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Brainfog and fatigue until the late afternoon or evening

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sem63774
sem63774

Hi,

My name is Sem (male, 31 from Belgium), suffering from brainfog and fatigue for a long time (6 years) and hope to get some help on this forum. I will try to keep it short. (sorry for my english)

Symptoms:

- I get up in the morning and after about 1-2 hours I get hit by brainfog (headache, pressure in my head, feeling heavy, problems to concentrate,feeling low...) and fatigue. Mostly these symptoms get better in the late afternoon. During the evening I feel normal most of the time. The difference between morning/afternoon and evening can be very big. When I go to sleep I feel pretty normal. After a good night of sleep (no sleeping problems) I wake up and the same pattern repeats itself. The severity of the symptoms can vary greatly depending on the period. One week I feel like a zombie all the time and can hardly function, the other week I feel tired but a lot better. I have no idea why. (I have tried to link it with food or sleep or stress but there is no clear correlation). The symptoms have a serious negative impact on my life.

In this 6 years I'v tried many things to figure out what is the problem:

- Endless blood tests. They where always fine.

- Urine tests. 

- Sleep study. No problems with sleep.

- Cortisol saliva test

- Ultrasound scan of the blatter and the kindeys

- eEg research

- CAT scan of the sinuses

- EMG research (not sure of the translation)

- CEIA bilan (not sure of the translation)

- Endless diets: Low-histamine diet, low-sugar diet, no-gluten diet, no-diary diet,...

- I tried a lot of supplements (for more then 3 months) but there is nothing that gives me a better feeling.

- Psychotherapy 

- Allergy test: I am allergic to histamine and mercury

- Food intolerance test: this is the only test where they found a potential cause of the symptoms. According to the test i'm intolerant to almond nuts, diary, gluten, yeast, eggs,  and bananas. I avoided these foods for 3 months without any results.

Is there somebody out there with similar symptoms? Is there somebody that can give me advice in my search for a better health? How can I get rid of these headaches and the fatigue?

Especially the difference between morning/daytime and eventing is very striking. It reminds me of adrenal insufficiency (the symptoms are very similar) but i have tested this and they seem to work normal (blood test and saliva test). 

I have no idea why this happens to me. I eat healthy (vegetarian, lots of vegetables, no fast food, a lot of whole foods, not a lot of sugars, not a lot of processed foods,...) and I do sports at least twice a week (only during the evening because during daytime it is difficult).

Hope to get some help here! Thanks in advance!

Greetings,

Sem

5 likes, 82 replies

82 Replies

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  • joe98530
    joe98530 sem63774

    Edited

    One thing you didn’t mention is exercise. Do you ? If so, do you notice any change in your symptoms after? 
    • sem63774
      sem63774 joe98530

      Edited

      Hi Joe,

      I do exercise. (1-3 times a week, mostly during evenings because the tiredness is much less then) I also ride my bike almost daily.

      If I exercise during the evening I feel very good after.  Exercise during daytime isn't always possible because of the tiredness. If I do exercise (when I have a better day), I feel mostly better after but sometimes it can make things worse. Difficult to say. 

      Why did you pose this question? 

      Thanks for the reply!

    • michelle2022
      michelle2022 sem63774

      Posted

      thats really interesting. due to our circadian rhythm being out of synch. I guess thats is why we are more tired in the day.

      I never thought to try do some excercise at night.. which might help when I totally cant get to sleep.

      I so yoga stretches before bed and vagus nerve and deep breathing to open my lungs and make my rib cage feel less tight.

      Wow you have good energy and focus to ride your bike.. hopefully when i get a baseline I can do more..

    • gyh41172
      gyh41172 sem63774

      Posted

      I’ve been having something similar the past 6 months. I wake up feeling exhausted and very dizzy like I’m walking on sponge i have constant headache however by 8pm i tend to feel normal again.

      Blood treats normal and head CT scan normal. I had cortisol tests done which were high so i thought it stress. Trying a gluten free diet at the moment to see if that has any impact.

      I can exercise without feeling exhausted afterwards but i also feel like i could sleep every afternoon.

    • toni40889
      toni40889 gyh41172

      Posted

      Did you ever find out the cause of what you were going through?

