Reasons for worsening levels of fatigue

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by Magwitch, Aug 30, 2021.

  1. Magwitch

    Magwitch Regular Member

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    I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome this year. People often have both, and the two conditions are similar. Fibromyalgia is more pain related, and with fibromyalgia you may have sore muscles all the time even if you haven't done any exercise. I have had these issues for a long time, and made the unfortunate mistake of not getting checked out earlier. I'm posting here so that others don't make the same mistake if they start developing fatigue or pain symptoms. At one point I thought of quitting, but I really enjoy badminton, so the logical next step was to research this thing to the death until I figured out how to get more out of my body.

    It should be noted that there are quite a number of reasons why one may develop these symptoms other than the two conditions I mentioned. Stress and lack of sleep are lifestyle factors that could cause such symptoms, so if stress or sleep got worse at the onset of symptoms that could explain why. In studies of induced short term sleep deprivation, healthy participants quickly developed typical symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Before I found out about my diagnosis I wondered if I had overtraining syndrome from doing more exercise than my body could handle. Overtraining can have the same sort of symptoms where you can be fatigued and sore all over even if you haven't done any recent exercise. But what I had didn't square entirely with overtraining. If an athlete is overtrained it stresses the immune system, and people are frequently sick. I wasn't getting sick often enough for it to be overtraining.

    If things don't improve after eliminating these three possibilities (or if you are unable to improve say your sleep) then I'd suggest to see the doctor about getting blood tests to rule out some common alternative causes for such symptoms, like deficiencies in vitamin D and B12 or Epstein-Barr virus. If the doctor is still unable to point to a cause then my suggestion would be look for a doctor who specialises in chronic conditions and a rheumatologist. It would be wise to join a FB chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia group or local support group to get advice about what you might have and if anyone recommends a doctor in your area. A lot of GPs know little about both conditions, and many deny either are even real conditions. A statistic I saw is that 94% of GPs are taught nothing about either condition at medical school. My GP freely admits to his lack of knowledge in the area, and was happy with me finding a second specialist GP who I see about these matters. There are a huge list of other medical conditions with symptoms similar to both conditions, and diagnosis is by exclusion. How treatable fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are vary. If treated properly in most cases improvement can be made, often quite significant. If the person has other serious health conditions along with it improvement may not be possible. I recently started therapy with the specialist GP now he has discovered the cause of my condition. He predicted great results, and I've been really impressed by my improvement so far.

    Earlier in the year I decided to get new badminton gear, so the fastest shoes and the racquet and strings that let me expend the least energy. I booked and had a Zoom session with Gronya Somerville to discuss things like conditioning and recovery (in addition to being a professional she is an exercise scientist). Once my finances have bounced back from therapy and the lockdown is over I will go nuts on coaching. I am still quite new and my technique leaves much to be desired, so correction of technique will allow me to save a lot of energy.

    Lastly, it's even possible there could be unusual causes for fatigue. I saw an interview with a Hollywood actor, who mentioned that recently he had been sleeping pretty much all day for a few months. He thought he had mononucleosis, but eventually they discovered a gas leak at his house. If it had gone on for longer it would have killed him.
     
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  2. Borkya

    Borkya Regular Member

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    Sorry to hear about that, but it's great that your doctors took your symptoms seriously and you have a diagnosis so you know what is going on and can find resources to help you.

    I also have a chronic disease (genetic) that will only get worse as I age. I too at times do not have enough strength to stand, much less play badminton. But the good thing is that doubles can be played at any levels and as long as you have a partner that knows what's going on with you, they can cover for you and you can stay in the front and move as much or as little as your health allows.

    I am also 100% convinced that even though my body is quite sick, I am "healthier" because of badminton and if I didn't play, I would be in a much worse position now. And being sick makes you focus on the things you love and it sounds like for you (and me) badminton has only become more important as we deal with health struggles.

    Good luck to you and I hope you can have as much energy and health as possible!
     
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  3. Magwitch

    Magwitch Regular Member

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    I didn't know that about you Borkya! I'm glad to find others with similar issues that also play badminton. I'm grateful to badminton, as it was only because I enjoyed the game and didn't want to give it up that I ended up doing the research that lead me to find out about my condition. If I thought badminton was just okay I would have either quit or switched to playing once in a while.

    Your physical capacity sounds somewhat lower than mine. I have looked at changing my game style, like discouraging lift/drop rallies by playing flat and fast, and only lifting when forced to, and cross court (if they do a cross drop I'll have a lot of time to get to it).
     
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