Fatigue – Is More Than GP Brain Fog

What is Fatigue?

“Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress, medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.”   As stated by The Medical Dictionary.

Symptoms of Fatigue?

Fatigue signs and symptoms may be of a physical, mental or emotional nature. Below is a list of some more possible signs and symptoms:

• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Aching or sore muscles
• Painful lymph nodes
• Apathy, lack of motivation
• Chronic (long-term) tiredness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dizziness
• Hallucinations
• Hand-to-eye coordination may be impaired
• Headache
• Impaired judgment
• Indecisiveness
• Irritability
• Loss of appetite
• Moodiness
• Poorer immune system function
• Short-term memory impairment – there may be problems organizing thoughts and finding the right words to say (brain fog)
• Sleepiness, drowsiness
• Slower-than-normal reflexes
• Some vision problems, such as blurriness

The above was copied from Medical News Today, “What Is Fatigue? What Causes Fatigue?”, dated July 18, 2012.   I never knew that fatigue had so many possible symptoms.  I was naive and only thought about being tired, lack of motivation and headaches. 

Top 9 Medications Causing Fatigue:

• High Blood Pressure
• Cholesterol control
• Proton pump inhibitors  (to treat GERD -Acid Reflux)
• Tranquilizers
• Allergy treatment
• Antidepressants
• Schizophrenia treatment
• Antibiotics
• Water Pills (Diuretics)

Be sure to talk to your doctor with any new medication they may give you, as well as you pharmacist.  Third I would read the informational sheet that comes with medications.  If it does not, then http://www.webmd.com is a wonderful resource.   The above info was taken from from this link.

Medical Conditions That Cause Fatigue:

• Anemia
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes
• Hypothyroidism
• Infection
• Kidney disease
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Depression and anxiety
• Fibromyalgia

Your doctor may run tests to determine what is causing your fatigue, so that they can target the treatment.     This list was taken from “Harvard Health Publications” as it contained all of the medical conditions that I found via various other sites, but in one nice drop down list.

What Else Causes fatigue?

• Lack of sleep
• Sleep Apnea
• Poor nutrition
• Anemia
• Depression
• Hypothyrodism
• Too much caffeine
• Urinary Track Infection (UTI)
• Diabetes
• Dehydration
• Heart Desease
• Food allergies (undiagnosed)
• Fibromyalgia

More info found here.

Vitamin Deficient List That Causes Fatigue:

• Vitamin D
• Iron
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Vitamin B Complex
• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Vitamin E
• Potassium
• CoQ 10

 

How To Treat Fatigue?

First, you need to find out what is the cause.  Only then can you adequately treat fatigue.   The cause could be something simple as dehydration and the fix is to drink more water.  Or it could be your medication and you need to talk to your doctor on what steps to take to help you.  Following are two widely known ‘treatment’ options in the cancer realm:

• Yoga
• Ginseng

Always ask your health care provider before you try a new supplement.  Some of them can cause a bad reaction or lower the effectiveness of any medication you may be on, especially Ginseng (along with a few others).