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Avatar universal

What's wrong with me?!

I'm 17 and I've been a vegetarian for 5 years. In the past few months, I've been very tired almost all the time. On school nights I sleep at least 8 hours and then sleep through 2-3 classes, nap as soon as I get home, get woken up for dinner, and then get back in bed. My mom thinks I'm anemic and blames it on me being a vegetarian, but I've been taking iron supplements for a long time, as well as calcium tablets and multivitamins. I eat pretty well--I get my proteins and fats like I should, and a lot of carbs, but the more tired I get, the worse I eat because I'm too tired to make healthy food! I can't concentrate, I'm forgetful, and I'm having vision trouble, especially at night when I'm driving. I'm missing a lot of school and I'm late almost every day because I can't wake up. I'm on Celexa for anxiety and some of these things are side-effects, but they've been reoccurring for years and have just gotten worse. I can't really afford to go to the doctor right now, but even if I could, I'm terrified of needles and probably the only way to find out why I'm sick is by doing a blood test. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be? Could it be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
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Avatar universal
yeah I'm trying to work through the needle thing...out of nowhere, I just starting getting terrible stomach pain and headaches and haven't been able to eat much...I've been sleeping even MORE than usual and even drinking water makes my stomach worse. It feels like maybe it's getting better, but I'm still worried. I realize I can't avoid going to the doctor (ughhh). I don't think this is ONLY from being a vegetarian or just from a b12 deficiency because these things are recent and I haven't eaten meat in years. I guess I'll find out what it is after I go to the doctor. The last time I got blood drawn, I was 12 and they said my red blood cells were all crunched up, but they never said why or explained it, but I was really sick, so it might have been because of that? I just need to find a way to stop my fear of needles so I can get this over with. =b
Helpful - 0
657020 tn?1238037518
Hi there, I'm 24. I was a vegetarian for a year and a half until I got very sick last year. I must have had a b12 deficiency from not eating meat and by the way, I was taking b12 supplements. They simply don't work like the real thing. Look up b12 deficiency symptoms. I was incredibly tired as well. I had to quit my job of 5 years. It was a real chore just to do small things like taking a shower. I too suspected CFS at the time. I would lay in bed all day because I had no energy but I could never sleep. B12 deficiency causes melatonin problems which is responsible for helping you fall asleep and stay asleep. When I could sleep, I would wake up every hour. My most noticeable symptom was this pain I had constantly in my back and arm, along with numbness/tingling in my hands and fingers. I had this problem for several months until I started eating meat again and the pain and numbness simply went away. It was so bad at the worst point that I could not sleep on either side. I could only sleep on my back and would still wake up incredibly sore. The symptoms of b12 deficiency begin so mildly that you may not notice them until irreversible damage has occurred.
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Avatar universal
You NEED to go see your doctor. Does your doc know that you are on Celexa and taking supplements and other vitamins? This may be the cause. It does sound like you may have an iron deficiency. Although you are scared of needles you will have to suck it up because there will be lots of needles you will have to get in life in order to be healthy. I too, hate needles. I even start sweating just thinking about them but you HAVE to go. Whatever the problem is, it seems to be taking over your life and causing you a lot of added stress, which can make these symptoms worse than they actually are. Please go see your doctor. I'm sure your mom is worried about you too and will pay for you to see the doc. If not, move to Canada.
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