If I may. Venting.

[Bertha Venation]

The exhaustion remains. Cause(s) unknown as yet.

Last week I saw the worst doctor I’ve ever seen. After reading my sleep study, my internist referred me to a pulmonary specialist. He walked into the exam room in a filthy lab coat. Did not introduce himself to me or to my wife. Without a word he sat and began reviewing the sleep study. He asked why I was there. I told him why my doctor referred me. He totally dismissed my doctor’s concern. He talked down to me. He was rude, arrogant, patronizing. And rather than inquire further into the possibly sleep-related cause of my exhaustion, he prescribed a drug to keep me awake during the day. He’s an idiot; if he’d read the chart he’d see I’m on HBP meds. Besides, I don’t want a drug; I want an answer. I’ll never go back.

Now I have an appointment with a pulmonologist/sleep specialist at Georgetown Hospital on October 1.

Meantime, I’m trying to get my blood sugar under control, realizing that my diabetes could also be a cause of exhaustion.

My doc put me on a cholesterol med, a diabetes med, and a massive vitamin D supplement. Can vitamin D deficiency cause fatigue? I don’t remember what she said. (My memory sucks.)

I’m slowly finding ways to cope with this deep body exhaustion. Don’t nap during the day on weekends (that’s hard). Eat celery while driving to keep from drowsing. Things like that.

Thanks for listening.

[Sanity Claws]

1. Do you drink coffee and tea? alcohol?

Coffee, tea, cola, alcohol can deplete your body of minerals, magnesium in particular. That could make you not feel well.

[Bertha Venation]

3. Coffee and diet Coke.

I didn't know this about magnesium. I have known for years that I ought to quit caffeine, but I refuse.

Thanks for the info, though. If it might help with the fatigue, I will think seriously about quitting.

[otohara]

19. Transdermal Magnesium Therapy

will help you in so many areas. I started two years ago due to migraines, they are gone. I will use 2X per day for life.

Drinking diet coke is linked to strokes - drink coffee but dump the corporate toxic dyed liquid.

Here's a couple of good articles - http://acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32590
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/transdermal-magnesium-therapy.html
I make my own now with unscented lotion/water/chloride flakes from the ocean.

[Holly_Hobby]

20. I heartily agree about magnesium

I stumbled upon article after article about magnesium deficiency while researching my husbands restless leg syndrome and my sleep issues. It's nothing short of miraculous.

I started taking magnesium citrate at night right before bed. I used to sleep 5 or 6 hours, wake up and be exhausted for the rest of the day. After 4 days taking the supplement, I sleep 8 or 9 hours straight through and my daytime sleepiness is gone, as well as my annoying eye twitches and back spasms.

My husband no longer has leg jumps all night long or the drenching night sweats. He takes magnesium malate because the citrate form gives him diarrhea. His chronic neck spasms are gone, which were caused by a car accident 14 years ago.

Your links are very helpful, I haven't heard of the transdermal method and will look into it more.

[phantom power]

2. My sister went through something like that

Turned out she had mono. Nobody had tested for it. A more-or-less simultaneous case of walking pneumonia didn't help much either. Which also wasn't caught for a few months.

Coincidentally, she also had a run-in with an asshole doctor who fits your description. It's a mystery to me how asshole doctors stay in business. Who would put up with that?

[Bertha Venation]

4. Not I!

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. Is she better now?

[phantom power]

7. She's recovering. It's been a slow process.

One thing I've learned over the years, these kinds of chronic health problems are often difficult or impossible to diagnose. Aside from useful insights like "chronic stress and/or lack of sleep are very bad for you", there are clearly some things we haven't yet figured out about what can go wrong with human health, and what to do about it.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck, it's very daunting to live with such things, especially when diagnosis is so elusive. I mentioned the mono partly on the off-chance it might be useful information. And of course, asshole doctors, because really, what's up with that?

[TreasonousBastard]

5. My sleep study showed I have sleep apnea and...

the treatment is this gadget:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=sleep+apnea+machine&sa=X&biw=1493&bih=948&tbm=isch&tbnid=zEsJ7884C9kARM:&imgrefurl=http://www.nationwidemedical.com/tag/cpap-machines/&docid=c_QBBLV4Klzs1M&imgurl=&w=300&h=375&ei=bcAgUpaOGJOysQSk04H4Aw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r ,s:0,i:117&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=188&tbnw=148&start=0&ndsp=27&tx=66&ty=99



I'm diabetic, too, and it doesn't help. Nor does mild COPD. You don't really need much D for normal life, so if she told you to take more than 1,000 units a day, it's for some other reason.

I feel for ya with the obnoxious doc. You could almost put up with the lousy people skills if he knew what he was doing.

