I am so tired all the time I can't stand this.

[StarDust]

It's the so-called "new generation anti-depressants", it stands for Selective Serotonin Recapture Inhibitor.

I'm surprised no doctor talked to you about it.

[Chronicfatiguetreatments]

heres a link about ssri's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_ ... _inhibitor

- Also i had to ban dukey. He was causing problems and lowering the level of conversation. I even warned him.
I usually wouldnt do something like that, but it was getting pretty bad

[.Tom]

Well I must admit I haven't tried that hard because no one in my family really believed me. But now they know how serious it is after I had extreme fatigue at the wheel and almost got into a wreck. But I guess a better thing to say is that I've been suffering from it for the past few years.

As far as the SSRI, it was Zoloft and I took it for like 6 months. My parents made me take it because I was "diagnosed" with depression and anxiety. What really makes me mad is that the psychiatrist didn't even tell me about the sexual side effects. When I realized I could no longer ejaculate whatsoever no matter how hard I tried I realized that this drug was not correcting some BS "chemical imbalance" that he never even tested for. So I've had it with psychiatrists, because no offense, they're practicing a pseudoscience. Now I'm not some scientologist or conspiracy theorist but the fact that they don't do any medical tests or even tell you the side effects really angers me. Now everyone's different, I support all voluntary associations, but it's just not for me.

I wouldn't mind trying another drug as long as it doesn't cause sexual side effects or weight gain. Just no more SSRIs for me personally.

[rdm]

I know its easy to get mad at the medical field because there's nothing for us yet, but ADs help a lot of people out.Also, the medical field still doesn't fully understand the brain. Psychiatrist and their science has changed my life with their medications until I was DX with CFS. Try to be patient and distract yourself with something else .

Plus, there are Anti depressants that actually help your sex drive, the name of the medication is Bupropion(wellbutrian) . However, it didn't work for me, but everyone's body chemistry is different.

[neil25]

i react pretty bad to normal anti- depressants so don't think i would ever take ssri's they would send me over the edge. i find with anti-depressants im just not myself its like i feel numb very hard to explain i dont take them anymore i suppose i would rather be alert in pain.

[laura]

Get all the medical tests you can get....rule out every illness under the sun, then you will know whether or not you have CFS, that is what happened with me.
Every medical test was negative, and I was tested for everything. Doctors treated me like I was a malingering hypochondriac. I searched for 3 years for a diagnosis. Finally diagnosed myself when I saw all my symptoms listed on Mayo Clinic's website. Adderall is a stimulant like Provigil that enables me to work again and have a life. Provigil did not work for me.
Recently there was an article in my local newspaper called "Chronic Fatigue syndrome: Don't wait for a cure." the man who wrote the article described his 30 year struggle and how by changing his lifestyle he improved over the 30 years...I was so outraged at his advice that we had to heal ourselves when doctors don't even recognize CFS as an illness and we don't kow what our diagnosis is, I wrote a letter to my local newspaper and they are going to publish it this week....at least some of my rage and frustration will be heard....
Here is the letter:

Dear Editor,
I was outraged by Mr. Sklar’s admonishment to “get on with the hard work of healing themselves” in the 11/17/09 article, "Chronic fatigue syndrome: Don’t wait for a cure." You need a diagnosis before you can heal yourself.
For 3 years I searched for a diagnosis. As a single parent, being unable to work for months was terrifying. Medical tests were negative; I was treated like a malingering hypochondriac by 15 doctors. At my last hope visit to Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with "depression." Antidepressants have no affect on the harrowing symptoms of CFS.
Later, I read Mayo Clinic’s website re: CFS. There was the list of my mystifying symptoms. I had CFS. Psychostimulants were one recommendation. A CFS sufferer told me about the drug that helps me function.
The photo headlining Mr. Sklar’s article, of a man slumped at his desk, perpetuates the misconception that CFS just means you're tired. Mayo Clinic's website lists 28 symptoms, fatigue is one, the rest are far worse. CFS should be called, FLD24/7, Feel Like Dying 24/7.
I don't expect a cure. My greatest hopes are for a treatment protocol and for doctors to understand the impact CFS has on every aspect of a sufferer’s life.

[neil25]

Hi laura,
e
good on you for responding to this pathetic article. that really annoys me when people write bullshit articles like that. If you have chronic fatigue syndrome you know that by changing our lifestyle the symptoms do not go away. This sends a false message to other people as they think that someone is ok if they change there lifestyle this is far from the truth if it was that easy i would be back at uni now do what i love not being housebound. I'm just so sick of it all, if you really have cfs you know that it is bloody difficult to manage the condition, in my view i don't think this illness is really managable as the symptoms are with u 24/7 no matter how mild. people may view me as a negative person. the only thing which has helped me is keeping interests, i was actually at my worst when i was spending so much energy into finding ways to make myself better like yoga, diet, detoxes, researching treatements. it gave me so much anxeity at one point i was really sucicidal i don't know how i got out of it to be honest. Now my main job is making myself happy and just getting on with things no matter how ill i feel, to be honest im a much better place then i was. i felt absolutley dreadful tonight but i dragged myself to a friends house and felt much better. the main advice i would give to anyone who got cfs is fight the depression anyway possible make it ur full time job. looking for cures and treatements only add to the frustration and depression. I know everyone on here believes there will never be treatement for cfs but i have faith in god and one day will come when we have something to help us. i know it seems so impossible now but i know it will come.

