curious_anthro
Member
I am 29 years old and as dramatic as it sounds some days I feel like I am twice my age, one foot in the grave. I know many people on here can relate (and are probably suffering more than me) but I feel so helpless and lost on what I should do next. I have a beautiful marriage, faith, friends, career and am very privileged to live where I do and have access to resources like food, water, nature... but my symptoms steal SO much of my enjoyment and zeal for life. Really they are ruining so much of what I have going for me. I have spent (wasted) so much on supplements and private consultations/testing without getting anywhere- other than a lot worse- but I do not accept that I will feel this way forever- I will not accept defeat.
I of course have a history of bodily abuse via excessive exercise, childhood trauma, antibiotic overuse (for acne), long-term birth control use, high stress job (I am an academic) and dabbled in the low carb/keto/fasting and seed cycling world...so its not like I don't have things to blame, but still 3 years in of nourishing/honouring my metabolism and feeling worse by the day.
If anyone could offer advice on what to explore next or perhaps point out something I am missing, I would deeply appreciate it.. I will probably regret posting such a long, TMI kind of post later but its in the very least cathartic...
Symptoms/conditions:
-chronic fatigue - really debilitating week before and after period
-cycles all over the place - not ovulating as far as I can tell and cycle lengths and timing always varied
-pcos- diagnosed at 23 after 11 years of hormonal birth control use via intravaginal ultrasound and blood test
-gaining weight/inability to lose it- I was always thin, even a bit underweight until I came off the pill and now I am about 20lbs overweight no matter how much or little I eat
-insomnia- trouble falling and staying asleep
-anxiety- often feel breathless, was diagnosed once with "air hunger"
-chronic constipation/bloating- BM every 2-3 days
-brain fog- I used to be a very productive person, now I struggle to even focus for an hour on anything or be articulate in my speech
-acne- cystic and all over face, chest and back (my most hated symptom)
-exercise intolerance- I used to be a competitive athlete in running and crossfit...now I can barely tolerate 2-3 days of light resistance training
-heat/cold intolerance
-flu-like - this is a newer symptom that is really odd... usually after using caffeine, progesterone, aspirin and vitamin k2 I start feeling like I am coming down with something and have a sore, tight chest and throat, upset stomach and sometimes get really bad migraine
Things I have tried so far without success:
-Thiamine hcl- did nothing for me at 500mg daily
-magnesium bicarbonate and glycinate- years of supplementing at high doses (1000+mg daily) not sure if it ever helped, couldn't tell
-Niacinamide- also noticed no benefit after taking for 3 months at high doses
-B-vitamin liquid complex (metabolics)- sometimes helps with energy but also makes me feel breathless and causes headaches if I use too often
-Adrenal cocktail (jigsaw)- sometimes help with energy but not consistently
-Pau d'arco- bad breakouts and constipation worse
-spore probiotics- messed my digestion up for months after
-Oregano oil- tried for 2 weeks straight and occasional use...headaches, worse fatigue and constipation
-Charcoal- helps sometimes with bloating
-Taurine- made me super nauseated
-Lysine- felt flu-like for days after
-shilajit- made my breakouts so bad
-vitamin e - also made my breakouts very bad
-vitamin a nutrisorb- hypothyroid symptoms
-vitamin d- helped at first then made me feel worse so I stopped
-eggshell calcium- hypercalcaemia/hypothyroid symptoms
-beef liver- dessicated because I cannot stomach real stuff, made breakouts worse
-getting more sunlight and sleep- I could sleep for days anyway and more than an hour of sun makes me feel like I have a hangover
Currently using because they help a bit:
-raw carrot salad- really strict with using every day- helped initially with breakouts and constipation but kind of stopped helping as much recently
-Natpro progesterone cream - up to 400mg a day. I have tried Progest-E but couldn't get high enough dose/not convenient for high doses. Helps with sleep and mood
-aspirin- about 50-100mg daily sometimes split into two doses
-vitamin k2- 200mg daily
-cascara sagrada daily- helps with constipation a little bit but without this BM every 2-3 days goes to 3-4
-cordyceps mushroom- really helps with energy and brain fog but effects wear off in a few hours
-coffee enemas- once every 2 weeks, when constipation is very bad
Diet:
- proteins: cheese, eggs, free-range chicken, fat free greek yogurt/skyr, beef, haddock, prawns, venison, gelatin
- carbs- fruit (melon, canned peaches, mandarins, nectarines, berries), OJ, dates, potatoes or white rice 1x day, pure cane sugar, soaked oats, oat bran, sweet potatoes, maple syrup, honey, GF bread occasionally
- fats: coconut oil, lots of butter, ghee, occasional avocados
I do eat out on occasion and have things I shouldn't sometimes because I like to try and enjoy socialising every once and a while. But never have alcohol.
