Seeking Reassurance: Muscle Fatigue

[donut323]

Hi All,I'm looking for some reassurance. 6 months in and I am watching my exercise intolerance turn into what i'd call chronic muscle fatigue. ( i say muscle fatigue as I am not sleepy; have energy) Each month it gets slightly worse. Just when I think I can wrap my head around the current limitation; it gets worse.I think some of these posts might be exaggerating when they say "felt like I just ran a marathon" -- i for one have never run a marathon.. did a half marathon once, which was massive, as the mechanics of running have always hurt me..Well today, I struggled to get through a 3k slooow walk - huge fatigue and tension in thighs, hips and glutes. felt like i had to really lift each leg every step! It really felt the same as after a 'half marathon'.I'd really love to hear stories from the vets like how ridiculously bad their exercise tolerance / fatigue reached at its worst BUT contrasted with how strong you are today!I just need to know that this eventually turns around. I can ride out the now, - its the thought of being this way forever that I can't deal with.I'm at THAT stage where I trawl the forums daily .. but it really does calm me down. I know its been said before many times - but I really look forward to a time that I can look back on these days and offer insight and help to newbies and make this struggle more bearable. Thanks in advance for all responses.

 

[Gracer]

Hi Gryphon,I read your previous post and I see that you had visited a doctor and had normal clinical exam.some veterans here (like Chrissi, as far as I remember) had extreme fatigue and recovered, but still I wonder if you got detailed exams - CPK level, thyroid function, sugar etc. those factors may play a role in fatigue and excercise intolerance.For me a bit unusual is that you do not have major anxiety right now but still remain very fatigued. usually people may demonstrate that after infection (and this could last for weeks)/ Of course, stress, bad sleeping, jetlag, etc. could casue fatigue but I believe more in the form of lack of energy than in the form of excercise intolerance...I believe you should put some time and check if your enegry balance at the cellular level is ok

 

[donut323]

I definitely DO have a fair bit of anxiety because of this... its just than i'm not worried about @L5 or other rare neuro things.I do twitch like crazy, but its the muscle fatigue that is progressing and directly affecting my quality of life. I am currently trying to get through an OS holiday, and struggling badly. Can't afford to flake out on the couch for days.I've had a range of bloodwork done, as ordered by GPs and Neuro; among the main hematology: thyroid function, glucose, CPK are all within range.The only finding the doctors mentioned was that I had EBV at some point in the past ; not too sure when that was I think it was back in 2001 perhaps.My cFreeTesto (350) is a bit low based on age bracketed average - who knows if I've always been like that though, could be because of the comparatively sedentary last few months.I just want to hear from someone that had muscle fatigue worse than me, that is now stronger than me.That alone will give me courage.I suppose the other reason I am asking is trying to believe that pushing on and through won't cause further damage/degradation.

 

[Rundown]

Certainly not a vet here, but have been going 7 months.I have experienced what you explained to a T. I feel it almost every other day as I walk around campus a lot. Muscles in my legs feel like they just want to explode out of my skin. The inability to feel as mobile as before.The heaviness in the limbs. I know the feeling of frustration and everything that comes with it. I wrestle with it everyday. What gets me through it is knowing that I'm just probably having a bad day, and tomorrow I'll feel better. That's been the pattern of whatever the hell has been wrecking havoc on me for the past half year. just know you're not alone, although it definitely seems like it, since most likely nobody in our lives can relate.

 

[UFgatorGuy21]

Hi Gryphon,I'm not a veteran, only 6-8 months in, but I can relate. When my symptoms first began, my stress and anxiety BLEW through the roof. That coincided with some wicked fatigue. I was running 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week at a 7-8 minute / mile pace. For a period of about a week or two after everything started, I could only walk from one side of a mall to the other and then needed a break to sit down (maybe 1/2 mile walk). Since then, although my stress and anxiety still fluctuate, my energy levels are back to normal. I go to the gym regularly. I don't run anymore because I believe that was a contributing stress on my body. But, I was forced to run this past week as my wife and I took a trip to visit her family. I had to run from one end of the Miami airport to the other (with baggage). I did a mile with baggage in about 8 minutes. I was very impressed with myself and had no adverse reactions. No bizzare soreness and it didn't take me long to recover from the hustle... just a few minutes to catch my breath. Keep your hopes up. Maybe get a blood panel worked up to make sure your thyroid and sugar levels are ok. Make sure no adverse changes in diet as well.