      I have been experiencing the same thing for 3 yeas

  • jackie00198
    jackie00198 sem63774

    Edited

    Sem--Based on your post, it's hard to say what's going on. The red flag for ME/CFS is post-exertional malaise (PEM)--that is, when you do an activity, you get fatigued far beyond what is normal. Sleep problems (which you don't have) are also very common with this illness. The best way to get a diagnosis of ME/CFS is to first get bloodwork tests, which you've already done. If the tests come back normal, and you suspect this illness, you should go to a specialist (like a rheumatologist or Infectious Disease Specialist). Most primary care doctors don't have the knowledge to diagnose ME/CFS. Also, go to the "solve ME/CFS Initiative website and see if the symptoms sound familiar to you. It's a bit complicated, because fatigue can be a symptoms of many illnesses. But ME/CFS is a very specific illness. In the meantime, in case you do have this illness, don't push beyond your energy envelope, as that can make you worse. By the way, your English is excellent.

    • sem63774
      sem63774 jackie00198

      Edited

      Hi Jackie,

      My fatigue isn't related to physical activity.  I already had tests for ME/CFS and they where negative. 

      Thanks anyway for the reply!

  • LyLy
    LyLy sem63774

    Posted

    I get this too, it's like my brain is over sensored and can't concentrate. I get very fatigued from it with the head pressure but mine starts in the afternoon. It's like mental exhaustion mixed with physical exhaustion.

    I am also stumped, still going to specialists to find an answer. Please let me know if you find the cause to this.

    Someone told me it could be iron/copper dysregulation. When they are unbound and not bioavailable to the body it gets stored in the liver, brain and organs and act as a heavy metal. Something to look into.

    • sem63774
      sem63774 LyLy

      Posted

      Hi Taro,

      Thanks for the reply. I will let you know when I found something!

       

  • john66705
    john66705 sem63774

    Posted

    Hi Sem,

    Kinda have the same fatigue/malaise going on for +3 yrs. 

    Have you gotten any closer to the root cause and/or symtomatic relief in the last couple of months?

  • Guava
    Guava sem63774

    Posted

    Hi Sem,, you said your vego ,have you had your iron tested ?? ,,and also im allergic to Salicylates,, its in all veges and herbs and nuts etc ,, i can only eat i vege and no fruit,, i am amine intolerant too ,,all the best <3 Guava

  • mb7834
    mb7834 sem63774

    Edited

    I have almost identical issues as yourself sem. After lifting heavy weights for months in the evening, my condition deteriorated. I got new symptoms such as breathlessness/exhaustion doing very minor things. Everything I had previously was amplified. After this, I got diagnosed with CFS/ME. I think you have the same condition but it's not as severe as it could be.

    You've had far more tests conducted than myself. I wish us luck. I will bookmark this page and check back in months, or years. Please keep us updated.

  • oscar03435
    oscar03435 sem63774

    Edited

    Hi Semi,

    I'm new to this blog, but realized my symtoms are similar to yours. I get up in the morning then start having intermittent brainfog and fatigue and in the evening time about 6 PM I'm back to my normal self until the next day when the cycle begins again. I was wondering if you had any recent updates.

    • john66705
      john66705 oscar03435

      Edited

      check the basics first：

      • Iron, TIBC and ferrtin
      • liver panel
      • kidney panel - with electrolytes
      • testosterone /hormones/ cortisol
      • thryoid function
      • CBC with differential + CRP

      Rule out any of these as potential causes before exploring anything else. interpretation of results preferably by a internal medicine specialist - cost permitting

      if all is ok with the above, I'd look into :

      • Cavitations ( JAW )
      • parastic infections - best via blood and stool
      • Possible low grade infection /Inflammation somewhere in the body
      • sleep apnea/ sleep quality

      I'm not a specialist and dont know your situation, but these would be the areas I'd cover firstly in uncovering chronic last lasting fatigue and tiredness - when any form of therapy does not alleviate it

      if you have any questions and/or would like some guidance on test results i will be glad to assist

      God Bless

    • sarah53670
      sarah53670 oscar03435

      Edited

      I have the same cycle. It's so frustrating to go to bed feeling good but knowing it is going to start all over again the next day.

      Have you made any progress?

    • MarcelShock
      MarcelShock oscar03435

      Posted

      me the same do you have any updates or how did you deal with it ?

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