. The fatigue then affects my mood. I find it hard to know when to allow myself to rest & when to push myself. Achieving nothing & feeling lazy makes me feel depressed but being overtired does the same. Managing my diet has been challanging. I am having trouble knowing whether I'm really hungry or whether I am just tired & eating more will make me worse. Some of my health issues are linked to my digestive system making it hard to know what to do. Hopefully next week my GP will be able tell what is wrong & what I need to do to manage it. Unfortunately today has been very busy & so is tomorrow leaving me little time to relax & catch up with the rest I need.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 03:19:10 GMT

Just saw the GP. Have another referral for follow up. I wasn't happy with the GP as she gave me little guidance in what to do to manage my problems. She told me to read up a website to get some ideas I wanted to know what I needed to change but her only recommendations were doing exactly what I thought I've been doing. Meanwhile I continue to feel tired & anxious about what is happening.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

MarkJT — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 22:52:23 GMT

Elizabeth, sorry to hear that you didn't get the service you were after from the GP. If that continues, you can always find one that will give you the attention that you deserve. They can request all your files so continuity of your treatment will not be lost.

With your fatigue, when you feel like doing nothing, that would be a good time to sit down and practice mindfulness. You are still and not using energy. Put on some really relaxing music - YouTube has heaps - and lie down or sit comfortably and just listen to the music. Let it consume you. This is a nice little safeguard from eating for the sake of eating and doing destructive things.

Don't worry so much about having a bad day or two - that happens. Accept it and move on. We all have our days where we dip in mood so you are certainly not alone. Surf the waves.

Mark.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 11:25:26 GMT

Thanks Mark for your reply. Your advice mirrors the advice I get from my psychologist or else (even worse!!!) He asks me what I would say to a client who was in my shoes. I am very good at giving good advice to others but not so good at following it. I'm concerned that it is so close to Christmas & I still have so much to do. I have had a lot of negative events around Christmas in the past )inc death of both my parents on two different years, serious illness of a loved one several years) Hot weather is also a trigger for PTSD in my case. In the past I found if I can be organised ahead of time I cope with Christmas but otherwise it becomes ýet another bad Christmas'. I am trying to balance things by doing what I can when able (I at least cleaned the house today which makes me feel better as I don't like having a messy house & I wrote Christmas cards) I also spent time reading which meant I didn't get everything done I wanted but I needed the break. Tomorrow My husband & I are visiting a friend for 2 days which will give me a break. Being with my friend will keep my mind off negative things. Next week I see another specialist but in the mean time I think I need to try & avoid thinking about what might be wrong.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Guest_1055 — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 14:34:30 GMT

Hey Elizabeth,

How are you getting along there? Yeah I know I haven't kept up with the walking thread. I haven't been walking much.

Anyway I hope you see this. I just wanted to say may you and all your loved ones have a lovely Christmas. Thank you so much for being my virtual walking buddy a lot of the year. I appreciate it.

Love Shell xx

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

EmmyEm — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 21:25:10 GMT

Hi Elizabeth,

so so sorry to hear about your injuries and ongoing tests. It is important to keep seeing doctors etc but I wanted to tell you about something that is helping me.

I have been seeing a Natropath for the past 2-3 months and it is making a big difference and as I get better I am discovering how out of whack my body was.

i had extreme fatigue where I had to have several lengthy rest breaks just getting myself up and ready in the morning. I also began eating and craving terrible foods where before I was able to eat healthy without much problem.

The minerals and vitamins my Natropath put me on, which were adjusted based on 2 weekly consults, have given me back energy. This also together with the foods I am eating, such as cutting gluten, sugar and increasing anti-inflammatory foods such as coconut and eating lots of lean proteins and vegetables.

I am no where near recovered but I'm better than I was.

My digestive system is out of whack due to sustained period of high stress and anxiety breakdown leading to constant anxiety and depression post the event. So different situation to you but a lot of what you are experiencing post your injury resonates with my experience.

I've never felt so let down by my body but at least I've found a road to recovery and have hope.

all the best

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

MarkJT — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 17:00:04 GMT

Elizabeth, it is clear that you know what to do, you just have to do it. I was like this and still are to an extent. To overcome this I do a fair bit of self reflection but keep it positive. I found at one stage that i was not practicing mindfulness as much as i should and as much as i was telling other people to do, so ramped it up.

The key is to keep it positive. It is so easy to be negative and to bag yourself for not doing something you should be doing. Make the adjustments where you need to, set achievable goals and move forward.

You are doing fine.

Mark.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 06:51:36 GMT

Thank you Shell, Mark & Emma for your reply. I am having a short break before heading out again to visit my brother. Ate too much for lunch so feeling very sluggish. Shell, I really enjoyed your interesting & encouraging posts on the walking thread. I haven't walked today as it was too busy & hot but have walked most other days. Sometimes it is a real effort but it is worth it. Yesterday was really busy but I needed fresh bread for tea as we had all my kids over so I walked to the supermarket early. Win Win. Got the bread, avoided driving & parking hassles & got a walk in. I have noticed that I feel much better eating healthy foods. Plenty of vegetables, some meat or fish & a small amount of healthy wholegrain carbs. If I eat that for my lunch & evening meals I feel better & not so hungry. I still need to learn to manage when out visiting & that isn't an option.

I saw the specialist & have more tests next week & then I'm on a waiting list for another test under a local in a public hospital early next year. He has put me down as category 1 so it should be done soon. Hopefully the tests will all be negative in which case I can ignore the results which led to these tests.

Tomorrow my priority is to sleep in as I am really tired due to lack of sleep (I don't sleep well when stressed, hot or overtired) & trying to do too much.

I had better go as we are due at my brothers in 10 minutes.

Feeling down due to fatigue & undiagnosed health issues

Elizabeth CP — Sun, 25 Dec 2016 06:57:01 GMT

Ps on a positive note my youngest daughter really spoilt us with very thoughtful presents for Christmas. My grandkids all loved their presents. I gave the 2 year old a circular saw. When it was time to leave he carried the wood he'd been 'sawing cuddled in one arm & the saw in the other. Normal children take teddies to bed. He went to sleep last night cuddling his circular saw. His dad managed to remove the wood. He loves tools & knows where they are kept in the shed. Real saws are kept up high for obvious reasons.