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Q: Cure For Low Energy ( Answered,   3 Comments )
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Subject: Cure For Low Energy
Category: Health
Asked by: magnoliatwin-ga
List Price: $35.00
Posted: 27 Sep 2006 20:12 PDT
Expires: 27 Oct 2006 20:12 PDT
Question ID: 769107
My question here is certainly more serious a matter than it would
appear to be at first glance. My low energy has put my livelihood in
jeopardy. And that's to make no mention of quality of life. Allow me
to expand on the background of this problem. And I'll do my best to
post the most, accurate question possible.

First, I've been this way my entire life. (I'm 31 now.) Always never
any energy. I am height/weight porportionate, and have always been so.
I do have a condition called Familiar Tremor. It makes me shake
slightly (and gets extremely bad in extreme hot/cold weather). Oddly,
I think it may have something to do with what's going, energy-wise, in
my body. Caffiene and "energy" drinks have absolutely no effect on me
whatosever. Usually, they make me even more tired. I work a regular
8-hour day, and it's everything I can do to make it to 5 o'clock.
Today, I had to drop a class at a very good school because I just
couldn't handle it. I'm just too tired. My job isn't very physically
demanding at all. (I'm in accounting.) But, of course, with
low-energy, comes the inability to think clearly. I've noticed too,
that my short-term memory is virtually non-existant. If I don't write
a thought down at its inception, I'll simply forget it.

My question is; what cures are availabe to me? Please be aware that I
am not searching for lifestyle advice. In other words, answers that
dole out diet & exercise advice are not what I'm looking for. I'd like
to know, based on the information I'm providing, what
medical/pharmaceutical remedies are available to me. If you think I
may be suffering from any condition/disease, please list the possible
culprits. And please ask for clarification, or more information,
should you need it.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Cure For Low Energy
Answered By: crabcakes-ga on 28 Sep 2006 15:55 PDT
 
Hello Magnoliatwin,

   
   Fatigue In General:
==========================
   ?Being tired can lead you to avoid physical activity. However, as
you become more unfit, you will be even more tired when you try to do
something. When you are chronically tired, this can become a vicious
circle.
Being too fat or too thin can cause tiredness. If you are overweight,
your body has to work harder than normal to do everyday activities. If
you are very underweight, you have less muscle strength and may tire
more quickly.
Many types of illness can leave you feeling very tired, especially
anaemia, an underactive thyroid and heart failure.

Sleep problems such as insomnia and sleep apnoea (abnormal breathing
while asleep) can also stop you getting a good night's sleep, while
pregnancy is another common reason for severe tiredness.?
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/beating_tiredness.html


   When to see your doctor - Sudden or persistent fatigue, despite
adequate rest, may mean it's time for you to consult your doctor.
Unrelenting exhaustion may be a sign of an underlying medical problem.
In general, talk to your doctor if you're extremely tired or unable to
regain your energy after several weeks of increased rest. Medical
causes of fatigue can include:
 Anemia
 Cancer
 Depression
 Diabetes
 Medications
 Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
 Sleep apnea
 Thyroid problems
 Chronic fatigue syndrome
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fatigue/HQ00673



Essential Tremor (Formerly known as Familial Tremor)
   Are you taking medication for the tremor? Propranolol   Nadolol,
Primidone, and Acetazolamide, commonly prescribed drugs for essential
temor, can all cause or worsen excessive tiredness.
http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2000/07_00/cooper.htm


Has the absolute cause of your tremor been diagnosed? Even essential
tremor can be triggered by causes such as metabolic syndromes drugs,
and ?toxins? as caffeine!

?	?At any point of time the frequency of tremor is relatively fixed,
but amplitude is highly variable depending on the state of emotional
activation. Tremor amplitude is worsened by emotion, hunger, fatigue,
and temperature extremes. The baseline tremor amplitude slowly
increases over several years.
?	A degree of voluntary control is typical, and the tremor may be
suppressed by skilled manual tasks.
?	The tremor resolves during sleep.
http://www.emedicine.com/NEURO/topic129.htm




Depression
==========

   I hope you won?t take offense, but I could ?hear? a sadness in your
question. Is it possible that you are suffering from depression, and
not be aware of it?

   ?A recent landmark study involving 6,421 adults showed fatigue and
lethargy to be the most common and debilitating symptoms of
depression. This finding could change the way that physicians treat
this illness.
   To date, most doctors have not targeted the extreme fatigue that
often plagues depression sufferers for treatment. Because of this,
many patients continue to experience fatigue and lethargy even after
their other symptoms abate. This leftover fatigue can often be so
intense that those afflicted are unable to work or partake in their
regular daily activities.

