Hi,
Glad to have found this site. I found out that I had Thal about 16 years ago, and wow, does that explain while in school (high school/junior high) I always had trouble running the mile. LOL
I used to DO it but would feel more wiped out than others - yet, I was an active child and adult.
One thing I want to mention here and this is going to sound strange - I notice a lot of folks who are tired. One thing you CAN do is to condition yourself MORE than the average person. For instance, if you want to just be able to walk around all day and not be taxed, then you could work on conditioning yourself to be more athletic...then those days won't wipe you out. This doesn't have to be daily. I mean, if you know you are going on a vacation, sightseeing, whatever, take a couple of months to get conditioned.
Your body will actually compensate for your Thal but you need to eat right and be very hydrated. Blood cells are "cells" which need hydration, and the slightest bit of dehydration for anyone will make them tired, so, think of what it would do to someone somewhat taxed.
Also, many of you are talking about issues that I think need to be addressed in two other ways -
Sugar
Stress
If you have too much sugar in your system, ie, candida - you will feel horrible - with fatigue. Talk to a nutritionist or your MD to get you on a low sugar diet after you cut and kill the overgrowth of candida.
A quick way to see if you have it is to cut all sugar for three or four days. If you start to feel miserable or sick, you have it and what you are experiencing is the die off. At that point, you should stick with it and let the die off happen (about 2-6 weeks it can take) but it peaks at one week and you do start to feel better....
Not having candida overgrowth is going to feel great and give you more wellness and energy.
Stress: Stress is major. If your body is already taxed, your cup is already half full. Stress is going to make it overflow - so stress for others is a longer process per se, where "we" have a shorter route to that horrible overflow - and yes, it can cause a myriad of symptoms including fatigue AND make the thal worse in terms of symptoms.
I by no means do not suffer but I've found ways to deal with this - some naturally. At first, working out is harder than it is for someone else, but once you train yourself, you can actually have MORE energy ...I am always told how I am so energetic and healthy, yet, there I am teaching yoga or pilates (as a side fun job) to "healthy" blood people who have way less energy and vitality.
My biggie was heart palpitations; but I did find that working on stress reduction is key.
I notice a lot of this is coming out as people age (on this board) and it could be just a natural progression of not coping with stress. I am on another health board and no one has Thal, (or they are not tested) and so many folks have had this AND have kicked it with B 12, Mag and Cal, as well as ensuring the potassium is up - AND meditating and stress reduction.
If you feel you have no time for meditating, then you are exactly the person that needs it.
I am on this journey also - been on it for 40 years - and now my 15 year old daughter is on it. We realized that she had a hard time running the mile in spite of being fairly in shape --- and I took her right away to be tested. Up until this point, doing activities such as dance and tennis were fine for her as they are stop-go, not as endurance related.
I can do 20-30 minutes on a treadmill but that is about it. Doing a lot of walking fast, for hours, can wipe me out. Going to the beach (Cape May, NJ) and sightseeing and such, can wipe me out if I keep at it all day. I need to work at keeping stress at bay. I need to focus on keeping active as once, when I had a car accident and was fairly inactive for over a year - well, that was the worst time of my life. I felt weak, tired, blah. Getting back to the gym was the best thing for me.
SO, as I am here sharing my own struggles, I also hope to share encouragement.
Thanks for listening.
Michele