[alicewoolf]

hi Neil25 SSRIs are Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor a group of antidepressants which includes Prozac. am thinking of trying it if only for the awful depression caused by my CFS. sometimes I feel completely inconsolable.

[crmfghtr]

Yes very good on you Laura. I hate it when I see that stuff. FYI I went to the Mayo Clinic insisting I had a sleep disorder. They said I have CFS. I walked out I didn't think it was real. I went back again to same doctor and he convinced me this is real. He said are migraines fake? He mentioned a number of other things that they cant test for but are real. He said, and basically the Mayo clinic still says to this day there really is no treatment for it. The only thing they can do for you, and he offered, was counseling for what lies ahead for me. That was nice to hear way back when lol, he was right.

[Rachel16]

Hi, I am pretty sure I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and don't know what to do about it either.

2 and a half years ago, I started high school and I had made many new friends the summer before and hung out with them with them ALL the time... we went bowling, sleepovers, teepying, movies. A guy even asked me out and I texted him all the time. I went on vacations, was pretty happy at the time... I was sociable and hyper. Then high school started. I always thought high school would be fun, but I've had one of the worst experiences at high school. I don't enjoy it. When 9th grade started, I started to talk to these friends I had made less and less... I began to become isolated and a hermit. I didn't talk much... I was really quiet. I don't know if this had an effect on my personality or what, but I became a little depressed I think... I mean I didn't talk or socialize at school, I began to become more tired and I didn't work as hard at school as I used to. I used to be an A student and my grades started becoming B's. At the end of the school year, I found out I had an overactive Thyroid. The year before I had had problems with my periods, and I was anemic. So, I was checking with a doctor... and they took a blood test of me and found out I had a hyper thyroid. The symptoms were tiredness, depression, lack of concentration, weight gain/loss, and more. I took medication and my thyroid became better in about half a year. But, I became more and more isolated... when 10th grade started, I dropped my math class and social studies because I was falling behind because I couldn't handle it. And in middle school I used to take all advanced courses. So, I dropped many of my classes... and I always had troubles turning in my stuff on time. By second semester, I only had about 3 or 4 classes... two of them being art and band. It took me long time to get stuff done, I just didn't care as much anymore, I was becoming tired that I was missing school, and I had 2 or 3 friends that I talked to. That summer, I went to many concerts, my family and I took a vacation, I was active, I went to movies with my friends.. I had a fun summer. But then school started again, and it was worst this time. I was wayy more tired it seemed, again I dropped a lot of my classes, I quit band, I didn't play soccer anymore, I missed a lot of school... I would have troubles sleeping at night and didn't want to get up in the morning. My grades were bad... I was fine in the afternoon and then get tired by evening. Even when I got a full nights sleep, I would have troubles waking up... but when I did, I was fine in the afternoon, and then by about 6 when I was doing my homework, I would get tired. I'm not as fast with reading stuff, I have a lack of concentration, am shy, have social problems, I have 1 friend I get together with (but we do things all the time, and it's fun), and maybe a few friends that I'm still friends with but we don't talk as much as we used to... and in the course of 2 and a half years, have gained 35 pounds. I'm not confident... I'm self-conscious about my weight, I now have stretch marks and I don't put much effort into what I wear to school (and I used to love shopping and wearing different outfits). I still get blood tests regularly and check my thyroid, and it's fine. They thought I might have Celiac, but I didn't. I used to have anemia, but I'm fine. I went to a therapist, but I quit that... I didn't think it was working. My doctor prescribed different antidepressents (low doses) at different times, but we didn't see any improvement. Recently, we saw a new doctor and he has come up with a conclusion that I may have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome... I don't know if I do, I fit a lot of the symptoms, but I don't have pains or aches, and I don't get dizzy or anything. I have diarrhea CONSTANTLY... that is something I have had for a year. It seems I have it when I have chocolate or caffeine, but I have it all the time. I also have had sore throats out of nowhere 3 times. I still have fun going vacationing, the the mall, movies, etc... but I have less energy and I get tired a lot.

I don't know if you are like I am, but maybe you can relate to me. My CFS doctor said there is no "cure", but eating a well-balanced diet, getting exercise, & getting a good nights sleep will all help. He said the causes of it are not known, but it is an illness and many people suffer from it. It is something that will go away at some point... my doctor said for some people it lasts for a few months, for others, years.

I'm not so tired that I can't type right now like you, but I think not thinking about your problem is the best. During the day, try to get out and do things. I just try to do my normal activities.. going to school, going to the grocery store, running, doing homework, on friday, doing things with friends. Try to find some friends you can go places with and have fun. Tell your good friends your problem to try to make them understand. I just think that maybe eating healthy and getting active and doing things, and HAVE FUN once in a while. I just think thinking "Oh, I have a problem" and being down is not going to help

[neil25]

Hi tom just wondering if you had an update on any tests you got done? Have they found anything yet?

