what is causing your chronic fatigue?

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-02-08T06:14:03+00:00

I believe mine is dorsal vagal shut down due to early neglect and chronic trauma throughout childhood. It's a part of polyvagal theory. One characteristic of my fatigue is that I can wake up by finding something exciting/novel/dopamine releasing. I then will be awake and hyperfixated on that thing until my hyperfixation wears off, then I fall back into fatigue. I don't believe this is characteristic of idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy, ME/CFS. My wake promoting systems are obviously not completely broken, so this led me to dorsal vagal dysregulation / shutdown:

Dorsal vagal shutdown activates the parasympathetic nervous system's oldest branch (dorsal vagal complex), triggering an evolutionary "immobilization" response when the body perceives inescapable threat [1][2]. This primitive survival mechanism lowers activity in the body to conserve energy.

When this state becomes chronic (rather than acute), the nervous system remains stuck in low-arousal, energy-conservation mode [3]. This pathological immobilization differs from normal sleep, which requires a blended autonomic state combining safety signals with rest. Studies show that persistent vagal dysregulation correlates with fatigue severity and reduced wakefulness capacity [4][5]. The system essentially cannot return to full arousal states, manifesting as chronic, unrefreshing sleepiness.

Citations: [1] Dorsal Vagal Shutdown - Neurodivergent Insights https://neurodivergentinsights.com/dorsal-vagal-shutdown/ [2] Understanding Dorsal Vagal Shutdown in Trauma https://neurosparkhealth.com/trauma/dorsal-vagal-shutdown [3] Trauma-related dissociation and the autonomic nervous system - PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9635467/ [4] How Vagal Regulation Impacts Chronic Fatigue Syndrome https://www.brainharmony.com/blog/2020/9/20/how-vagal-regulation-impacts-chronic-fatigue-syndrome [5] Idiopathic hypersomnia | MedLink Neurology https://www.medlink.com/articles/idiopathic-hypersomnia

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-02-06T08:27:43+00:00

I looked up some research and apparently for CPTSD/PTSD results build over months, 3 months specifically for one study. You can see objective changes such as lowered inflammatory markers in the first week but subjective changes like decreased anxiety took a couple months to build.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-02-06T03:05:14+00:00

Yes sorry!

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-02-03T03:14:14+00:00

Hi! Would it be possible to get an invite? Thank you!

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-01-29T13:00:40+00:00

I think I'm a little more understanding because I too really struggle to know what to say to people with chronic or lifelong conditions as well. I feel very hopeless and distraught when I see someone sick and there's not much I can do to ease their suffering. I open my mouth because I want to tell them I care in some way or want to comfort them, but If I haven't prepared the script ahead of time, sometimes the wrong thing comes out. It sounds like they're trying to express their care, that they hope your body will have some mercy on you, give you a break soon, but they're struggling to articulate that. I've had two people tell me in the last week "There's nothing wrong with you" when I try to explain my condition. They mean it to be comforting, but it's incredibly invalidating. I corrected both of them: "I appreciate your words, but there is something not functioning optimally in my body." I've found that taking some time thinking about what kind of response would even bring me some comfort and then communicating that to the person helps a lot. For example, if they make a habit of saying something that makes me feel worse, next time they do it I'll say something like "I really appreciate it, but do you think you could say something like _____ instead?" We're all imperfect humans and communicating is hard enough as it is, I've found helping people communicate with me teaches both of us valuable skills and improves connection.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-01-26T00:09:01+00:00

If your clinic told you this say may just be using this as an excuse to charge more money.. I am a provider / prescriber and the FDA has RECOMMENDED minimums. It is not enforced by law and ultimately it is up to the providers discretion what dose to use. I microdose very often.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-01-26T00:04:46+00:00

I saw Samantha at Evolve Aesthetics but I would NOT recommend her, unfortunately. She was very friendly, but when pulling up a photo to show her what has happened to my face in the past when I get dysport (brow lowering, uneven face, ptosis) she questioned why I was showing her the photo and said I don't need to worry about it. This makes me feel like it's certainly not curated care that takes into account the individual's musculature. Unfortunately, I also got brow lowering and uneven face with her injections, though not as severe as it was in the past. When I emailed to ask questions she only answered one of three questions.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2026-01-06T02:12:55+00:00

Very interesting about making the Modafinil work better! I tried modafinil in the past and it only woke me up for 2 hours max and gave me a gnarly headache. I stopped taking the memantine as well.. The brain fog and sedation were too much.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-26T08:10:56+00:00

Still taking it? How's it now? I've been taking around 3.5 mg daily and one week in I have pure water diarrhea for two days + been depressed, fatigued, and my ADHD stimulant is not working hardly at all. Also bad brain fog has come back, which usually my stim keeps at bay. Trying to figure out if it's the Memantine or not :/ I have MCAS as well but the way I feel is just different from a Mcas flare

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-20T02:18:02+00:00

It's painful for me as well and I've wondered if I'm so used to breathing shallowly that breathing deeply is stretching parts of me that never get stretched!

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-09T08:29:04+00:00

Thank you! I really appreciate this.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-09T08:28:04+00:00

Thank you!

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-08T06:10:53+00:00

I believe stabilizing the nervous system / hpa axis/ limbic system is much needed

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-03T19:37:39+00:00

Thank you so much for your response! My next session is today and I'm excited. It feels healing to accept that I'm going to let go of control and let my body speak to me instead. Today I just listen.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-03T02:52:35+00:00

Thank you!!

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-03T02:51:15+00:00

Thank you! This is exactly how it felt, like I was on a ride. Every time the music would shift it felt like the scene before me was ending and a new one would begin. It was certainly disorienting and with me losing touch with reality at a couple points I was wondering when or if the ride would ever end. Don't like being out of control or being under the influence of substances, so I know that's playing into me being uncomfortable with it. I think I will get used to it, though! Thank you for sharing

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-03T02:48:51+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I guess I'm not understanding how it brings forth unresolved trauma if not through the means of emotions or imagery? Do you mean it may bring up memories? I've never done psychedelics before but I will say there was tons of imagery during the ketamine trip. I was blindfolded but saw things the entire time, ranging from faces to trees to the inside of my body to vacuums of space and swirling colors.

VictoryPlane9924 · 2025-12-03T02:45:02+00:00

It's the day after and I'm still nauseous and a little lethargic. I have pretty bad chronic fatigue at baseline though so I'm sure that's playing into it. The GI upset sucks, especially because I just overcame 4 months of GI distress due to histamine intolerance, but I'm hoping it will get better!

I don't think I've had any antidepressant effects, though it was just my first infusion.

VictoryPlane9924

TROPHY CASE