Symptoms - seriously ill or "just" stress??

[sunshinelover]

Hi all,
Situation now: Eyes much better - due to vacation for a couple of weeks, warm weather, humitidy around 55-65% every day, and I am not going near an AC, fan or the like. Spend most time outside in the sun. Great! NO need for lubricants for 10 days now - only saline flooding 3-4 times a day and night ointment Vitapos.

Unfortunately, my vision is still deteriorating fast, getting more an more nearsighted every day! Awful!!

BUT - other symptoms are getting worse! I am now thirsty all the time (when I move around, not when I am sitting still) and it doesn't matter how much I drink. I wake up with a extremely dry mouth, but other than that I seem not to be dry except for the tounge, I have saliva, just very very thirsty.

Also- stomach cracked up, after having been great for at least haft a year (IBS) - could be all the supplements and Omega olis I am taking of course. I am now feeling nausea and bloated.

Fatigue!! New symptom - well, I have had a severe lack of energy for a while, but a week ago I started to feel really really tired, could almost not stay awake, althoug I hade been sleeping for very long. Feel like I could sleep forever. And I DO sleep!! But it doesn't seem to help.

So - now I am stressed about - do I have Sjögrens syndrom? Dry eyes, mouth, tired? But I have no problem with reflex tears, crying etc at all.

Diabetes? Thirst, tired, deteriorating vision? But all my blood tests ( did the works in May) where GREAT! Perfectly fine tests showing I am completely healthy and living a healthy lifestyle was the verdict frole ym the doctor.

So - can it all be stress related?? I am of course extremely stressed about my eye situation - both the dryness AND the vision (which no eye doc have been to figure out and hence they performed cross linking on my left cornea - but it obvisoulsy hasn't helped a bit). I feel like I am between chairs of the eye docs with all my eye problems.

Well. about stress - I have had an awful year: Started in October with 8 weeks of sinusites, same time my mother became seriously ill (lives 800 km away) and I where about to go on several long trips abroad, had an injury of my back after a fall in Tobago in november, after not being able to exercise as I normally do due to illness and back pain I finally felt well and took it up in January - then injured my leg (muscle went off, probably because I had been away for training for a while) during a Bodypump session and had to walk on crouches for four weeks.Then Dry Eye and Vision deterioration started. Then, my father became actually worse (he was also ill) and two times I had to fly up immedeately since it seems to be a matter of hours. I sat with him two times, one week each time until he died. Then - back home to perform very painful and stressful cross linking surgery of my best eye. Then, back to hometown to take care of my mother, and at the same time things at work was the most stressful ever! I had just to start up a prestigeous new project (which I had landed and was responsible for) for the government and had to keep in under control. Then business trip one week to California and 9 hours time difference, and then back to attend fathers funeral.
Dry eyes got worse and worse.... and then in May I had to go on sick leave - also very stressful in my situation, since I am the head of an apartment and responsible for ten employees (who I feel very bad about since I do not have any energy for them...) And now my mother and ALSO my uncle (with no children) are ill, and I have to take care of their situation although they are 800 km away and have no other to do that. I spent most of my vacation there.

Normally, i would not have any problems dealing with all of this, but my eye condition and the fact that I have not been able to exersice as usual the last year has left me very little enery left.... I fear what will happen on Monday when I have to go back to work.
Well - it is one day at a time of course. And I keep hoping I am not ill, just stressed and depressed. Haven't dared to touch those antidepressants yet....

[No tears in ATL]

Glad to hear things are somewhat better. How much in oils are you taking? If I go beyond 4 tsp of fish oil I get quite sick on my stomach.

Sometimes when we've had a stressful period in our lives, it can still take some time to recover fully. Think about people who have new babies, or just moved, or bought a house. These are major life changes and it seems you could just be recovering in phases.

Reminds me of the time I started my first teaching job. I didn't relax for 6 months. A quarter in, I think I believed in my mind that I was "ok" (I felt ok, and the anxiety seemed to have subsided) but sleeping patterns took awhile to work themselves out.

Of course, if you get overwhelmed there should be no shame in asking for help, whatever form that help takes. We're here for you at dryeyetalk!

[farmgirl]

Hi Sunshinelover:

I just got up from reading a book and came to the computer and your post came up. My first reaction is OMG he/she needs to read this book. It is called Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson. I highly recommend you get a copy and study it...hope this helps...cheers...F/G

[bakunin]

Well, about fatigue and stress symptom.

I feel fatigued since june 2012. I felt like is was due to the stress related dry eyes. I felt more tired than normal in the evening.

But in last months things are getting worse. Last month I was very, very fatigued, like a very sick person, really no energy. I'm taking vitamins etc. It'a been really hard to cope. In the last months I think fatigue has bothered me more than the dry eyes (ok, it is summer so my eyes are a little better).

I was searching about the possible cause (I did tests for autoimmune diseases and they came negative). I will meet and endocrinologist as soon as possible, since I suppose my adrenal glands have come to a halt due to stress. The explanation that fits better with what I'm feeling is that my adrenal glands stopped producing cortisol due to continuous and intense stress (the unbearable stress caused by severe dey eyes symptoms every minute every day).

Doing a search on he web about Adrenal fatigue you will find more information on that, and the relation between adrenal fatigue and stress.

http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/

[sunshinelover]

Well, about fatigue and stress symptom.

I feel fatigued since june 2012. I felt like is was due to the stress related dry eyes. I felt more tired than normal in the evening.

But in last months things are getting worse. Last month I was very, very fatigued, like a very sick person, really no energy. I'm taking vitamins etc. It'a been really hard to cope. In the last months I think fatigue has bothered me more than the dry eyes (ok, it is summer so my eyes are a little better).

I was searching about the possible cause (I did tests for autoimmune diseases and they came negative). I will meet and endocrinologist as soon as possible, since I suppose my adrenal glands have come to a halt due to stress. The explanation that fits better with what I'm feeling is that my adrenal glands stopped producing cortisol due to continuous and intense stress (the unbearable stress caused by severe dey eyes symptoms every minute every day).

Doing a search on he web about Adrenal fatigue you will find more information on that, and the relation between adrenal fatigue and stress.

http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/

Yes, You might be right Bakunin. As for me the extreme tiredness went away, I was probably adrenal fatigue as farmgirl suggested. My stressful events however continued, so even my uncle died in late august, and I still havnt really bene able to grasp that since we were so very close, and he was one person who really brought joy to my life. Even now when I write I start crying when thinking of him.... My vision on the cross linked eye however improved so it obviously took some time to kick in. My stomach problem s were due to the maca root supplement. I simply took to much.
I started to go to a private doc who is into this adrenal fatigue and hormone thing, and in January I did a saliva test which showed low levels of cortisone. So he prescribed hydro cortisone to me, but I have read conflicting things about that so I havnt really taken them. And despite that my eyes are not good now, horrible neverending winter, I do not feel tired at all. And I am still extremely stressed due to the whole situation, and my workplace in in such change now that event my healthy colleguea are getting sick by stress. I wake up with migraine every Saturday.
Anyhow, I think it is a good road to persue. Are you managing your work ok?

[bakunin]

Are you managing your work ok?

Good question Sunshine.

I have been leaving bed and going to work. If i'm really working is another thing

If I worked in the private sector probably I would be in trouble. I think my productivity has been about 25% of my productivity in healthy condition

And the only things I'm doing in life(because they are the only things I'm able to do) is going to work, back to home, going to supermaket to buy food etc., listen to music at home, cooking, washing my clothes, washing the dishes... Very poor life, trying to survive and waiting for better days.