Fatigue/acne

1. Fatigue. Mental fatigue, poor concentration, poor recall. Lasts all day. I feel like I would be much more productive/be able to do more if I wasn’t so tired. I feel as though it has been affecting my uni work also, this last semester has felt like an uphill struggle, and I felt as though I couldn’t really “get into” it. I feel as though I am letting myself down/not living up to my full potential because of this not only at uni, but generally.


There is nothing really that makes it better, occasionally caffeine helps a little bit and only for a very short time. It doesn’t seem to help every time though. Usually I feel more tired after eating, although I don’t feel more tired after eating something light, like salad greens, vegetables.


I feel a bit down a lot of the time. Very often in the morning on waking this feeling will be more pronounced. I went to see a psychologist a while ago (over one year) about feeling down and low self esteem and he got me to complete a diagnostic questionnaire. He concluded that I had mild depression and anxiety. He told me I needed only a few sessions, although I hadn’t gone back (not for any specific reason - I went away for the holidays and just hadn’t made a time to go back).


I hardly ever have an appetite in the morning, usually I feel as though I can’t stomach anything, sometimes I might feel a bit nauseous. Lately I have been really put off eggs, I feel as though I can’t stomach them at all. I generally don’t have a very big appetite. When I am stressed/anxious/feeling down/tired I lose my appetite.


My stomach/abdomen is usually bloated (and gets distended straight after eating). Probably after anything except after eating salads. Is flat in the morning but quite distended by the evening. I am quite thin every where else, especially upper body. I retain fluid in the legs (they are quite “solid looking”, have cellulite), at the end of the day they can feel quite tired, but can feel tired at any time of the day (but esp at the end of the day). They feel sore when massaged or pressed, esp thigh area.


2. Skin – acne (not cystic acne)/pimples. Blackheads/whiteheads/skin coloured. On my face (mostly forehead/chin and hairline but do occasionally get them on my cheeks), chest, upper arms and all over my back, as well as for the past year underneath my chin and on my neck. They leave pigmentation marks. I have pigmentation marks all over my back which I am embarrassed about. I haven’t noticed they get better or worse for anything, and I do pay attention to try and notice changes. I have rough skin generally, and dry, rough and sometimes itchy skin on my stomach/abdomen. I noticed over the past year I have gotten some brown pigment spots on my right side of the stomach region (under the right breast). I later some, but fewer, on the left side. I have some thick dark hairs growing on my breasts as well as quite a lot growing down my inner thighs. I have two thick dark hairs growing under my chin.


Over the past few months I have been getting small, pin-prick sized bumps on my palms and fingers. They feel and look like splinters. They hurt at first (just as though I had a splinter), then they don’t hurt anymore (usually after a few days), then a few days later they disappear. I did get sick about 3 times this last semester (flu/URTI) and it was when I got sick the second time that they started appearing regularly. Before this, only 2 of these spots have appeared, one at a time, and about 6 months apart. Now, I have multiple at a time and there hasn’t been a time when I haven’t had any for the past few months. My sister gets warts on her fingers, although they look nothing like my spots, and hers don’t disappear, she has to get them burnt off. She tried Thuja but it didn’t work for her. She believes that folic acid supplementation works for her and they get better when she is on a high folic acid supplementation.


Hands and feet, particularly toes are almost always cold. Toes have a pink colour to them. I have surface veins on my thighs. Dark circles under the eyes.