   What are the chances that depression is behind your lack of energy?
In the United States, one in six people will experience a depressive
episode during their lifetime. More than 19 million American adults
experience it each year. Yet only 50% of the people who meet the
criteria for diagnosis actually seek treatment.?
http://www.askmen.com/sports/health_100/108_mens_health.html
 

?Stress and worry are tiring emotions. Facing a stressful situation
can be draining, especially when you cannot see a solution to your
problems. Feeling that you have no control over a situation may lead
to frustration, irritability and tiredness.

Mental health problems such as depression or anxiety can make you feel
more tired and can prevent you from sleeping properly.?
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/beating_tiredness.html


   ?Doctors have long been aware of the association between depression
and unexplained fatigue, but were never sure which symptom came first.
To find the answer, Skapinakis and two colleagues looked at patient
data from 14 countries, part of a World Health Organization study of
psychological problems in general health care.

?Fatigue and psychiatric disorder are not the same,? Skapinakis says.
?It is evident from the literature that fatigue and depression have
different risk factors.?

But they may have some overlap, too, he says. Fatigued persons might
feel psychologically distressed over their condition, and decreased
energy is one symptom of depression. Levels of physical activity could
explain the interaction between fatigue and depression, he says.

?Physical activity is known to have a protective effect on
depression,? Skapinakis says. ?It has also been suggested that
physical deconditioning might be an important factor in the
development of unexplained fatigue.?
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/news/fueled06-16-04.cfm



Multiple chemical sensitivities/Allergies
==========================================

     ?about 2/3 of those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and
Fibromyalgia also have MCS (and vice versa), as do 1/2 of those with
allergies. Like CFS, MCS is more common in women and can start at any
age, but usually begins in late puberty to mid-life. There is no
unique test for MCS, but immune, porphyrin, EEG, balance, and SPECT
scan abnormalities are common.?
http://www.mcsrr.org/factsheets/mcsdisorders.html


   ?The cause of MCS has not been identified. Some cases arise
following a long-term, low-level exposure to a toxin, while others
come on acutely after a short, high-level exposure. The body then
becomes sensitive to other chemicals, a phenomenon known as
"spreading." Research is being conducted to determine the cause(s) of
MCS and its effects on the body.?

?It is often necessary for MCS patients to remove offensive materials
(such as carpeting or stained cabinetry) and furnishings (such as old
bedding and upholstered furniture) from their homes, replacing them
with things that are made specifically for the chemically sensitive.
This can be a costly and time-consuming process, but may help MCS
patients can function to the best of their ability.?
http://www.cfids.org/about-cfids/multiple-chemical-sensitivities.asp


   ?Environmental toxins aren't the only external cause of fatigue.
Even more common are allergies caused by substances such as molds and
pollens. Countless Americans suffer from allergies, and along with
their sniffly noses and stinging eyes, they experience fogginess,
spaciness, and fatigue. From pollen wafting on a summer breeze to
molds growing on a shady, damp porch, elements of the natural world
can wreak havoc in the lives of allergic individuals. And yet there
are effective solutions to this extremely common cause of fatigue.?

   ??where mites, mold, and mildew can accumulate. Once the building's
air system was cleaned, my patient's fatigue cleared up.?
http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/87


   ?Many clinicians who work with chronic fatigue and immune
dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) patients have noted that sensitivities to
common foods contribute to their patients' symptoms. I first learned
of the relationship of food sensitivities to fatigue (and other
symptoms) from the mother of a 12-year-old boy almost 40 years ago.
She convinced me (against my will) that her son's fatigue, headache,
muscle aches and depression vanished when she eliminated milk from his
diet.

A short time later, I read several articles about the subject
published in peer-reviewed medical journals.1-3Each described persons
with fatigue and other symptoms who improved (often dramatically) when
they eliminated milk, wheat, corn and other common foods from their
diets.?
http://www.cfids.org/archives/1998/pre-1999-article01.asp



Thyroid
=======
   Hypothyroid disorders affect women more than men, but men can be
afflicted, especially is exposed to radiation.

?Hypothyroid patients may experience a variety of symptoms, including
weight gain, intolerance to cold, goiter (enlarged thyroid), dry
coarse skin, fatigue, constipation, slowed heart rate, poor memory or
depression.?
http://www.abbottdiagnostics.com/Your_Health/Thyroid/Disorders/hypo.cfm


   ?The increase was in underactive thyroids, a condition in which the
thyroid produces too little thyroid hormone. Symptoms can include an
enlarged thyroid, fatigue and weight gain.?
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=142236




Cardiac
========

   ?Tiredness, fatigue: The heart can't pump enough blood to meet the
needs of body tissues. The body diverts blood away from less vital
organs, particularly muscles in the limbs, and sends it to the heart
and brain. . . . a tired feeling all the time and difficulty with
everyday activities, such as shopping, climbing stairs, carrying
groceries or walking.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=339


   ?Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome may have a serious heart
problem. A new finding hints that blood circulation problems may be an
underlying cause of the mysterious illness.

