- Messages
- 97
- Location
- Glasgow, Scotland
Hi everyone! I'm a 24 year old guy with Asperger's. I've had terrible brain fog, anhedonia, insomnia and headaches constantly for just over 2 years which seem to be slowly getting worse. I have no idea what's causing these, I just know it was a sudden onset during a mild flu (lasting a week), before that I was completely healthy. And the only diagnosis I've been given so far by a doctor is ME/CFS which I'm not so convinced about based on my research on the illness.
It started off as brain fog and mild fatigue when I took a flu which gradully got worse over the time I've had it. Later on other symptoms started to creep up as the illness progressed. I was getting sudden heart palpitations and more recently, I now get PVCs and my heart goes into bigeminy during exercise. I now wake up with a headache every day which gets worse as the day progresses, making me reach for painkillers all the time. I also get a strange head pain when any pressure is put on any part of it, mainly when I'm lying down. This pain almost instantly disappears as soon as I lift my head up. I also get insomnia which comes and goes randomly and whenever I am able to fall asleep, I feel as though I'm waking up too early. Lack of sleep also makes my brain fog and headaches much worse to the point I can barely function. My field of vision also seems to be deteriorating along with my other symptoms and I now feel as if I'll looking through a letterbox everywhere I go.
I've been to see several doctors over the years and one diagnosed me with "post-viral syndrome" at the start as soon as I mentioned I had a flu with it and told me it's the same thing as ME/CFS. After this I got some blood tests which turned out fine. I then saw another doctor who referred me to get a urine sample and some other blood tests including my thyroid, cortisol levels and kidneys which came back clear. Since then, all I've had is doctors telling me I've just got anxiety or I'll get better if I exercise more.
I've tried changing my diet and taking loads of suppliments to try and help this illness, including B vitamins, magnesium, fish oil, Co-Enzyme Q10, Acetyl-L-Carnitine and so on but nothing I've tried so far has made any noticable difference to my health. I've now been looking into some nootropics and have decided to try Mind Lab Pro which so far has made some very slight improvements to my mood. But besides that, I'm still nowhere close to getting my old brain back.
I'm still trying to get to the bottom of this illness and I'm not convinced it is ME. I don't have any of the main symptoms like muscle/joint pains, swollen lymph nodes or post-exertional malaise like ME sufferers do, this is primarily affecting my brain. And I know ME generally relapses and remits, rather than steadily deteriorates like my illness. And despite my symptoms, I still feel as though I've got plenty of energy in my body. I happen to be a musician and still play in several bands, but struggle to enjoy performing at gigs nowadays, especially as this illness combined with Asperger's makes it almost impossible for me to socialise and enjoy music the way I used to. Now I just feel as if my brain is slowly shutting down and my existence is fading away into nothingness.
Has anyone else on here experienced symptoms like this, know what illness this could possibly be or have any idea if it's treatable? And has anyone tried any suppliments or medications that actually help relieve the symptoms? Thanks!
It started off as brain fog and mild fatigue when I took a flu which gradully got worse over the time I've had it. Later on other symptoms started to creep up as the illness progressed. I was getting sudden heart palpitations and more recently, I now get PVCs and my heart goes into bigeminy during exercise. I now wake up with a headache every day which gets worse as the day progresses, making me reach for painkillers all the time. I also get a strange head pain when any pressure is put on any part of it, mainly when I'm lying down. This pain almost instantly disappears as soon as I lift my head up. I also get insomnia which comes and goes randomly and whenever I am able to fall asleep, I feel as though I'm waking up too early. Lack of sleep also makes my brain fog and headaches much worse to the point I can barely function. My field of vision also seems to be deteriorating along with my other symptoms and I now feel as if I'll looking through a letterbox everywhere I go.
I've been to see several doctors over the years and one diagnosed me with "post-viral syndrome" at the start as soon as I mentioned I had a flu with it and told me it's the same thing as ME/CFS. After this I got some blood tests which turned out fine. I then saw another doctor who referred me to get a urine sample and some other blood tests including my thyroid, cortisol levels and kidneys which came back clear. Since then, all I've had is doctors telling me I've just got anxiety or I'll get better if I exercise more.
I've tried changing my diet and taking loads of suppliments to try and help this illness, including B vitamins, magnesium, fish oil, Co-Enzyme Q10, Acetyl-L-Carnitine and so on but nothing I've tried so far has made any noticable difference to my health. I've now been looking into some nootropics and have decided to try Mind Lab Pro which so far has made some very slight improvements to my mood. But besides that, I'm still nowhere close to getting my old brain back.
I'm still trying to get to the bottom of this illness and I'm not convinced it is ME. I don't have any of the main symptoms like muscle/joint pains, swollen lymph nodes or post-exertional malaise like ME sufferers do, this is primarily affecting my brain. And I know ME generally relapses and remits, rather than steadily deteriorates like my illness. And despite my symptoms, I still feel as though I've got plenty of energy in my body. I happen to be a musician and still play in several bands, but struggle to enjoy performing at gigs nowadays, especially as this illness combined with Asperger's makes it almost impossible for me to socialise and enjoy music the way I used to. Now I just feel as if my brain is slowly shutting down and my existence is fading away into nothingness.
Has anyone else on here experienced symptoms like this, know what illness this could possibly be or have any idea if it's treatable? And has anyone tried any suppliments or medications that actually help relieve the symptoms? Thanks!