[Ian]

My CFS doctor said there is no "cure", but eating a well-balanced diet, getting exercise, & getting a good nights sleep will all help.

Eating well and getting some gentle excercise will help, but of course they are not a cure. You say you have a thyroid problem. Thyroid is one of the glands that mercury destroys. It exists outside of the blood brain barrier and thus has no protection at all.

Search pubmed you'll find some stuff on this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1742959

If this indeed what is causing your problem, the queston is, where are you getting mercury from. Vaccines and dental amalgam are the usual culprits. Maybe from fish, but the levels from fish are usually very low.

[Steven2479]

Hi, I'm new here and here is my story:

I am currently 34 years old. When I was about 20 years old, I rapidly developed all of the following symptoms: debilitating chronic fatigue, extreme sensitivity to temperature changes (especially cool/cold), poor circulation, weak/poor immune system and immune responses (colds, etc. that last FOREVER, extreme allergic reactions to foods, environments, smells, everything basically...sometimes I wonder if I'm not allergic to myself ), skin rashes and acne breakouts, heart palpitations, weird vision disturbances (floaters, etc.)...and the list could go on and on.

I went to a doctor after awhile and was told that I may have had some sort of viral infection, but that, based on every test known to man, there was "nothing wrong with me." Well, for someone with "nothing wrong with him" I continued to decline over the years. I have seen numerous doctors that have all told me "nothing is wrong." I did see a doctor a couple times that put me on thyroid meds. He monitored me on the meds for 2-3 months, but no changes occurred in my health. Then he put me on cortisol, which (again) did absolutely nothing.

My next step was to make an appointment with a woman that deals with nothing but natural remedies. I am really glad that I met her because she's a great person and we have remained friends over the past 10 years or so. And she did manage to bring my well-being up several notches...for about 3 months. Then I started my downward spiral again, even though nothing much had changed in my lifestyle, diet, exercise, nutritional supplementation.

And that's basically the cycle I've been locked into for the past ten years or so now: I start myself on a whole new diet/supplementation regimen, it works for a short time, then completely gives out on me for no apparent reason and I'm back to square one.

There is seemingly no end to this nightmare. And, if you are like me, it is truly a nightmare...except that you can't wake up, take a deep breath and say, "Oh, thank God that was only a horrible dream!" I have been to countless MD's over the years. Tests have been done on my thyroid, my adrenals, my heart, my liver, my kidney function, my digestion and...nothing. Some people have tried to convince me that this is all psychological and that, if I read some self-help books, it'll all just magically "disappear." Well, that's just bull****. I DON'T WANT THIS illness, disease, sickness, whatever it is! And that's the very worst part of it all...having NO diagnosis whatsoever. If I at least knew exactly what I was dealing with, then maybe I could actually DEAL with it. But no. No, no and NO. No answers, no respite, no health, no energy, no circulation, no normalcy, no comfort...no LIFE.

As I sit here typing this it comes crashing down on me yet again how my body has declined over the past 14 years. I basically have no good days now. I am always overwhelmingly exhausted, no matter how much or how little I do. My circulation gives out on me all the time; it feels as if someone is dunking me into a tub of ice-cold water. I get frequent colds and flus that hang on for weeks...once, I had the flu for a month...a MONTH! Then it takes several weeks just for my body to recover from recovering! The allergies are a whole other problem. I can't even walk through the mall anymore...all the scents send my sinuses into a fit and I start coughing or sneezing or whatever. I get frequent heart palpitations. They come on me for no apparent reason. I can be sitting on my couch, relaxing, and my heart starts beating hard or rapidly. My skin has been erupting in acne the past year or two like when I was in high school.

I am in a very dark place. If there is anyone that knows what I'm going through and can share some information or suggest anything helpful, I am open to just about anything at this point.

Thanks for your time,
Steve.

[neil25]

have you tried any ssri's. I thought i would have a bad reaction to them but it actually helps a little a with the tiredness. I take fluexotine every so often. Also have you tried gettin adderall? i've read on here it has been a lifesaver to some people. I havent asked my doctor for it yet.

[alicewoolf]

"There is seemingly no end to this nightmare. ...I DON'T WANT THIS illness, disease, sickness, whatever it is! And that's the very worst part of it all...having NO diagnosis whatsoever. If I at least knew exactly what I was dealing with, then maybe I could actually DEAL with it. But no. No, no and NO. No answers, no respite, no health, no energy, no circulation, no normalcy, no comfort...no LIFE."




Steve I feel the same as you. It is a never-ending nightmare and it scares the hell out of me. I haven't felt well for years. In fact I have forgotten what it feels like to feel normal. Sometimes I wonder why I keep going, but I guess we have no other choice. Try everything and anything. If anti-depressants work then take them. It doesn't mean you're depressed, as some anti-depressants change disordered brain chemistry which I think is central to M.E. SSRIs can help, as can the older group called Tricyclics which help more with sleep etc. Can you get your doctor to try a psycho-stimulant such as Adderall as Neil suggested?
Also look in to adrenal function, the saliva test is the most effective. You are not alone.