<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> ORIGINAL MESSAGE (edited) I was diagnosed with CD over 2 years ago. I found out I was also casein intolerant over a year ago. Once I went casein free in addition to gluten free, I quickly began feeling much, much better. When ill, I had extreme fatigue to the point where I would become exhausted from walking from one side of the house to the other. By last summer I had returned to walking an hour a day (not as fast as I used to, but I thought that would come with time). But, I've battled fatigue, to a much lesser degree, since then. In fact, I had a bout of extreme fatigue from 1/26 -2/11. I was sure from how i felt that I had anemia again and began taking iron. Bloodwork confirmed that I was anemic. The iron seems to be helping, I feel much better now. Although i still need a minimum of 10 hours of sleep to get through the next day. I realize that iron begins relieving symptoms 1 month after you begin taking it, so I will probably feel better and better over the next 4 weeks or so. OTHER CAUSES FOR FATIGUE: ---B12 Deficiency: “the US standard for a "normal" B12 level is the lowest in the world. Roughly 280 to 900 is considered normal here, but the rest of the countries with first world quality medicine consider 500 to 1300 to be normal. So if you don't know your exact level, and the doctor just said "normal" you might go back and ask what the number was. My first doctor said my level of 286 was "fine" even though I had a whole list of symptoms of deficiency. Second doctor told me to take supplements and keep the level at least 500 - doing that made a huge difference in my quality of life. Here's an NIH report on it: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12.asp” “Anemia can also becaused by B12. Solgar has a B100 complex in veggie cap that is gluten, corn & soy free. My daughter is very sensitive and also casein intolerant, and she tolerates it well.” ---Sjogren’s Syndrom: “I would suggest you might want to check out Sjogren's Syndrome at www.dry.org Sjogren's is the most common of the autoimmune diseases, yet, like celiac, no one's heard of it much. Many celiacs have Sjogren's. One of the symptoms is having periods of extreme fatigue. I can say that since I got so sick from celiac, I've battled the fatigue off and on---and I am very strict about avoiding gluten. Also, my gp told me upon seeing all of my tests and conditions-- hypothyroid, cd, and possible Sjogren's-- that in auto-immune diseases battling iron anemia is common. Shoot, who would have thought? Even those with Sjogren's have trouble. I'm taking iron again, too, and feeling better.” ---SAD: “The dates you associated with fatigue make me think of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). I've battled seasonal fatigue that I call the "deep" fatigue, worsening each winter for a period of about 10 years... until I started light treatments and felt better within a few days... I also began keeping a log of my light exposure, both natural and artificial… I bought lamps from Apollo. Here is a link to the Apollo site: www.apollolight.com/” ---MY REPLY: No, I don't think SAD is my problem. I get the bouts of 'deep fatigue' year-round. They come and they go, but my energy levels haven't returned to normal since my last celiac episode began in the summer of 2001. ---Unknown source of continuing fatigue: “Don't be so sure it will solve all your problems. I've been on thyroid replacement since 1992. I didn't start expressing my Celiac symptoms until 1995, and did not go GF until 1997. My fatigue has been progressive despite seeing an endocrinologist, and avoiding gluten eggs, aspartame, and casein has not seemed to help much. I can't quite seem to get it across to my doctors that, at 58, I'd like to be working, but am unable to sustain activity for 8 hours, or even be on my feet for a third of that time (I am an RN).” ---It can take years to recover from CD: “On the side, I've had quite a struggle with additional food sensitivities, anemia, extreme fatigue especially after any exercise, electrolyte imbalances, low blood sugar, etc; but after three years I'm actually starting to feel NORMAL!!!!! I have energy - I can make it through the day without a nap or caffeine! I have muscle strength I've never had before! Anyway, just want to let you know that it's quite possible that you're still healing, and YOU'll just get better and better!!” WAYS TO INCREASE ENERGY LEVEL: “You need protein for energy. Check out http://www.mercola.com. I have found that the correct diet is paramount to achieving good health and increasing energy.“ “Do you take GF vitamins as well? They really helped me to zoom back to my former energy levels that I was used to. Make sure when you go back to work that you take some good GF snacks, like an apple or pear, with you during the day in addition to your lunch to help you get through the day for hunger and stress. I always walk a treadmill after work to get rid of the stress so that I'm ready for a sensible dinner and decent sleep.” I saw a difference in my fatigue with B12 also and with my multiple vitamin. So what I am saying is, don't assume that there aren't many things out there that will help. “I encourage you to go for this job. What has helped me the most with dealing with fatigue is working to change my attitude/thoughts, and keeping happy. I practice affirmations religiously.” “She also takes Solgar bonemeal w/ B12. The phosphate in it has helped her bone density and she says gives her more energy. It couldn't hurt and it helped her. We have been learning in biology (homeschooling) that energy is a phosphate molecule ATP (3phosphates) which releases a phosphate with energy and forms ADP (2phosphate molecules). Solgar uses palm and coconut instead of soy in any product with stearates or stearic acid. I spent much time on the phone with the QC manager.” ACETYL L-Carnitine is one of those. I also take NADH and it is great for my fatigue, but very expensive. I take 15 mg/day and it is about 50cents/5mg. However, I could not do without this one at all. I had high serotonin in my urine, and I am told that this addresses that problem (I think that the problem is specifically that my body dumps serotonin and I have too little in my brain). I also saw some help with CoQ10 and with an electrolyte drink. It is interesting that the electrolyte drink also helps with a number of other problems I was still having--feeling faint, especially when it is hot, skin and nail problems..... The COQ10 also did wonders with my ability to think clearer. I have read also where alpha lipoic acid and conjugated linoleic acid helps some people, but I tried these and they do not help me. _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*