4 replies to this topic

[stolpioni]

This started (I believe) about 3-4 years ago when I was travelling in Asia. I was sick for about 5 months straight there and went on 7-8 different antibiotics,

nothing helped. After I got home I eventually became well again but I haven't been the same since. The problem is when exercising, I get sick (flu symptoms)

as soon as I push my body. It's getting worse and worse. Before I could train for 1-2 weeks before I got sick for 2-5 days. Now I get sick after every exercise.

 

My doctor tested for Glandular fever but told me this test was negative. She still suggested I suffered from some kind of post viral fatigue syndrome.

 

Now I am wondering, what can I supplement with to help this?

 

As a sidenote, my thyroid is also messed up (hypothyrodism), but that might have to do with something else. Or is it related?

Also, my Prolactin levels have been high since I first tested them. Always around 25-35% above the maximum on the reference ranges.

Cortisol levels are also above reference range. Adrenal fatigue? I was a drug addict for many years and suffered panic attacks daily

for about 3 years afterwards. I am well in that regard now though.

Edited by stolpioni, 25 March 2016 - 07:19 PM.

[Santi]

Sounds exactly like chronic fatigue syndrome. Antivirals against herpesvirus for a year seemed to help 75%-85% of people with CFS in two studies I read. My suggestion after taking with your doctor would be to start acyclovir twice a day, get your TSH, free t3, free t4 tested, and get your DNA tested for mthfr and comt mutations. Take the correct amount of levothyroxine to get your thyroid hormones to the optimal level. Your TSH should be between 1 and 2 for minimizing mortality rate while increasing your energy level, your free T3 should be in the middle of range and your free T4 should be around the 2/3 to 3/4 mark. If you can't test your DNA for a MTHFR mutation you can purchase sublingual hydroxocobalamin and take that daily for a week and see if you notice a difference in your level of tiredness. Glycine 3g 30 minutes before sleep has been shown to help by a small amount.

Remember antivirals take months to begin seeing a slow improvement, hydroxocobalamin may take 2 to 3 days to notice the difference if your have a MTHFR mutation which up to 60% of people do, glycine should also show its benefits in a short time frame of 1-3 days. As the antivirals start working you may need to decrease your level of levothyroxine or you may start to go toward hyperthyroidism levels. One option while you are trying to get this under control, which will take at least a year, many people supplement with 50mg-100mg of Provigil which has helped them live a more normal life with CFS.

[stolpioni]

Sounds exactly like chronic fatigue syndrome. Antivirals against herpesvirus for a year seemed to help 75%-85% of people with CFS in two studies I read. My suggestion after taking with your doctor would be to start acyclovir twice a day, get your TSH, free t3, free t4 tested, and get your DNA tested for mthfr and comt mutations. Take the correct amount of levothyroxine to get your thyroid hormones to the optimal level. Your TSH should be between 1 and 2 for minimizing mortality rate while increasing your energy level, your free T3 should be in the middle of range and your free T4 should be around the 2/3 to 3/4 mark. If you can't test your DNA for a MTHFR mutation you can purchase sublingual hydroxocobalamin and take that daily for a week and see if you notice a difference in your level of tiredness. Glycine 3g 30 minutes before sleep has been shown to help by a small amount.

Remember antivirals take months to begin seeing a slow improvement, hydroxocobalamin may take 2 to 3 days to notice the difference if your have a MTHFR mutation which up to 60% of people do, glycine should also show its benefits in a short time frame of 1-3 days. As the antivirals start working you may need to decrease your level of levothyroxine or you may start to go toward hyperthyroidism levels. One option while you are trying to get this under control, which will take at least a year, many people supplement with 50mg-100mg of Provigil which has helped them live a more normal life with CFS.

 

Thanks, this is great! Gives me some hope for sure.

 

I am already taking Leovthyroxine for my thyroid, just had to lower the dose from 75mcg down to 50mcg. My TSH is now about 1.7 but my free T4 is way above the reference range (about 25% higher). I am thinking it's the high Prolactin that causes it.

 

I recently ordered a DNA test from 23andme.com. Would this test check for the mthfr and comt mutations? Or should I ask my doctor about this test? Is hydroxocobalamin a form of Vitamin B12? I know that when I checked my B12 levels (I did a complete micronutrient test about a year and half ago, I had very low levels of B12. I have not supplementet with it though).

 

I want to add however that I don't feel any fatigue in general. The problem is just that I get sick when working out.

Edited by stolpioni, 05 April 2016 - 05:20 AM.

[stolpioni]

By the way, I am already taking SAM-e since about 1 year back. Should I lower my dosage of it when I start the B12?

[Santi]

23andme.com will give you the raw date you need regarding MTHFR and COMT. For interpretation of the data I would use Promethease.com. Promethease will take the data from 23andme and create a personal DNA report based on scientific findings cited in SNPedia. It costs $5 and takes about 10 minutes. The amount of SAM-e you should take depends on your MTHFR/COMT status. However if you begin to have increased anxiety which sometimes happen to people who have COMT issues with SAM-e then you should lower the dose or stop taking it for a while. 

 

Hydroxocobalamin is a form of vitamin B. You should definitely get your vitamin B 12 levels up to normal levels. A study of 121 people found that those with lower vitamin B12 levels scored worse on cognitive tests, and had smaller brain volumes as revealed by MRI scans. 

 

I believe high prolactin can be a result of hypothyroidism specifically from increased TRH and TSH. As you are treating your hypothyroidism I would imagine that your prolactin levels would go down. I personally take low dose selegiline as it has been found to extend lifespan in animals and protects the brain. That is in addition to its effect of increasing baseline happiness levels. Selegiline and Cabergoline are used to lower prolactin levels. I am not suggesting that you take them, just providing the information so that in the future if your prolactin levels stay high and interfere with your life you know these medicines may help.

 

As you stated that you do not have fatigue in general the main thing would then be to focus on getting on antivirals. Here is an article on systemic exertion intolerance disease and antivirals. 

 

http://www.psychiatr...article/405424/

 

Patients were treated with the antiviral, valacyclovir (Valtrex), at a dose of 1000 mg twice a day. Only one patient experienced nausea and discontinued the antiviral. Improvement occurred over the course of 3-5 months. Eighty-six percent of the patients responded by 3 months, and 92% responded by 5 months. Symptoms of fatigue, exertion induced malaise, excessive sleep, napping, unrefreshing sleep, headaches, cognitive symptoms, and emotional symptoms all resolved.

Fatigue was specifically measured with the Fatigue Severity Scale,9 the Fatigue Symptom Inventory,10 and the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Version (MFSI),11 which also allows assessment of cognitive symptoms, emotional symptoms, pain, and vigor. The general score on the MFSI dropped from 23.31 (+1.11) to 1.1 (+1.37) and the vigor score rose from 4.54 (+2.40) to 16.50 (+3.37). All changes were statistically significant.