Any idea of what this might indicate

[kiki1983]

I'm 26yr old female - currently i have:

Chronic lethargy
Extreme night sweats
feelings of faintness
bruises

i am so utterly lethargic that i can barely go to work every day.  i have had to stop exercising, going out socially, everything.  I feel like could spend forever in bed, yet i dont sleep well.  I am waking every night with drenched sheets from chronic night sweats (which i have never had before ever).  Bruises all over me.  I've always had darker circles under my eyes but at the moment its really bad.

I plan to see a dr but then again, i'm expecting to put in the "too hard catergory" and told its a viral bug or something.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

K

[caregiver222]

Doctornee,as usual, has done a much better job that I could have in outlining the possibilities.

In terms of liklihoods, in young females (which you are) anemia is number one on the list of etiologies to evaluate. Woman are often iron deficient and because of their periods, chronically low in red blood cells.

NikoK has also provided some excellent suggestions.

Bruises are often due to vitamin K deficiency, and this is common with people on odd diets. K deficiency leads to loss of blood in the stools (the blood won't clot well), which in terms leads to anemia.

Night sweats, bruises and lethargy are high yellow flags for anemia.

In the medical profession they use the term: "Rule Out". My off-hand guess is rule our anemia.

But that being said, all the possibilities Doctornee suggested are also in play.

I don't think you have anything fatal going on, and believe a good blood work-up and in-person evaluation by a physician will resolve all your complaints.

[optometrist]

stop drinking coffee.  Eat plain uncooked, unprocessed food.

[NikoK]

Sounds like it's time to look at your thyroid and parathyroid!

Undertreatment can be problematic, including thyroid storm, Graves Disease, etc., but it can be VERY treatable and you can have a positive life- just get to a rheumatologist, demand a comprehensive metabolic profile screen with thyroid (free thyroxine, TSH, T4, etc.), and go from there.  You will prevail!
Avoid inflammatory foods and KEEP MOVING- even if it's a two block walk each day-
Good luck! Keep us looped if you'd feel comfortable doing so..
Nicole

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Extreme fatigue could be due to anemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism or due to liver problems.
If you are also over weight, check out for diabetes and hypothyroidism. Severe anemia too causes water retention and weight gain. In women polycystic disease of the ovary too should be ruled out as it causes insulin resistance and fatigue.
Another possibility is sleep disturbances. You need sleep studies to rule this out. Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined. Since you have dark circles under the eyes, it can be a sleep related problem like sleep apnea, imbalance of rapid eye and non rapid eye movement sleep etc.
Other possibilities are chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, low Vit b12, low iron, low calcium, sodium and potassium. If you are not on any medications like anticoagulants, blood thinners or birth control pills (in females) then bruises could be due to clotting disorders, low platelet count, fragile spider veins, deep vein thrombus, deficiency of Vitamin B12, folic acid, or Vit K, a liver disease or certain cancers.  A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind with stress on liver and Vit B12.
It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!