Nobody is sure what causes chronic fatigue syndrome. As more becomes
known, it's likely that some chronic fatigue patients will turn out to
have different underlying problems than others. One major symptom,
however, is feeling bad after exercise for more than 24 hours.?
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/63/72082.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348




Sleep Apnea/Snoring
===================

   ?The author concludes that complaints of fatigue, tiredness and
lack of energy appear to be as important as complaints of sleepiness
in patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. This is
especially true for women. Physicians should consider a diagnosis of
sleep apnea in patients who complain of fatigue or lack of energy,
even if they do not admit to excessive daytime sleepiness.?
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010201/tips/3.html



Chronic Fatigue
================

   ?Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, is a debilitating and complex
disorder characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed
rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity. Persons
with CFS most often function at a substantially lower level of
activity than they were capable of before the onset of illness. In
addition to these key defining characteristics, patients report
various nonspecific symptoms, including weakness, muscle pain,
impaired memory and/or mental concentration, insomnia, and
post-exertional fatigue lasting more than 24 hours.?

?To receive a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, a patient must
satisfy two criteria:
1.	Have severe chronic fatigue of six months or longer duration with
other known medical conditions excluded by clinical diagnosis; and
2.	Concurrently have four or more of the following symptoms:
substantial impairment in short-term memory or concentration; sore
throat; tender lymph nodes; muscle pain; multi-joint pain without
swelling or redness; headaches of a new type, pattern or severity;
unrefreshing sleep; and post-exertional malaise lasting more than 24
hours.
The symptoms must have persisted or recurred during six or more
consecutive months of illness and must not have predated the fatigue.?
http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/cfsbasicfacts.htm


   ?A small number of people suffer from long-term, disabling
tiredness without a clear cause. This used to be known as ME (myalgic
encelphalomyelitis) and is now referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome
(CFS). Although this sort of tiredness is now recognised as a medical
condition, causes and treatment of CFS are not well understood in
comparison to many other conditions.

If you are diagnosed with CFS, it is likely that you will be offered a
combination of therapies, tailored to your individual needs. This can
include graded exercise therapy, treatment with antidepressants or a
"talking treatment" such as cognitive behaviour therapy. To find out
more about chronic fatigue syndrome and its treatment, see the BUPA
factsheet Chronic fatigue syndrome.?
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/beating_tiredness.html


   ?In the mid-1980s, subjects with altered cortisol receptors were
found to have fatigue as their only symptom.7,8 More recently my
research team has discovered a 39-member Italian-Australian family
with a newly described loss of function (null) mutation in a gene for
CBG, in association with fatigue and relatively low blood pressure.?

?The mechanism of association between fatigue, relative hypotension
and low cortisol has also not been established by these genetic
studies. The family we described had lifelong fatigue, albeit variable
with time, and did not have postural hypotension. Lack of postural
hypotension was also noted in subjects with the glucocorticoid
receptor mutation.?
http://www.cfids.org/archives/2001rr/2001-rr4-article01.asp


   While you may have a medical condition causing your fatigue, and
you don?t want lifestyle advice, you must know that your lifestyle can
greatly affect fatigue. For some people, carbohydrates can zap energy.
For others, wheat, gluten, corn, and other foods can zap energy. Your
problem could very well be a certain food or environmental
exposure/allergies. To resolve this, you?d need a lifestyle change. I
won?t provide you with any advice, I just want you to be aware that
making a change could help.


   If you?re consuming caffeine in an attempt to get ?energized?,
stop. Sublimes?s comment below is right on.

?When you consume caffeine, the drug begins its effects by initiating
uncontrolled neuron firing in your brain, according to Stephen
Cherniske in his book, Caffeine Blues. This excess neuron activity
triggers your pituitary gland to secrete a hormone that tells your
adrenal glands to produce adrenalin.
Adrenalin is what gives athletes that winning burst of energy and Good
Samaritans the ability to rescue people by lifting cars. Adrenalin is
also the source of our "fight-or-flight" response, which enabled our
prehistoric ancestors to escape from saber-toothed tigers and other
predators. By stimulating your adrenal glands to produce adrenalin,
caffeine puts your body in this "fight-or-flight" state, which is
useless while you're just sitting at your desk. When this adrenal high
wears off later, you feel the drop in terms of fatigue, irritability,
headache or confusion.?
http://www.newstarget.com/012352.html 


   Have you been to a competent medical doctor for a complete
physical?  A physician can get to the root of the problem, and suggest
useful treatment. Without knowing the cause of your fatigue it would
be difficult to recommend a drug or remedy.  You don?t want dietary
advice, but this would be the place to start. A poor diet will not
provide sufficient energy.


