No energy!

[Nancy LC]

Ok, this isn't related to low carb but I'm nearing menopause and I simply have no energy. My thyroid hormone levels are fine. I experimented with T3 thyroid hormone and it didn't help. I'm kind of iffy on the whole adrenal fatigue thing, not sure I really buy into that. I have tried hormone therapy (natural testosterone and progesterone) I just stopped some medication that was giving me pernicious anemia, so I can't blame it on that (besides, the folic acid I was taking should have countered it).

My sleep is great. I'm sleeping perhaps 9-10 hours a night, which is really odd for me.

Anyway, my question is this: I know a lot of middle aged women battle with low energy levels. Has anyone out there actually resolved theirs and if so, what worked for you?

[kaypeeoh]

For my wife the only thing that helped her energy levels was caffeine. Lots of it. She's also on thyroid hormone replacement.

[Nancy LC]

Yeah, I'm already all over the caffeine like a vampire on the bloodmobile. Well, I'm debating seeing a naturopath or integrative medicine person and see if they've got any suggestions. I feel like a zombie half the time.

[cs_carver]

Any chance you have any of the numerous tick fevers? Unfortunately, the blood test is $700 uninsured, so it's not a trivial question. I got treated for the local variant of rocky mountain spotted fever this summer; made a huge difference in my life. Other neighbors have been treated for ehrlichia, as have two of my dogs.

The symptoms could almost be described as character defects in the direction of laziness and lack of interest. I only went for the blood test because the dogs had been diagnosed when they got their annual heartworm tests--the new version of the heartworm test also looks at ehrlichia, and I have had tick bites, although none that individually warranted much attention.

The doctor agreed to test, but was surprised when the results came back low-postivie. Took five (total) weeks of doxycycline to get rid of it, assuming it is completely gone (after two blood tests, I decided not to go back for a third but would if I got exhausted that way again).

[Nancy LC]

You think they have those in urban Southern CA? I'll look it up and see if any of my symptoms match. I totally have the lack-of-interest thing going on.

Wow, seems like that disease is pretty harsh and I'd have something like weird liver enzymes or something else going on.

As far as I know, I've never been bitten by a tick. I don't have dogs (do have a cat though).

I'd see my doctor but I have a feeling he'll just want to put me on antidepressants because it is the easy thing to do.

[cs_carver]

Ticks advertise themselves pretty clearly, and you'd know if you had a tick bite (almost always). I know bunches of people who have had one or the other of the tick fevers, so it's not an unlikely diagnosis around here. If you don't know anyone who has had one, then it's probably a "zebra" diagnosis in your part of the world.

+1 on finding an alternative-based MD who listens better. I know of two in the Raleigh-Durham area, and I could probably roust up a few more. They don't take insurance directly, though, and they're out-of-network so I have to pay more. But they do listen better.

[Gostrydr]

Cs..
how long do these symptoms manifest? I lived in a very tick infested part of the Az desert and was bitten a few times..that was in my childhood.

Now that I am older, can the lack of interest,lazy, fatigue thing go on for years after the initial bite?

Do you carry this thing for years??

HMMMM...

[cs_carver]

Lyme disease will make you blind if it gets a good foothold.

RMS will just up and kill you. I think Ehrlichiosis will, too.

So, probably not...

Of course, out there you have more plague and tularemia, so maybe that's what you should be worrying about... And then there's Hansen's disease, if you want a real slow mover.

But I'm kinda of the opinion that we just don't know squat about most stuff yet. We don't HAVE the blood tests that can really identify what's going on. I am fully grateful for the amount of medical care I do have access to, but I still recognize that one-size-fits-all rarely fits any of them very well.

[Nancy LC]

That's true, CS.

I feel like my problem is metabolic, probably is why I find it so incredibly hard to lose weight too.

I'm experimenting with taking LOTS of B vitamins, especially folic acid and I have been reading interesting hints about MCT oil (medium chain triglycerides). Isn't coconut oil MCT? Oh yeah, looks like it is. One thing I notice is that on even very low carbohydrates I produce virtually no ketones in my urine, that I can detect with a strip.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mct.html

Anyway, Dr. Eades wrote about this Neurologist (http://www.drmccleary.com/) and he apparently has written a book about brain health and he talks about menopause and using MCT to help with the symptoms.

