Well this is a first. I have resigned from contracts and jobs for many reasons, but never before on health grounds; ironically when the employer was Health New Zealand too.
For some years I have had depleted energy stores, like a mobile phone with a failing battery that charges but drops to 1% in no time. For the most part I got away with it, recharging at weekends and dropping offline for the occasional lunchtime nap. However, this year the shortage of mental and physical energy has rapidly worsened, forcing me back to bed to recover after dog walks and eating, and generally being unable to do anything other than the basics at home. Having no energy robs you of motivation and desire to do anything, shrinking your World down to an existence based on comfortable routine you don’t want to break.
I had suspected my previous role was causing the fatigue, with its constant distractions, context switching and micro decision making, however after switching to a new, much less intense role with HealthNZ the problem only worsened.
I had visited my GP a couple of years ago reporting this chronic tiredness, but was met with a response of “it’s your age, just have a nap”. Yeah, thanks for that Doc, very helpful.
So throughout 2025 I’ve been trying to find a solution, including :-
- Kinesiology sessions (kind of like a chiropractor) – good for loosening up the neck and spine but did nothing for improving energy
- Adrenal supplements – did nothing
- Liver Detox supplements – made me feel worse
- Nicotine Patch Protocol (absorbing low levels of nicotine via patches is supposed to help shake Long Covid “spike proteins”) – did nothing except make me feel like I’m on the Interislander on a particularly choppy crossing
- Acupuncture – may have helped a little bit?
- Private blood tests for Fatigue markers – expensive and reported everything except muscle mass within min/max range
- Various “brain booster” energy supplements, smoothies and drinks
A few months ago I had made my usual rash decision to quit my previous job without something to jump onto, and was lucky to be offered a long-term contract in a tough Wellington job market. Unfortunately, despite being part of a lovely project team I never managed to get settled in, due to a combination of technical testing issues causing the project to stall, and feeling like a crappy version of myself due to fatigue.
Some days felt like I was experiencing jetlag, struggling in video meetings to understand what people were talking about — in fairness it’s not easy jumping onto a long-established project in a large Government agency heavy in jargon and acronyms — and turning my camera off when I needed to close my eyes for 5 minutes. I lost confidence in my abilities and became passive, staying silent in standups rather than pushing myself into the project and volunteering for work.
It became apparent after 6 weeks that the situation wasn’t tenable and I asked to be allowed to leave on health grounds, which both HealthNZ and the recruitment agency were brilliant about. The downside is that I am now entering the “Dead Zone” period with no income and expecting no jobs to be posted until mid-late February 2026, so will be draining my savings for a while.
The Fightback
I’ve had the first of a series of consults with a brilliant local Naturopath, who was really helpful in getting The Duchess off Methotrexate and make her COPD and Sjogren’s Syndrome symptoms more manageable via nutrition and supplements.
She reviewed my previous blood results and sent me to get some extra tests done, and has now set me up with a bunch of dietary changes and supplements to improve the situation. She advised that my Vitamin D levels are too low, which may be resulting in — or due to? — my thyroid not functioning correctly, and possibly made worse by intestinal parasites.
The new regime :-
- 4000 IU of Vitamin D tablets daily until the levels get back to normal
- GPG supplements for 2 weeks, then switching to GPD for a while
- Taking 5mg of Creatine powder daily in fruit juice
- Cutting out cereals for breakfast (apparently very bad for over 50’s?), switching to avocado and poached egg on toast, plus snacking on nuts and seeds and avoiding sugar.
It’s only been a week but I’m already starting to feel a little better – only 1 afternoon nap this week! – particularly an uplift in mental clarity, allowing me to concentrate on reading a book. The hope is to get back into IT study mode to obtain extra Microsoft qualifications and improve my chances of getting back into a contract early next year.
I’ve also just joined a local gym with the intention of doing three weights workouts a week and build up some muscle mass, which in turn should increase energy stores.
Right now I’m feeling positive that I’ve done the right thing in stripping everything back to basics and focusing on getting my health back on track. If this regime can restore my get-up-and-go and allow me to return to work with energy and enthusiasm it will give me a far more positive experience than the recent attitude of “hanging on in quiet desperation” (TM Pink Floyd).
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