   You may consider these herbal therapies, but I urge you to see a
competent doctor.
    ?Herbal remedies that act as circulatory stimulants can offset the
symptoms of fatigue in some individuals. An herbalist may recommend an
infusion of ginger (Zingiber officinale) root or treatment with
cayenne (Capsicum annuum), balmony (Chelone glabra), damiana (Turnera
diffusa), ginseng (Panax ginseng), or rosemary (Rosmarinus
officinalis) to treat ongoing fatigue.?

 ?Chinese medicine regards fatigue as a blockage or misalignment of
qi, or energy flow, inside the human body. The practitioner of Chinese
medicine chooses acupuncture and/or herbal therapy to rebalance the
entire system. The Chinese formula Minot Bupleurum soup (or Xiao Chia
Hu Tang) has been used for nearly 2,000 years for the type of chronic
fatigue that comes after the flu. In this condition, the person has
low-grade fever, nausea, and fatigue. There are other formulas that
are helpful in other cases. Acupuncture involves the placement of a
series of thin needles into the skin at targeted locations on the body
known as acupoints in order to harmonize the energy flow within the
human body.?
Deep breathing exercises and information about color therapy are also
found on this page.
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/fatigue.jsp


More deep breathing exercises
?Deep breathing can have a powerful influence on our health. To
understand how this is possible, we need to remember that the
diaphragm is attached all around the lower ribcage and has strands
going down to the lumbar vertebrae. When our  breathing is full and
deep, the diaphragm moves through its entire range downward to massage
the liver, stomach, and other organs and tissues below it, and upward
to massage the heart. When our breathing is full and deep, the belly,
lower ribcage, and lower back all expand on inhalation, thus drawing
the diaphragm down deeper into the abdomen, and retract on exhalation,
allowing the diaphragm to move fully upward toward the heart. In deep,
abdominal breathing, the downward and upward movements of the
diaphragm, combined with the outward and inward movements of the
belly, ribcage, and lower back, help to massage and detoxify our inner
organs, promote blood flow and peristalsis, and pump the lymph more
efficiently through our lymphatic system. The lymphatic system, which
is an important part of our immune system, has no pump other than
muscular movements, including the movements of breathing.?
http://www.authentic-breathing.com/deep_breathing.htm


Colortherapy
?Colors affect us in different ways: 
?	Color is one of the languages of the soul, just look at inspired or
meditative paintings.
?	They influence our mood and emotions. 
?	They have their impact on our sense of well-being or un-easiness. 
?	Using and avoiding certain colors is a way of self-expression; it
sheds light on our personality.
?	Colors affect our way of perception (light colors make a space look
big, a high ceiling looks less high when painted in a dark color,
etc.)
?	Colors have a symbolic meaning which is immediately recognized by
our subconsciousness. It must be said that not all colors mean the
same to all persons and all cultures.
?	They influence the flow and amount of energy in our bodies. 
?	Colors tell something about biological attraction and sexual availability. 
Scroll down the page to read color descriptions.
http://www.deeptrancenow.com/colortherapy.htm


  I hope this answer has provided what you are seeking. If anything is
unclear, please ask for an Answer Clarification, and allow me to
respond, before you rate this answer.

I wish you the best!

Sincerely, Crabcakes


Search Terms
============
Essential tremor
Essential tremor + fatigue 
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Lifelong fatigue
Depression + tiredness
Fatigue + thyroid
Cardiac + fatigue
Allergies + fatigue
Colortherapy
Alternate remedies + fatigue
Comments  
Subject: Re: Cure For Low Energy
From: probonopublico-ga on 27 Sep 2006 21:53 PDT
 
Are you on any medication? (Could be a side effect.)

Have you any allergies or sensitivities? (If you've never been tested,
it might be worth doing.)

Have you seen a medical practitioner? If so, what was/were the opinion(s)?
Subject: Re: Cure For Low Energy
From: stanmartin1952-ga on 27 Sep 2006 22:55 PDT
 
I think a sedative might help you. The more relaxed you are, the
slower you burn energy.
Subject: Re: Cure For Low Energy
From: sublime1-ga on 28 Sep 2006 00:12 PDT
 
You note that caffeinated beverages make you even more tired.
You may be one of those with a constitution that has what's
called a "paradoxical reaction" to stimulants, so, if you're
using caffeinated beverages on a regular basis, in the hopes
of keeping yourself more alert, you may be making yourself 
more tired by doing so.

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