Dr. McCleary's blog is very interesting.

[geriwinter]

Hi Nancy -

I'm also nearing menopause. I have thought for years I had SAD, because I would really slow down in the winter. The last couple of winters though, I could barely function at all - my brain was mush, I had no energy, I slept about 10 hours a night. I tried all the SAD remedies over the years - nothing worked.

Then last winter a friend mentioned L-Glutamine. It is an amino acid that helps your body deal with stress (as I understand it). I thought, maybe winter is stressful, so I tried a beginning dose - 3 grams a day spread over 2 doses.

It was a miracle. Within 48 hours of starting it, I woke up. That was a year ago. I have not needed it much in the summer, but now that we are into fall, I'm back on L-Glutamine. I found it for a reasonable price on Amazon (they carry everything!).

My friend told me body builders take quite a bit of it - 10 grams or more a day. He is an extreme marathon runner and takes quite a lot as well. So 3 grams is a pretty low dose. But there are no known side effects that I could find out about in that range (3-10 grams).

Just a thought :-)

Best -

Geri

[bike2work]

Nancy, I know you'll hate my answer, but try giving up the caffeine. When I'm addicted to caffeine I'm depleted all the time, except for thirty minutes after my coffee. I wrote more about it here (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost.php?p=6999678&postcount=3), right below where you said caffeine is not a problem. ;)

If you experience an insulin reaction from caffeine like my sister and me, it would explain the weight-loss stall too.

I expect you'll dismiss this suggestion, but if you do decide to give it up for a couple months, don't go cold turkey. The caffeine-deprivation headaches aren't worth it. Instead, put a pound of ground coffee in a container. Everyday, as you remove some, replace most of it with decaf. For example, use four scoops from the container and add two or three scoops of decaf to the container. Eventually the container will be used up and you will be painlessly unaddicted.

[Gostrydr]

Yes give up caffiene, for some it works like a charm and for others it can over tax the adrenals and cause fatigue.

Nancy run the other way from MCT's..they work like a carb and are not a good adjunct to a low carb WOE...you will burn them instead of any subcutaneous fat you are trying to lose.

[Nancy LC]

Allison,

Hmmm... I hadn't considered the caffeine the source of the energy crisis :). It is worth trying. I had tried to wean myself off a few time, I've heard about the horrible effects of going cold turkey and didn't want to experience them. But then all those articles came out about how good coffee is for you and I thought... "why bother"?

And I like your suggestion of gradually replacing the caffinated with the decaf like that. I was just pouring out slightly less caffeinated beans each time when I ground it, but I was always tempted to put more in on days when I could feel my energy was low.

I have had a small increase in energy since I got more strict with my paleo diet and the carbs and I stopped taking my meds for AS, which were causing my MCV to increase (macrocytic anemia). I also take a folic acid supplement too.

So far I think the coconut oil is actually helping me to lose weight... maybe. After reading the Gary Taubes book I think my body has trouble utilizing stored fat, which could explain my fatigue too, my cells are starving for fuel. I should have low insulin levels but who knows, maybe I have too much circulating to get the fat out of my cells. I'm not sure the MCT helps at all with the weight loss but it might with the energy.

My Mom is in a nursing home and has lost an alarming amount of weight and looked to be close to the end of her life. She's bones with maybe a bit of muscle left. I started bringing her smoothies made with a little fruit, coconut milk and coconut oil added and she's had a nice little bounce-back after a few days of that. It was like someone flipped a switch and her brain came back online and she was able to open her eyes up fully for the first time in days. I suppose I can't take full credit with my fruit smoothies, but I'd like to think those MCT's gave her energy to make her feel a bit better.

[kaypeeoh]

McCleary's book says the problem is triggered by falling estrogen levels (Duh!) Estogen is needed to help shuttle sugar to the brain. Less estrogen means less sugar reaching the brain which stimulates norepinephrine which leads to hot flashes, brain fog, etc. His solution is a ketogenic diet. Plus medium chain triglyceride oil, flaxseed oil, eicosapentanoic oil and magnesium. The same hormonal cascade is what causes migraines. Also McCleary says caffeine is good for what ails you.

The Brain Trust Program is an easy read, compared to Taubes. IT would be easy to dismiss him as a crank if it were not for the very impressive CV: Chief of neurosurgery, director of neuroscience research etc.

www.drmcclearyu.com

[Nancy LC]

I've been reading his blog and I have his book on order. :)

What does he suggest as a source for MCT's? Coconut oil?

