Extreme fatigue, loss of appetite, legs like lead......cannot find the cause.

[sleuthey]

Solution, follow advice from those qualified to say what's wrong.

Thank you for agreeing with what I recommend. Glad we both agree with the advice from Once a Wheeler

 

[Dave7]

Covid Long?

Have you had the test to see if you have HAD it, not if you HAVE it?

Thats what the blood test was for....Covid specific.

 

[sleuthey]

Joking apart, lead pipes is one of the things he will be looking for.

I had the water board lead test 3 years ago as I have lead pipes. They didn’t examine the pipes, just test the water. Here are the results:

 

[Dave7]

Thanks for all the comments. As always, much appreciated, even @sleuthey s joke as I (seriously) appreciate well meant humour.
Something I didn't mention so my OP wasn't too long..........
Improving now but sweats and shakes plus loss of balance.
As an eg a one morning, in bed, about 0600 my whole body started shaking and sweat was, literally oozing out.....it was like someone turned a tap on.
About 10 00 I decided to go downstairs. This is literal.... I had to do it on my bum with MrsD helping me..
That was the point I had to threaten my Doctor...... sort this now or I phone 999. Within an hour the blood tests etc were arranged.
BTW... I am now on a course of Folic Acid (iron) tablets.

 

[vickster]

Thanks for all the comments. As always, much appreciated, even @sleuthey s joke as I (seriously) appreciate well meant humour.
Something I didn't mention so my OP wasn't too long..........
Improving now but sweats and shakes plus loss of balance.
As an eg a one morning, in bed, about 0600 my whole body started shaking and sweat was, literally oozing out.....it was like someone turned a tap on.
About 10 00 I decided to go downstairs. This is literal.... I had to do it on my bum with MrsD helping me..
That was the point I had to threaten my Doctor...... sort this now or I phone 999. Within an hour the blood tests etc were arranged.
BTW... I am now on a course of Folic Acid (iron) tablets.

Do you mean ferrous sulphate (iron) if anaemic
Folic acid is linked
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/folic-acid/

 

[Dave7]

Do you mean ferrous sulphate (iron) if anaemic
Folic acid is linked
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/folic-acid/

I think so.
The tablets/box just says Folic Acid Tablets. I am told they are for iron deficiency.

 

[icowden]

There is a forum called Covid Longhaulers. Honestly, we have at least 90% of the symptoms.
I was really disappointed that the Covid blood test was negative. I was sure that was it.

From the BBC article:-

At the testing centre she expected to be reassured by nurses and doctors but instead it was staffed by soldiers, their khakis soaked on a sweaty day in June. As she stuck a cotton swab up her nose it struck her how young they were.
The results came back negative - proving that she no longer had the virus, though not that she had never had it.

So a negative result doesn't mean that you never had it, and there is also some uncertainty about the antibody test as it is uncertain how long antibodies stick around for.

 

[vickster]

From the BBC article:-



So a negative result doesn't mean that you never had it, and there is also some uncertainty about the antibody test as it is uncertain how long antibodies stick around for.

@Dave7 says they had a blood test...perhaps he means antibody rather than active disease?
He says they were ill in December, Covid wasn’t here then. Perhaps he was Christmas shopping in Wuhan?

 

[dodgy]

This sounds very much like Post-Viral Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I am intimately familiar with the condition but will keep that private.
A very serious flu (proper flu, the type that puts you in bed and you'd rather just die, not sniffles) can lead to CFS in some cases and it can linger for many many years I'm sad to say.
Ask your GP to test for levels consistent with the condition (I don't think there's a simple test, but you can test for Thyroid levels etc etc - I'm not a doctor).

 

[Joffey]

Thats what the blood test was for....Covid specific.

I think that I might have had it and am still suffering - I wish my doctor would give me that test.

 

[tom73]

I've posted this before on covid thread but happy to add it here as it maybe of help to the OP or others posting here too. It's probably one of the best articles about Long covid and it's primary care management.
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3026

 

[Lovacott]

I had the water board lead test 3 years ago as I have lead pipes. They didn’t examine the pipes, just test the water. Here are the results:

If you live in a hard water area, lead supply pipes will be coated up with scale so there will be very little water to lead contact (I spent ten years working in the water industry in London and started out managing lead supply pipe replacements).

If you have a soft water supply, you are at greater risk.

Replacing your side of the boundary stopcock can be very easy or a nightmare depending on the location of the boundary stopcock.

If it is easy, replace it and the water company will replace their part (problem solved).

It's worth remembering though, that most of our water use is not for direct consumption (bathing, laundry, toilet flushing, washing dishes, watering plants). If you are concerned about lead content in tap water, filter the water you drink.

 

[Dave7]

If you live in a hard water area, lead supply pipes will be coated up with scale so there will be very little water to lead contact (I spent ten years working in the water industry in London and started out managing lead supply pipe replacements).

If you have a soft water supply, you are at greater risk.

Replacing your side of the boundary stopcock can be very easy or a nightmare depending on the location of the boundary stopcock.

If it is easy, replace it and the water company will replace their part (problem solved).

It's worth remembering though, that most of our water use is not for direct consumption (bathing, laundry, toilet flushing, washing dishes, watering plants). If you are concerned about lead content in tap water, filter the water you drink.

Good points
We have recently been using bottled water only for consumption but maybe a decent filter would be better.

 

[icowden]

@Dave7 He says they were ill in December, Covid wasn’t here then. Perhaps he was Christmas shopping in Wuhan?

It's a bit debatable as to exactly when Covid arrived. My better half was extremely ill just before Christmas - I've never seen her take to her bed for 4 days before. She's one of those people that never stops. We have since often pondered whether it was Covid19.

 

[vickster]

It's a bit debatable as to exactly when Covid arrived. My better half was extremely ill just before Christmas - I've never seen her take to her bed for 4 days before. She's one of those people that never stops. We have since often pondered whether it was Covid19.

The experts think not given there was no surge in cases at that point anywhere in Europe (or anywhere else) with completely open borders

proper flu will also do that to a person, as will other viruses. Had she been vaccinated?