contant brain fog and fatigue, absent mindness 2 years after gasric sleeve.

[Anna N. 16]

gosh, i don't even know hoe to begin with this. so i already wrote on here once, and things have only gotten worse. i had my surgery september 2019, i was 140 kgs at the time, and after a year i lost almost half my body weight, the lowest i was was 72 kgs. sorry European here, cant do the lbs.

anyways, half a year after my surgery, i was basically starving myself, but feeling great, but at the 6 month mark i started to faint. collapsed the first time at a gathering, and then a year after the surgery, when all this started i collapsed fully again. even with collapsing my brain felt fine, active, working out, and all that. however, at the year mark something changed. i started feeling absent minded, with brain fog. i started checking everything, blood work, hormonal work, all normal, but i was suffering cause i was barely getting through the day. got a dietitian, so i could eat better. that didn't help either.

after that i was convinced i had a brain tumor, so i did an MRI, also brain wave lengths tests, all came out perfectly fine. my father is a surgeon btw. he works with cancer patients all the time, and he is convinced that i am super healthy, for the first tiime iin my life. but i felt like my life was ending. still am. can't do anything. cant work.

they diagnosed me with an anxiety and depression disorder, gave me pills that i have been taking for a year now, that do nothing for me, just make me want to sleep. i sleep for 12 hours and still wake up in a daze, not knowing where i am. thyroid also checked, everything was fine. i have better days, but days like today when i feel more out of touch than ever i feel like i am going crazy. i fear that i am gonna die, but everyone tells me its maybe deprersonalization or derealization, but i know myself, and something happened to me after that surgery.

i did in turkey so i had no pre op or post op. just did it and went home. and starved myself. and now i feel like my life is ending. sorry for the long post.

[Jaelzion 1,123]

Are you getting enough B12? I had a scary B12 deficit that left me with many of the symptoms you describe, plus some others. Not getting enough B12 causes all kinds of neurological problems, including mood swings, personality changes, fatigue, brain fog, tingling and/or pain in arms and legs. I even lost my voice as my vocal chords became paralyzed. The bad part is that even after your B12 levels are back to normal, the symptoms don't resolve immediately. I still have the tingling, pins and needles feeling months later, despite supplementing my B12 back to normal levels.

[Anna N. 16]

i am crying while writing this, thank you for your reply, yeah, i take b Vitamins on the regular with magnezium , the latest blood tests showed i am a little anemic, but nothing to be too concerned with. B12 levels normal, but low. i have been suffering for a year now, i need it to stop. so u think i need to increase my b1 and b12 levels intake? cause i read about it and b1 is also important, its just maddening when everyone says u are great when u are suffering so much. and yeah, i have tingling myself, like awful goosebumps. by now nothing has changed except for the fact that i am addicted to xanax and the AD i am taking which i am sure i do NOT need. the depression is a result of me feeling absent minded all the time. its not the cause of all this suffering.

[Jaelzion 1,123]

If your B12 is on the low-normal side, it can't hurt to try supplementing it more. My doctor told me that there's very little risk of toxicity from getting too much B12, so there's no downside to increasing it. Honestly, I felt very much like you describe when my B12 was low: out of it, depressed, angry, tired, weak, confused. I say give it a try. And don't be discouraged if you don't see a change right away. As I said above, it can take a while for the symptoms to go away (I'm still working through my last symptoms).

[JDLane 139]

1 hour ago, Jaelzion said:

If your B12 is on the low-normal side, it can't hurt to try supplementing it more. My doctor told me that there's very little risk of toxicity from getting too much B12, so there's no downside to increasing it. Honestly, I felt very much like you describe when my B12 was low: out of it, depressed, angry, tired, weak, confused. I say give it a try. And don't be discouraged if you don't see a change right away. As I said above, it can take a while for the symptoms to go away (I'm still working through my last symptoms).

Wanted to agree with this. Just because labs are showing 'normal' doesn't necessarily mean that's the normal for your body. Lab tests have a normal range and your body may function better at the higher end of normal. B Vitamins from what I understand are Water soluble so if you take an excess it will exit your body in your urine and thus its difficult to take to much. Definitely try to increase your Iron even if it's slightly low. I'm not sure what thyroid tests you had ran but if it was only a TSH you may need more in depth testing. There are a variety of antibody tests that most doctors won't run unless its requested and thyroid issues can hide behind normal results of just the basic tests.

I would also experiment with your diet, add more fat, more carbs, even more sugar (within reason) and see how that makes you feel. Carbs can be brain food and if you are super restricted it may result in some of these symptoms.

Don't give up, I hope you find something that helps you feel better!

[rjan 163]

Why are you so sure that your symptoms are related to the surgery, since you say they started 6 months later? It certainly could be a Vitamin issue. But there's also other possibilities.