It is interesting but even following a very, very low carb diet I can't get the ketosis thing going. Or at least, my stix aren't picking it up.

[Wifezilla]

After reading the Gary Taubes book I think my body has trouble utilizing stored fat, which could explain my fatigue too, my cells are starving for fuel.

Same here. I have been looking in to hormones that specifically trigger a release of energy from the fat cells and how to stimulate them. I will let you know if I come up with anything.

I am also considering a mineral supplement. They have some at Sams, but I haven't grabbed any since it has grape juice in it. I guess since you only take like a tbsp, it should be a big issue, but still! Stupid carbs!

[kaypeeoh]

I've been reading his blog and I have his book on order. :)

What does he suggest as a source for MCT's? Coconut oil?

It is interesting but even following a very, very low carb diet I can't get the ketosis thing going. Or at least, my stix aren't picking it up.

He recommends health food stores as a source of MCTs. If you've been lowcarbing for a long time, the body eventually stops wasting ketones. Instead they get burned for energy and never reach the kidneys.

[Wifezilla]

What SPECIFICALLY in the health food store?

[Nancy LC]

LOL! I don't think I could eat a health food store. Although it would provide a lot of fiber...

[Wifezilla]

Emaciated vegetarian hippies are pretty high carb. I think I would avoid them.

[Nancy LC]

Hey... I think I'm improving! Getting off the sulfasalazine for my AS helped a lot I think and getting stricter with the low carb too. I just hope I don't get too sore from the AS again, it has been bugging me a bit more the last few days. I also think the coconut oil is helping and perhaps the IFing.

I have actually been keeping my kitchen tidy and WANTING to do it. Not having to force myself to do it. I hope this continues.

[Wifezilla]

Awesome Nancy!

My research on hormone has been pretty interesting. Did you know cheese contains a Norepinephrine precursor? (Norepinephrine triggers fatty acid release from cells)

Nicotine also triggers a fat release, but I am not willing to start smoking again.

You could also sneak across the border to Canada to get over-the-counter Epipens to boost your Epinephrine level.

I need to do some more reading, but there is great comedy potential in manipulating your hormones. (Sky diving while listening to heavy metal on your iPod and munching on a slice of cheddar anyone?)

[Nancy LC]

I don't eat dairy products, does nasty things to my body. :D

My housekeeper quit showing up (yeah, I know I'm spoiled) so I decided to try to tackle it myself. I just spent the last 1.5 hours cleaning the upstairs! I was so energized and feeling great. I don't yet have the energy to do the downstairs too. I'll get that tomorrow.

I'm a little ouchier without the arthritis meds, they had a mild anti-inflammatory action in them, just enough for me I think. But I can live with the ouch and work on finding something else, other than NSAIDs, that might help with the ouch.

[Wifezilla]

Do you take fish oil? If I forget my fish oil, my joints start screaming in a day or two. Bad hips and bad knees run in the family...but my love of the fish oil is keeping me going longer than most of my relatives.

[Nancy LC]

Yes, 5 grams a day.

[Nancy LC]

Well... the energy crisis seems to be over! I'm not raring to run any races or anything like that but I'm doing much better. I started taking 25mg of DHEA a day 2 days ago and stopped feeling like I needed a daily nap 2 days ago as well. Might be coincidence too.

Also, I am taking about 1 tsp of coconut oil in my coffee. My intestines go crazy if I take more. But that really seems to do something. I get warmer and just feel more alert.

I'm also making sure I get plenty of B vitamins. I have a sub-lingual B trio (B12, Folic acid, B6) and a B Complex. I take 5 grams of fish oil (spread out over the day), about 5000 iu of D3, a liquid calcium pill, magesium.

I'm doing a mild intermittent fasting (I don't eat until 11:00 am) most days.

I'm tapering back off the cafinated coffee, slowly adding more decaf. I'm gonna do it this time. :)

I'm sticking very strictly to paleo with a few exceptions.

My blood glucose readings are generally excellent. 70-80's except I get a rise in the mornings into the 90's after I've been up a bit.

I think my main energy crisis was caused by the sulfasalazine I was taking but maybe something else is helping as well. :)