help with strange condition
#340362 - 01/02/09 09:09 AM
|
|
|
|
Every so often I put out a question about something I get that isn't necessarily IBS. I hope someone knows about it or can suggest a specialist to see. Every so often (like 3 days a year) and for quite a bit of winter (additional several weeks) I wake up and within an hour get extreme lethargy, slight nausea, slight headache, body aches and heavy limbs and general malaise. I just sleep all day and usually by evening it lightens up. In winter I will have it for many days or even weeks, feeling slightly better occassionally. I had a full blood work up done last year and everything was perfect. So my doc thought it was SAD and recommended a lighbox. This year I tried to not get it so bad and take lots of vit D, sit by my light and work out. But 5 weeks ago I got it and it lasted 3 weeks. Then bam! it went away, gradually in 3 days and on the 4th day I was back to normal and felt great. So obviously it can't be something like SAD, depression, blood sugar, vitamin deficiency or anything since it comes and goes without me changing anything. The only other person I have ever heard to get it is my mom and she always felt like she had a yucky dream that made her nauseous or nausea made her have a bad dream. Not so with me. Since my doc has no ideas and no one with IBS ever says they get it (I was great IBS wise Mon-tues and got it Wed), I need to figure out what kind of specialist to see. Any ideas would be appreciated and if you get something similar let me know.
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
I am sorry that you are going through this. My daughter experienced something similar where she had days when she just couldn't get up and get going and she felt horrible physically. The dr. told her it was anxiety and he put on on an anti-anxiety medication and she has been doing great since.
Could it be anxiety? Has your Doc talked to you about the possibility?
I hope you figure out what it is. I know that it is very frustrating to feel bad and not know what is going on.
-------------------- Janey
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Hi Little Minnie,
I am so glad you will be one of our moderators, because I think you are great with your advice and information.
I have experienced something similar to this, as has my mom. Especially, the slight headache, lethargy, malaise, and heavy limbs. Mine also seems to lift by evening...needless to say morning is not my time, at all, for many reasons.
My mom's is SAD related. I feel mine is also, even though it comes and goes. I am wonderful in the spring/summer, but when fall rolls around, it starts again. It is not an 'all the time' thing, at least for me.
I feel it is not a physical problem, although the symptoms are physical. I feel it is the change in seasons, at least for me. I think that maybe there is more to learn on how much earth changes affect us physically.
I finally received my hypno cds today, so I will be gone for awhile, starting this evening.
I wish you the best, and it has been great chatting with you.
Lynn
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Quote:
Every so often (like 3 days a year) and for quite a bit of winter (additional several weeks) I wake up and within an hour get extreme lethargy, slight nausea, slight headache, body aches and heavy limbs and general malaise.
The fact that it is much more pronounced in winter leads me to believe it is SAD related. It is quite possible to have a few good days or weeks in winter and then "slip" back into the tiredness.
I suffer from it slightly since I've reached age 40 and I've noticed a marked difference in my general well-being and energy levels in the winter. I've never tried the lightbox therapy but I've heard that it DOES help some people.
On the bright side, the days are already getting longer and it's only about 11 weeks to spring.
Good luck.
-------------------- Saul (IBS - D)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Quote:
I finally received my hypno cds today, so I will be gone for awhile, starting this evening.
I'll miss your sage advice but understand that you "need" to be away from the boards. Good luck Lynn!
-------------------- Saul (IBS - D)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Thank you so much, Runs. You are a true gem to the boards with your wonderful sense of humor, bordering on sarcasm. Luv it!!!
After about 3 months or so, I will check back in, and I hope to report good news, and I also hope many of my favorite people will still be around. But, then again, maybe I don't, because that would mean they are feeling better.
All the best to you, Runs.
Lynn
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
hmm
#340383 - 01/02/09 02:21 PM
|
|
|
|
I hadn't really thought it truly could be SAD because of the way I snap out so quickly. However anxiety may be a possibility. I used to get it mostly Mondays but not any particular ones. I got it last month on a Monday when I went to workout downstairs and couldn't. I had really bad ab pain and couldn't function. When I got it Wed I was slightly anxious, so it is something to think about. I don't get anxious from public speaking or anything like that, but who knows?
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Re: hmm
#340384 - 01/02/09 02:53 PM
|
|
|
Janey
Reged: 10/25/03
Posts: 1716
Loc: Maryland
|
|
|
The days she felt the most anxiety there was nothing major going on with her to be nervous about. I think when you suffer from anxiety it can hit at any time and sometimes there is no explanation for it.
Definitely something to think about.
-------------------- Janey
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Is it possible that you could have been exposed to C02? This odorless gas is common in the winter and it can seep in through a garage, furnace, or appliances and cause some of the symptoms you mentioned. Karen
http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/indoor_air/co.aspx
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
It is well documented that IBS can co-exist with other syndromes such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia that exhibit non-gi symptoms that can wax and wane. These symptoms include most of the symptoms you described. The UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders has prepared an excellent overview article titled IBS – Beyond the Bowel: The Meaning of Co-existing Medical Problems that will give you an overview.
The only overall commonality between the non-gi symptoms, IBS and the other syndromes is that that they are non-specific. In other words, they are not clear symptoms of any identifiable disease processes or diagnosable disorders. The symptoms that are most common among IBS patients are generally those that are also common in the general healthy population – they just tend to occur at a higher level in people with IBS.
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
we have a CO2 detector.
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
I have looked at the symptoms of Fibro and CFS and I just don't have them. Maybe there is another similar syndrome that does coincide.
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
I have been thinking about it a lot. Part of me thought it was good because it could be mind over matter and with some different techniques I could improve it myself. Then part of me worries about worrying and causing anxiety. Like if you are already a little stressed about something I would hate to then worry about the stress making it hard to stay out of bed. It would be a double whammy I guess. So I am just going to keep track of what happens.
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
There may be other clues in the article. I believe it describes other high incidence conditions that produce non-gi symptoms that frequently coincide with IBS. Good luck with your search.
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
Quote:
So I am just going to keep track of what happens.
That's a good idea. Keep a daily journal of your general mood, what you ate, the weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.) and see if any pattern is noticeable.
Hopefully you'll find an answer (and share it with us).
Good luck.
-------------------- Saul (IBS - D)
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
I like the point in the article about one's parents expressing more health complaints very often. Quote:
More frequent attention to mild physical symptoms can be learned, however, and can become a habit. As with most things, such habitual over-attention is probably most easily learned in childhood. It would seem reasonable, for example, that a child could get into the habit of noticing physical symptoms more if his or her parents are always talking about their own symptoms. We have recently found(13) that the more medical problems the parents in the childhood home had, the more general physical symptoms adult IBS patients report. The possible consequence of a childhood where the child grew up with parents or others who were seriously ill, is a tendency to interpret common normal physical sensations as symptoms of serious illness. Such a serious view of symptoms can also be modeled after the parent's approach to common illness. Dr. Whitehead and colleagues found in a telephone survey of 832 adults 20 years ago(14) that people whose parents paid more attention to cold or flu symptoms in childhood were more likely to view such symptoms as serious in adulthood and to visit doctors for them. They were also more likely to have IBS diagnosis.
-------------------- IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
...but CO2 is carbon dioxide, a normal part of our breathing cycle. Toxic carbon monoxide is CO.
-------------------- IBS-A and GERD since 1983
Low FODMAP since 2012
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|