Fatigue, again...

[koksi]

I feel weak and tired most of the time these days, as I have for the last several months.  Fatigue tends to get me really down, because I don't feel that I have the energy to do the work that I enjoy doing, and then the down mood I think probably contributes to the fatigue.  It all kind of sucks, and my workload is about to increase exponentially at the beginning of September...  I have been waiting to get blood drawn to get new numbers at the end of August, but I now think that I should not wait that long.  Here is what I am experiencing:

--Tiredness in my limbs.  My limbs feel heavy, especially my forearms.  It feels like they are literally hard to lift up sometimes.

--Shortness of breath and/or 'heart weakness.'  This is hard to describe.  It isn't exactly shortness of breath, like I don't find myself panting exactly.  But I feel winded a lot.  More strange feeling is my heart:  sometimes I feel like my heart is weak or beating extra hard or something.  I can be doing nothing and this happens.  Like, I get this feeling just lying in bed.  Sometimes it feels like my heart is broken, like a sort of 'tightness' or 'emptiness' in my chest.  This is a very difficult thing to describe, but generally it just feels like cardio/lung weakness.

--A mild dry cough that comes and goes.  This has been happening for a few months, perhaps longer, not sure.  Sometimes I cough.  It is a dry cough and it doesn't feel severe exactly.  It's just like a few coughs, some chest tightness, and then it subsides.  I think I probably get this dry/tight/cough thing once a day, mostly in the evenings I think.

--Feverishness without fever.  Here is another kind of symptom that seems to defy description.  I get what I call 'fever patches' on my skin.  These are areas of the surface of my skin that feel painful and delicate to the touch, but there is no rash and nothing visible.  Back when I was negative, these occurred when I got sick.  During seroconversion, my entire back felt super sensitive to the touch (although there was no rash).  For the last few days, I have felt these 'fever patches' on both sides of my back. 

--Overall lack of energy and concomitant trouble focusing.  Actually, last week I got some good work done and was able to think.  But this week I feel useless and am having trouble concentrating.  When I wake up the first thought I usually have is, 'I can't wait to go back to bed' -- even when I am still in bed! 

I have been reading through some threads here about fatigue, like these (one of which is my own):
http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=14302.0
http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=13285.0

I don't know quite what I am asking here, but I guess I just would like to hear from others about symptoms or experiences of fatigue.  I guess I am trying to assess the whole question of medications... others have suggested that fatigue can diminish once meds start; alternately, the meds may themselves cause fatigue.  One friend suggested to me that with numbers like mine, he would definitely start medication.

Alternately, I have read some online materials regarding treatment for fatigue.  I would really appreciate hearing from others about their responses to different sorts of treatments available for fatigue.  Thanks.

[bryonut]

Hey K

I have been experiencing something very similar to you as of late. I am beginning to see an increase in fatigue over the last few weeks. I will be seeing my ID doc next week. Id be happy to share with you what she says. Have you spoken with your physician about it?

bry

[thunter34]

mine always wants to give me a b-12 shot.  which lasts about 30 mins.

[pozattitude]

My doctor prescribed me Adderall, the same thing I take for my ADD, it doesn't really work. 
I think I said this before, I believe that our bodies are fighting HIV 24 hours a day and that is the reason for the fatigue.

Rich

[thunter34]

My doctor prescribed me Adderall, the same thing I take for my ADD, it doesn't really work. 

Then can I have your Adderalls? 

[dixieman]

mmmm I too generally seem to have fatigue... I've also get testosterone shots every 2 weeks... it seems to help... plus I exercise just to keep to body moving... I'm also taking a new substance... L-carnitine... I'll let you know how it works...

[JamieD]

koksi-


My heart goes out to you.  I feel the same way all the time (minus the cough and shortness of breath). That is actually why I went and got an HIV test in the first place. I had not been sexually active in a long time, so I had no reason to get one other then the extreme fatigue. It was absolutely the most debilatating fatigue ever. I was falling asleep while driving, falling asleep in class, and the same as you I would wake up and fantasise about going back to bed.
Since I have been on HAART the fatigue has gone down/improved quite a bit. My doctor recently put me on Lithium Citrate as an augmentation of my anti-depressant therapy and that has helped a lot with my fatigue as well. My infectious disease doctor told me that many people with HIV have a lot of over activity in the brain and CNS, which causes fatigue. The Lithium helps to protect against the excitotoxicty caused by HIV.

[Iggy]

Stress and depression can certainly cause a sense of fatigue.  It may also be physical. I am honestly leery of giving any advice myself on this matter as it could be so many possibilities ranging from needing a change of routine to medications

This is one of those issues that really needs to be discussed with a medical professional if possible.

[koksi]

Thanks to all.  I am convinced that my current fatigue (etc.) is related to viral load and so I have expedited my next set of tests and so should get numbers sooner rather than later.

One thing, Iggy, is that I really do think physical fatigue makes me sad and not so much the other way around.  It's like weakness in my limbs and chest ends up being a constant reminder of something that I might be able to more easily ignore or psychologically manage otherwise.

The most worrying thing right now is not really 'generalized malaise' but more like this specific feeling that my heart/lungs are weak.  I dunno what it could be and some days are worse than others in this regard.  We'll see!

I am going to see that new Matt Damon movie tonight.  Maybe that will prompt some excitement.

[Andy Velez]

Kok, I think that's an excellent idea to kick up your next checkup. A fresh set of numbers may help to clarify things.

The BOURNE movie is definitely a high octane travelogue. Let us know if it makes a diff.

Cheers, 

[ElGreco]

Hello Koksi,
With 326000 VL and 17%, it's natural to feel your system weak and exhausted. Hasn't your doctor insisted you to start on meds?

[mjmel]

You certainly are not alone in feeling this fatigue, huh?
7 years battling fatigue and counting....(actually, it comes; it goes...)

Mike

[koksi]

The Bourne movie was fatiguing just to watch!  Great stuff, but a little manic.

As to starting meds, I just think the docs here are real slow.  Also, I am not sure just how long I will be here in Finland, so that relates to the delay in starting treatment.

As I said, I am gonna get some new numbers in a few weeks, and hopefully, as Andy comments, they will be clarifying.

Thanks to all for commenting.

[ElGreco]

I think that given the symptoms you described (fatigue, inflammation, etc...), your new blood test results would show that you should be starting medication soon. Your doctors might be "slow" to decide but surely they would see it too. I believe that you should have started back in June, but that's just my personal view.
Just by coincidence, I watched the 2nd Bourne film on tv yesterday night. So predictable and boring...