Fatigue after 11 months vegan

B Lejon

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I have been vegan for almost a year now and all was fine until about a month ago. I got sick with fever like symptoms without a cold and I also became very fatigued and that has not yet got any better.

I usually exercise daily and is very motivated but this last month has kept me constant fatigued and without motivation.

I eat a lot so I've gained a lot of weight this past month but still no energy.

I've eaten flaxseeds and vitamin b12 as supplements and don't what I lack.

I've been to the doctor today but they can not check if I'm deficient in vitamins, for that I will have to travel to bangkok since I live in Thailand.

I wonder if anyone experienced any similar after going vegan.

Symptoms is low mental and physical energy...at all times.

Thanks!
 
If you haven't changed yout diet in last 1-2 months, it may not be your diet.

For vegan nutrition, make sure you have enough iodine and B12 and omega 3s.

Make sure you eat large enough portions and snacks, feel fully satisifed.

Make sure you get the basics right, drinking water, sleeping enough, limiting stress.

If none of that is working you could try the doctor.
 
I will try a injectable b12 insted of b12 pills and then I will start supplementing with iodine as well and see if it gets better.

Thanks!
 
Great, but don't rely too heavily from my advice. Just some ideas no knowing if they are right. Get a second opinion, try other things etc.
 
Your plant based diet may not be the cause, it could be related to something else. Something I've noticed is that when people become ill while following a plant based diet come to the assumption that it's their diet, a plant based diet doesn't make you immune to all that's bad. I'm not saying on this occasion that it's not your diet, I'm saying it could be something else. If anything you're probably receiving more nutrition while following a plant based diet than not.

As Jamie's said get more opinions, or see another doctor.
 
I started injecting b12 today and will try this one week before next change, I want to know what the missing part/parts is.

I read a lot of information from a lot of places which helps me make my decisions.
This is something that I've never felt before and I feel like there is something I need but ain't getting. I will do some additions in my diet then if that is not enough I will go to a doctor again.

Thanks!
 
Sounds good, you may also be able to find a B12 spray it's apparently more absorbent. Injections sound unpleasant.

Anyway, good luck. Let us know if you find the culprit, could be useful for others. :)
 
Actually, the injectable b12 was the best I could find for now so that's what I gotta work with this time, but spray sounds very convenient though.

Yes, I will post updates of my progress.
 
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An update...

I've injected approximately 1500-2000mcg vitamin b12 a day last week and now I will only inject once a week.

The effects was immediate and the same day I started injecting the b12 I already started to have more energy. It was not super energy, it was more a normal energy but compared to my energy levels the last month this was amazing. I have been back to normal since the first day but now I will see what will happen when I only inject once a week.

Was this only because of b12? I don't know.
I don't know if there is more vitamins that I'm lacking but as great as I feel now I do not have the need to try to find that out.
I'm good :)

Thanks!
 
Good for you, I suspect it was most likely due to the B12, it could have course have been a placebo effect/pyschological/coincidence, that is the other most likely possibility.

Would injectable somehow work better than pills (??) or is just somehow that you were taking a larger amount.
 
Would injectable somehow work better than pills (??) or is just somehow that you were taking a larger amount.

I can't say if injectables works better than pills because of the difference in the amount I was taking.
My b12 pills was from the nearest hospital and those were a "3 in 1"/b vitamin complex b1, b6 and b12. I tooke those almost daily but not sure how many mcg's of b12 they contain. I don't think they even come close to 1500mcg though.

Placebo effect? Who knows? All I know is that I now feel great and it was a while since I did that. My motivation is back on track.
 
My energy is gone again...

My plan was to inject once a week after the first week of daily injections and that did not go so well. The first week was amazing and even a few days in to the second week but then the fatigue came crawling again and on Saturday I was a zombie in horizontal position watching random stuff on youtube without motivation or energy to do anything else.

So, what I'm gonna do now is inject daily until my energy comes back then I'm going to inject every third day and see how that feels. If it feels ok like that then I think I'll be doing that for a while until I maybe trying to inject once every forth or fifth day or maybe once a week again.

But for now I will go with more often injections because this fatigue came back hard and quick.
 
Last update I'll do about b12...​

My energy is back again since injecting every day this week. Actually the energy came back the third day and have been going strong since. It's almost the other way around now with some sleeping problems, I often sleep very "shallow" and wake up easy at night and I also wake up very early.

So the next step is finding my personal dosage and the frequency of it so it's no reason to continue updates.

B12 helped me with my constant fatigue, that's for sure and I'm surprised how well it did too.

If fatigue is an issue on a vegan diet when calories and sleep is adequate, b12 injections is the first thing to try, it is very low risk and therefore the best way to start. According to me that is.

Thanks!
 
Maybe you have an iron deficiency? I know I have a iron deficiency and am also very tired and low on energy. I'm getting a iron infusion tomorrow.
 
If your fatigure goes away for good this time then great, you have solved it. That looks to be the most likely.

However, if it comes back I suggest you consider other possibilities also. For example do a blood test and include iron, B12 and anything else (?) then take the results to discuss with a professional nutritionist.
 
Jamie in Chile is on to something there, it's a very good idea to take a blood test to understand if you have any deficiencies or surpluses that you can address causing the fatigue. In Sweden there is this company called Werlabs that offers on-demand blood tests, and they just recently started in Manchester. I'd suggest you check them out! After checking their site apparently all "health checks are carried out in partnership with NHS-approved laboratories".
 
Hi there
Have you tried keeping a food diary? It might help to post a couple of days' meals (including everything you eat and drink). This might also be useful if you decide to see a doctor. Were you a 3 times a day meat eater before? Were you vegetarian? I have been vegetarian for 30 years and never suffered as you are doing. To me this suggests at the very least that it is not necessary to eat meat or fish in order to get enough B12. I have taken a B complex tablet for a few years now. These things are cheap and unlikely to have any bad side effects. If you need to inject B12 in order to get out of bed in the morning, I think it is time to see a doctor. I do hope you can get this sorted.