In Northern California the weather this year has been abnormal. I usually am able to remain healthy for most of the year, maybe falling with a light cold once or twice a year.

For the few months, I have almost been constantly ill.

Several changes have occured that I don't recall having in the past. For one, I am deathly afraid of the cold and the wind - simply being in the rainy and windy weather for a few days gave me the worst headaches I recall in my life for the past few days. Ultimately, I was bed-ridden and had such a headache that at the end of the day when I crawled into bed I almost contemplated not saying three Hail Mary's before going to sleep (yes, I did say them in the end, although it gave me an even more splitting headache, at least I didn't have to fear a devil-monkey dragging me to Hell last night).

I'm not sure if this aversion to the wind is just a psychological problem. It's so bad that the only time I have to wear a thick jacket with the hood on everywhere I go except for when I am in church.

Another thing that I've noticed is a hunger problem. I'm not sure if it's just gluttony. I've progressively cut down my food intake over the past year or so, and though I can eat a lot whenever I feel inclined to, usually I don't really feel like eating more than two whole meals a day. However, I've noticed lately that I never have the sensation of being "full" - even after I've eaten a lot. For example, one evening the sense of emptiness in my stomach was too much for me to handle and after devouring an entire chicken by myself, I still did not have that satisfying "full" feeling. I also have developed an insatiable craving for Chinese food, although at times I get sickened when I eat it because the flavors are to strong (or too much MSG, etc). A friend recommended I go on a vegetarian diet, which I tried - replacing my breakfast and lunch with bannanas, oranges, and apples (dinner, eaten with the family, was not vegetarian). It actually wasn't too bad, and I tried the diet for a while before I fell very ill and needed to resume eating other foods - however, even on the veg. diet I still felt the empty stomach.

Aside from that, I'm also growing weaker. I've gotten in the habit of doing pushups every evening and morning. I usually average around 120, the most being 145 (As far as correct form, I don't know - I just make a 90 degree angle with my arms). I did them the other week and only got 61.

Anyways, maybe it's just the cold that's been going around in this town. I'm also distrustful of pills, however, they do seem to help - and it can't be attributed to placebo since I don't really believe in them. My doctor told me when I expressed my concern about not knowing what was in vaccines that it's a valid concern, but you don't really know what's in a lot of other stuff as well (he used McDonald's as an example -ironically the next day I would get a bad case of food poisoning from McDonald's).

I've tried traditional Chinese medicine remedies and techniques and they seem to have immediate help, however need to be repeated frequently.

Well, it's given me a chance to cultivate the "sickly melancholic" persona, however  my constant fatigue is getting in the way of my duties.

What is the general consensus on this forum about taking pills?

Take kelp pills maybe?

I pray your health dramatically improves, Vlad.

You should get some blood work done. I am favorable towards traditional/natural medicines but because so many symptoms can be attributed to so many diseases, I also like to have blood work and testing done to try and pinpoint what's going on. Otherwise the natural medicines alone are a bit of a stab in the dark. Feel better soon!

I've got it! The solution has been right under your nose my Vietnamese friend!

But since I've come up with the remedy, you need to make sure you share some with me!

Phở!

I forgot to mention that I likely have sleep apnea and am going in for some testing tomorrow night. I often have trouble falling asleep and wake up periodically in the middle of the night for a few seconds.

I've had bloodwork done in the past - probably about a year or two ago. The results were never explained to me other than that everything was normal. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I am also afraid of blood. In fact, just reading about human blood makes me light-headed.

I'll look into that hypothyroidism, although I'm not quick to panic and worry that I have some sort of serious illness. I do live in a hilly area, but I don't eat locally. I display those symptoms, other than weight gain.

Vitamin D deficiency may be a problem, although I'm not sure how much sun is enough. Due to my fear of the cold, I rarely expose my limbs or body to the elements. Really, only about twice or three times a month am I outside in short sleeves and shorts - even then, it is only for about 9 minutes of jogging. On the vanity side, I am afraid of getting tan, so I cover up even when it is not that cold.

s2srea -  probably one of the foods I can stand even when I'm ill, as long as it is bland. By the way, since you live in southern California and maybe go to eat Vietnamese food a lot. Here is a tip: don't ever order the largest size bowl of pho. Most Vietnamese owners are cheap, all they do is use a bigger bowl and fill it up with more broth with the same amount of noodles. Also, don't feel oblige to leave a large tip for your waiter's service - likely it just go straight to the restaurant owner.