Fatigue

[kayjay]

Over all I am doing better now that I have been diagnosed for over a year and a half. I have hyper pots and still have horrible fatigue. I sleep about 10 hours a night but still need to nap during the day.

Any tips?

[lieze]

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better overall.

I'm noticing that some of the symptoms I was feeling here lately are being relieved by getting more sleep.

So I am focusing on trying to make sure I get to sleep at a decent hour here and try to get back to sleep after getting the kids on the bus-we have a 6 am wake up call every morning and if I don't get to bed early and get back to sleep I really suffer.

[gertie]

Could the medication you're on be part of the reason your so tired? I sleep better at night if I take my med, but it's harder for me to get up & moving the next day. Hope you continue getting better.

[sophia]

Fatigue is by far the toughest part of my illness and I so wish I could get a handle on it. It's the symptom that makes me feel like the world is existing without me. That being said, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that tend to work for me. I hit a wall - fast + hard - every day by about 6pm. If I start to feel really tired throughout the day, usually exasperated by working on my computer and being sedentary for a couple hours, I try to force myself to get up, go for a walk, do some cleaning, etc. Seems to by me a little more time. After 6pm or so, this isn't really an option. If I have to do something in the evening and can't wriggle out of it, I use provigil (aka nuvigil) a wakefulness promoting med that really helps, though there is a price pay... in my case it results in an increase in muscle tension pain, and some irritability. Smoking marijuana also helps, though it too tends to make my pain worse, and obviously the high isn't conducive to most situations. Otherwise, I usually spend about 15 hours/day in bed, and even though I hate it, when I'm super fatigued, there's no place else I'd rather be.

Thanks for posting this... hoping to hear more from other folks.

[Connie]

Mack's Mom told me she uses Tumeric to give her energy. You can get it at GNC. We did not try it because I am trying to have my son checked for mast cell disorder. He had a couple of bad reactions and he is scared to try it right now. You might give it a try.

[kayjay]

Does tumeric raise blood pressure? Right now I am able to drive myself but I am chewing nicotine gum which doesn't seem like a good idea ( I don't smoke).

[potsgirl]

Sophia,

I am just like you. I hit a wall hard and fast right about 5:45/6 pm, and there's nothing I can do about it. Then I'm up at 6 am, so I have to take a nap every day for about an hour. If I don't, I hit the wall earlier. I'm so tired of missing all of the dinners and events that happen after 5 pm. Sometimes taking one of my pain pills (Percocet) will give me a little energy, but I don't make it a habit.

Cheers All,

Jana

[Brye]

I'm exhuasted all the time. I've kind of given up hope and figure I'm doomed to be tired. I have 4 kids, the oldest is 8, that causes a lot of fatigue right there. I know a side effect of atenolol is fatigue. I've had mono recently ... more fatigue. My vit D level has been low lately. I think I'm maybe a little less tired now that that's normal.

Things that have helped me ... afternoon naps, only if my kids cooperate. vit d supplements seem to have helped. Hired help ... I have a cleaning person come clean every other week and have used as many childcare/school options as financially possible.

Wish I had some miracle advice. This is one of my worse symptoms. I hold a lot of guilt inside when I have to tell my kids I'm too tired to do things.

Brye