Posted by PhoenixGirl on March 21, 2001, at 15:38:58
In reply to Re: Chronic fatigue hell » PhoenixGirl, posted by Cece on March 21, 2001, at 14:30:35
I was taking 400 mgs of Wellbutrin SR -- the highest dose most doctors will prescribe. It had no antidepressant effect on me, truly none. The first med I think I will ask my new doctor about is Provigil. I'd rather try that, and try the regular stimulants only if Provigil doesn't work. I have never been given a diagnosis for my fatigue, so I've just always assumed that it is a feature of my depression. I don't really care about what the diagnosis is, I just want it to go away.
This is actually a pretty complicated question- they still haven't figured out what CFS is (it may be several different things), and as Pat says, being chronically fatigued is not necessarily the same as having CFS, which is usually now designated as CFIDS.
> I have fibromalgia- which used to be considered the same as CFIDS, but has been separated as as its own syndrome. Both have intense fatigue, but CFIDS more so, and CFIDS onset is usually associated with a defineable illness (what might seem like a very bad flu). Fibromylagia includes more body pain.
>
> Anyway, I'm also Bipolar II, with a long history of depressive problems, and so have been the route of trying many, many meds to find ones that help me. Along the way, I have discovered that some have significantly reduced (not eliminated) my fibromyalgia symptoms. From my research, I'm pretty convinced that Fibromylagia (and maybe CFIDS) is at least partially a sleep disorder. Although you may be tired and sleep a lot, you are not going into the deeper levels of sleep that really restore the body. So the meds that have helped my Fib. sx. are the ones that have helped my sleep, and for me those have been: Trazodone (an atypical anti-depressant, which unfortunately pooped-out for me after about 1 year, but was great while it worked), Nortriptyline (a tricyclic anti-depressant which I take only at night and has helped for several years now), and Neurontin (a calming mood stabilizer which has helped for several years).
>
> These may not be the right meds for you, but I hope it helps you in some way, perhaps just by enlarging the picture. I hope that your health insurance will cover a really good medical work-up for you, to rule out things like mono, hepatitis, anemia, etc., and that you can find a doctor who is open-minded enough to take the issue seriously.
>
> Best of luck,
> Cece
>
>
> > I would like to discuss possible treatments for chronic fatigue. I'm 23, and have experienced chronic fatigue that has impaired my life. Only recently have I tried anyting that helped. It is Wellbutrin, and I had to actually request it -- no doctor ever tried me on any drug to help my fatigue over these past ten years. I am almost out of the wellbutrin, and have had to decrease the dose because it's too expensive and I only just got insurance. Does anyone have thoughts on why the doctors never tried me on anything for it? It has been so bad that I had to take summer classes in college (because I was too tired to take a full load of classes during the year), and thus have a much bigger college debt than would have been necessary if I could have stayed awake more. Wellbutrin doesn't help with my depression, so I am wondering if there are any treatments for fatigue that may also help depression.
poster:PhoenixGirl
thread:57004
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010319/msgs/57082.html