If you made it this far, bless you.
I of course have a history of bodily abuse via excessive exercise, childhood trauma, antibiotic overuse (for acne), long-term birth control use, high stress job (I am an academic) and dabbled in the low carb/keto/fasting and seed cycling world...so its not like I don't have things to blame, but still 3 years in of nourishing/honouring my metabolism and feeling worse by the day.
If anyone could offer advice on what to explore next or perhaps point out something I am missing, I would deeply appreciate it.. I will probably regret posting such a long, TMI kind of post later but its in the very least cathartic...
Symptoms/conditions:
-chronic fatigue - really debilitating week before and after period
-cycles all over the place - not ovulating as far as I can tell and cycle lengths and timing always varied
-pcos- diagnosed at 23 after 11 years of hormonal birth control use via intravaginal ultrasound and blood test
-gaining weight/inability to lose it- I was always thin, even a bit underweight until I came off the pill and now I am about 20lbs overweight no matter how much or little I eat
-insomnia- trouble falling and staying asleep
-anxiety- often feel breathless, was diagnosed once with "air hunger"
-chronic constipation/bloating- BM every 2-3 days
-brain fog- I used to be a very productive person, now I struggle to even focus for an hour on anything or be articulate in my speech
-acne- cystic and all over face, chest and back (my most hated symptom)
-exercise intolerance- I used to be a competitive athlete in running and crossfit...now I can barely tolerate 2-3 days of light resistance training
-heat/cold intolerance
-flu-like - this is a newer symptom that is really odd... usually after using caffeine, progesterone, aspirin and vitamin k2 I start feeling like I am coming down with something and have a sore, tight chest and throat, upset stomach and sometimes get really bad migraine
Things I have tried so far without success:
-Thiamine hcl- did nothing for me at 500mg daily
-magnesium bicarbonate and glycinate- years of supplementing at high doses (1000+mg daily) not sure if it ever helped, couldn't tell
-Niacinamide- also noticed no benefit after taking for 3 months at high doses
-B-vitamin liquid complex (metabolics)- sometimes helps with energy but also makes me feel breathless and causes headaches if I use too often
-Adrenal cocktail (jigsaw)- sometimes help with energy but not consistently
-Pau d'arco- bad breakouts and constipation worse
-spore probiotics- messed my digestion up for months after
-Oregano oil- tried for 2 weeks straight and occasional use...headaches, worse fatigue and constipation
-Charcoal- helps sometimes with bloating
-Taurine- made me super nauseated
-Lysine- felt flu-like for days after
-shilajit- made my breakouts so bad
-vitamin e - also made my breakouts very bad
-vitamin a nutrisorb- hypothyroid symptoms
-vitamin d- helped at first then made me feel worse so I stopped
-eggshell calcium- hypercalcaemia/hypothyroid symptoms
-beef liver- dessicated because I cannot stomach real stuff, made breakouts worse
-getting more sunlight and sleep- I could sleep for days anyway and more than an hour of sun makes me feel like I have a hangover
Currently using because they help a bit:
-raw carrot salad- really strict with using every day- helped initially with breakouts and constipation but kind of stopped helping as much recently
-Natpro progesterone cream - up to 400mg a day. I have tried Progest-E but couldn't get high enough dose/not convenient for high doses. Helps with sleep and mood
-aspirin- about 50-100mg daily sometimes split into two doses
-vitamin k2- 200mg daily
-cascara sagrada daily- helps with constipation a little bit but without this BM every 2-3 days goes to 3-4
-cordyceps mushroom- really helps with energy and brain fog but effects wear off in a few hours
-coffee enemas- once every 2 weeks, when constipation is very bad
Diet:
- proteins: cheese, eggs, free-range chicken, fat free greek yogurt/skyr, beef, haddock, prawns, venison, gelatin
- carbs- fruit (melon, canned peaches, mandarins, nectarines, berries), OJ, dates, potatoes or white rice 1x day, pure cane sugar, soaked oats, oat bran, sweet potatoes, maple syrup, honey, GF bread occasionally
- fats: coconut oil, lots of butter, ghee, occasional avocados
I do eat out on occasion and have things I shouldn't sometimes because I like to try and enjoy socialising every once and a while. But never have alcohol.
If you made it this far, bless you.