 

[donut323]

Thanks Rundown - you know it, the fact that nobody in our lives can relate makes it real tough UFGatorGuy20 - my energy levels are fine, quite good and normal.. that's why i'm calling it (Muscle) Fatigue -- not general fatigue. All the usual blood markers are good.. but hey reads like 99% of us have totally normal bloods.Thanks guys.Any Vets.. what would you go back and tell yourselves?I'm past the @L5 worries, I have BFS , fine - how do you deal with the muscle fatigue and pain? (Ibuprofen does absolutely zero - feel no effects)

 

[Gracer]

so, if no changes on CPK and thyroid (which sometimes could be hard to spot by test but usually thyroid issues are obvius by other signs like unexplained changes in heart rythm, thermal reactions, exopthalm, weight gain/loss, fascial edemas etc.), then viral issues might be a reason, EBV seems to be a dreaming one and infection bout is not always looks as angina I think, especially after first one invasion...PM to Chrissi, shr may tell a lot I think.

 

[thelila]

I have had the same types of symptoms as you describe. Up until this past fall, I had been a competitive mountain bike and ultra-marathon racer. However, the muscle fatigue I have experienced since my bfs started (about 4 months ago) is not at all the same as I experienced during/after strenuous exercise. While I have had non-stop twitching in my legs and hands like many have described here, by far the worse symptom has been the profound fatigue in my calves, legs, and back. It came on a couple of weeks after the twitching started and was making it very difficult to get through basic routines during the day such as work and playing with my kids. I too have wondered about coping with this particular symptom as a chronic issue. After a lengthy work-up to rule out other stuff, I spoke about my concerns with a neurologist and we agreed to try a low dose of a neuroleptic drug called Trileptal combined with potassium rich foods. After about two weeks of taking the medication, my fatigue symptoms (and sleep) have improved quite a bit. Unfortunately, when I missed a dose, the symptom returned, so it is not a cure for me.I am not an anxious person, but do have a somewhat stressful job. Perhaps the stress along with my exercise routines triggered the bfs. While I am still learning to deal with the change in lifestyle this has bought on (I exercise only 20 minutes every other day), I am hopeful that someday some of the worse symptoms of this condition will abate on their own. In the mean time, its stress management and medication that seem to be helping. Hope this helps.

 

[Shawn87]

I couldn't shampoo my hair without my right shoulder getting very fatigued. Small amounts of exercise caused great muscle fatigue. Exercising while in a stressed state can lead to an overuse syndrome. What happened to me was this...1) Typing, playing video games...left thumb first finger twitching for 2 days. I had about a year of extreme health stress before this event.2) Then the perfect storm of reading about ***, taking my stress to a whole new level and self testing. I'm holding weights between my first finger and thumb, doing pull ups, walking on toes heels...you know the whole thing.3) The stress coupled with exercising (I believe) caused an overuse syndrome with extreme muscle fatigue. Mine is mainly better now.With that said, I suspect people with chronic muscle fatigue, may have started with a stress/exercise induced overuse syndrome and the brain learned a new baseline...kind of like with post traumatic stress disorders. The nervous system has a new baseline, the brain is now more hypersensitive to pain, and this produces a chronic state of additional stress and unease. Unchecked, unused adrenaline over an extended period of time can cause a myositis.Taking relaxation as your new full time job is the way to beat this thing. Working on anxiety, eating right, getting sleep, espom salt baths, massages, reading fiction, vacation, staying away from health reading, getting some therapy, going to church, listening to relaxing music etc.