I mean your symptoms sound exactly like the problems I had for 5 years in my 20's, and then for about 2 years now. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome back in my 20s. I wish I could tell you what to do about it, because I'm not sure myself. You could certainly seek out a doctor who is familiar with chronic fatigue syndrome. Right now is actually a good time to be looking because a lot of people are suffering with long covid, and some people think that long covid IS chronic fatigue. This doesn't mean that we've always had covid, but the idea is that chronic fatigue has always been a bad post-viral reaction (but can be caused by a variety of viruses.)

However, I can very much sympathize with you. It's terrible because hardly anyone takes you seriously - not most doctors even. I'd need all my fingers and toes to count the number of people who told me I was "just depressed." But I've certainly been depressed before - and I know this ain't it.

Here's an article I found really helpful. It's about medical professionals with long covid talking about how hard it is for them to navigate the health care system, even though they know it really well, and getting dismissed by their colleagues as "all in your head" or whatever.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/11/health-care-workers-long-covid-are-being-dismissed/620801/

Edited November 29, 2021 by rjan

[learn2cook 486]

I drink so much Water I sometimes flush out electrolytes. Gatorade zero is my friend, lol. I also have had low B12 levels and that is a great place to look. I had had long Covid that sapped my energy but the vaccine thankfully fixed it. I stayed calm and played detective with my body. Some antihistamines turn my mind to mush, and others keep me sharp. Try only one new thing for a week. Keep a record of it to track what works and what doesn’t. I take the New York Times weekly quiz to also test my level of memory and compare results with what I’ve changed. You can be your own scientist too!

[Arabesque 6,446]

Some good suggestions above. I’d also look at getting off the Xanax & seeking alternative meds or reduce the dose you take to manage your anxiety & depression. Brain fog, grogginess, fatigue, etc. can be side effects of being on a too high a dose of these type of meds.

All the best.

[Anna N. 16]

On 11/29/2021 at 5:21 PM, rjan said:

Why are you so sure that your symptoms are related to the surgery, since you say they started 6 months later? It certainly could be a Vitamin issue. But there's also other possibilities.

I mean your symptoms sound exactly like the problems I had for 5 years in my 20's, and then for about 2 years now. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome back in my 20s. I wish I could tell you what to do about it, because I'm not sure myself. You could certainly seek out a doctor who is familiar with chronic fatigue syndrome. Right now is actually a good time to be looking because a lot of people are suffering with long covid, and some people think that long covid IS chronic fatigue. This doesn't mean that we've always had covid, but the idea is that chronic fatigue has always been a bad post-viral reaction (but can be caused by a variety of viruses.) 

However, I can very much sympathize with you. It's terrible because hardly anyone takes you seriously - not most doctors even. I'd need all my fingers and toes to count the number of people who told me I was "just depressed." But I've certainly been depressed before - and I know this ain't it.

Here's an article I found really helpful. It's about medical professionals with long covid talking about how hard it is for them to navigate the health care system, even though they know it really well, and getting dismissed by their colleagues as "all in your head" or whatever. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/11/health-care-workers-long-covid-are-being-dismissed/620801/

i live in a country where the word chronic fatigue system doesn't even exist. and i cant stop crying cause in the afternoons i feel half dead. i cant do anything. and everyone thinks i am super healthy, and i KNOW its not depression. the crying and sadness is a result of this, and i keep telling myself its a phase, it will pass, but its not going away, on the contrary, i feel like i am sinking deeper and deeper. and i know i need to stop with the sedatives like xanax or lexilium that i am taking. but i cant consolidate myself without them.

[kunkelgw 19]

Unless I missed it, I am wondering about your Protein intake. Protein helps with brain clarity along with some fat. Skip the no fat and low fat products. Have you gone back to your dietician and had an analysis of your eating based on your labs?
I wish you well and hope you find answers.

[WildWill 22]

I would ask for a shot of B12 - it will have ZERO negative side affects and as your body needs it. Surprised nare a physician has recommended or guided you towards a potential magnesium or B deficiency.

Are you vegan by chance?

[rjan 163]

I don't know what your health problem is - maybe you do have a nutrition issue, or maybe it's chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia like I've struggled with, or maybe it's some other completely different health problem. None of us here know, including you.

But it sounds like what your main problem is right now is that you're feeling so depressed and hopeless and lonely that it's going to be difficult to spend the time and effort to keep tracking down the mystery. I know you've already put a lot of time and effort into your health mystery, and you haven't figured it out yet. It's totally normal to be depressed in this situation! It's normal to be depressed when you're sick. It's even worse when no one around you even believes that you are sick and you feel so alone.

Here is a link to a forum about chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Even if this isn't what you have, there will be lots of people there who understand being sick and not knowing what's wrong with you, and no one even believing that there is something wrong with you.

https://www.healthrising.org/forums/

I hope it will help you feel less alone, and maybe a little bit less depressed and hopeless so that you can find the energy and hope you will need to keep trying out different ideas about what is wrong with you.

[Nicki100 19]

I was having the some problem only to find out I was hypoglycemic. My doctor put me on medication and I have been feeling so much better. I had a gastric bypass 2 years ago.