[Bertha Venation]

8. This was one of the ways in which the doc was a major asshole:

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea close to ten years ago and have used a CPAP ever since. This sleep study (ordered by my internist) showed no apnea. WTF? This was one of my questions for when I went to a pulmonary specialist: why did the study show no apnea, and did I need a new study? All this quack did was to say "this shows no sleep apnea." I told him I know I have it. He said, "no, this study shows no sleep apnea." We went back and forth once more before I said to myself "fuck it, I'll go to a different doc." If I truly do not have sleep apnea, why TF do I rattle the house if I don't use my CPAP? Ugh.

Anyway, thanks, TB, for your thoughts.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. Ah, so you've been through a lot of this already...

but I've been told that the CPAP is supposed to increase breathing capacity over time, so maybe your apnea has been significantly reduced, if not cured.

Anyway, I'm finding that getting old can really suck.

What's next?

[hedgehog]

6. Is there a possibility of an autoimmune disease? Exhaustion seems to be the common marker there.

I'm sorry you have to wait another month to see another doctor. I hope you succeed in getting your blood sugar under control!

[Bertha Venation]

9. I think my doctor checked for everything under the sun when she did blood tests.

She didn't say anything about an autoimmune disease. My biggest worry was that the Hepatitis C was back, but it wasn't.

Thanks for your good thoughts, hedgehog.

(My insurance was billed over $1200 for those blood tests. Insane.)

[mopinko]

10. right there with you my friend.

i just saw the neurologist yesterday, as it appears my "mixed connective tissue disease" aka "we don't know what the fuck is wrong with you" is affecting my nervous system. i already lost 2 discs and have damage up my right arm. got carpal tunnel in both hands and the therapy for that is nearly killing me.
all this doc wanted to know is if i had any numbness. well, no, i was there because i had severe pain. she didn't even ask about the level 6 pain that i had reported to the intake nurse. she did her pinpricks so fast i didn't even have a chance to respond. didn't hear a flippin word i said. shortest 1st appointment ever.

the assholes in white coats are out there. do what i am doing in a couple of minutes- lighting my after visit summary on fire. just for the minute or so of relief.

take care honey, and good luck.

[Warpy]

13. The neurologist was watching for localized twitches to pinpricks

Unfortunately, those are only spinal cord loop reactions and she really did need to hear if you could feel it. That was unacceptable corner cutting.

It's not all their fault, they've been put onto an assembly line and forced to see at least twice as many patients as they can be expected to cope with. Specialists are overbooked the worst.

One of my eye surgeons was like a puff adder with a hangover on the first visit. After the surgery was successful (50-50 chance), she had a complete personality change. That can happen, too.

[mopinko]

14. i dunno, but for years

she is in the "luxury suite" in a big university hospital system. this was a first visit, so i am sure she undercut the time she was paid for on that one.

a puff adder with a hangover-

[Warpy]

12. A vitamin D deficiency can cause a lot of things, fatigue is among them

It also exacerbates things like pain and memory issues. You won't feel a kick from supplements, but you'll very gradually start to feel a bit better.

I'm sorry the first guy you saw was so sloppy and unpleasant, but that drug might have gotten you through the transition period before the vitamin D kicks in. If the next guy suggests it, take it. Just watch your blood pressure to make sure you don't have to up those meds temporarily. Drugs suck but it's better than wrecking the car because you're out of celery.

Do get your D levels tested when you go back to the GP. The only documented toxicity on D was at prescription strength, a patient who didn't get his levels checked for one reason or another.

[KC]

15. Don't you

also need to take Calcium Citrate along
with the Vitamin D? My Dr also
said it needed to be D3. I don't know
what the difference is. He also said the Calcium needs to be Citrate not the
Carbonate(like Tums?)
I think my d3 is 5000IU but guess it differs
for everyone.

[Warpy]

16. D3 is the most bioavailable of the subgroups

and is the one created by the action of sunlight on cholesterol in the skin.

If you're a post menopausal woman, the D3 + calcium work together to stop bone loss. Again, the citrate is more bio available. In addition, you can get into some malabsorption problems if you take an adequate dose of calcium in the form of Tums.

But don't take my word for it, or Dr. Google's. Write your questions down and take them in the next time you visit your doctor so if you draw a blank, you'll have them to refer to.

[hedgehog]

18. I think getting your Vitamin D levels up will also help control your blood sugar!

Hang in there!

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Something like half of American don't get enough magnesium

as per government recommendation and governement studies, not woo. From the National Institutes of Health:

"Dietary surveys of people in the United States consistently show that intakes of magnesium are lower than recommended amounts. An analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 2005–2006 found that a majority of Americans of all ages ingest less magnesium from food than their respective EARs [Estimated Average Requirements]"

Magnesium deficiency commonly results in tiredness or exhaustion.

I recently found myself to be overly tired during the day. A physical found I was fine. After a little research, I found out about how common magnesium deficiency is, so I started taking a magnesium supplement (magnesium glycinate, the form that's easiest on the stomach) and soaking in baths with dead sea salts (lots of magnesium that passes through the skin). I'm now sleeping much better and am much less tired during the day.

YMMV - magnesium might have zero to do with what you're experiencing. But I thought I'd share my experience, just in case.