Total Exhaustion

[Krazynorth]

Hey Everyone,

These past two weeks I just can't seem to get any energy, no matter what I do. If I sleep 6 hours or 10 at night there is no change when I wake up. It's to the point where waking up in the morning is painful. Anyone have any suggestions on things you do ramp up your energy level or metabolism? I work out and that works for a bit, but then I crash from it rather than have a last affect...

Thanks,

Karen

[Sunfish]

for me hydration, salt intake, & my meds have a lot of impact on my exhaustion level. if i'm even a bit off in terms of fluid intake my body totally rebels in terms of fatigue. also, if i've pushed to much i can pay for it for quite awhile afterward. the current heat can be a HUGE energy zapper as well...for anyone & even that much more for those of us who are sensitive to it.

regarding exercise/working out, i by no means want to discourage your efforts & combatting deconditioning is SO important as it can only make things worse, BUT...the fact that you say you're crashing after work outs may be a clue that you're pushing a bit too much, which can have the opposite effect. as someone who for years was used to being able to plan out a training/work out schedule & did it no matter what with the philosophy that more was better, i KNOW how tough it is to take a different approach. you may want to do a search on exercise & read some of the past discussions to get a feel for different folks' experiences, but too much - even if it seems like not much at all - can be a negative for POTS folks. and the day-to-day variance can be a big factor too...often it's a trial & error game of figuring out what works for you, knowing & realizing that it can change on a daily basis.

good luck,

:-)melissa

[yogini]

Hi Krazynorth,

Sorry you're feeling tired. Fatigue has definitely been one of my worst symptoms . I am not sure what meds you are on, but some of the meds we take (like beta blockers) make us more tired.

I think it makes sense to keep exercising, but as Sunfish said without killing yourself. The thing with exercise is that it might take a few months for you to start feeling the benefits. Seriously, I started exercising in January and started feeling better in April. I have kept trying to increase the amount of exercise every few weeks and this has seemed to work OK. Also, I take multivitamins, eat small meals frequently, eat lots of protein and veggies and cut down on carbs and sugar. Many of us can't handle too much caffeine, but one Diet Coke works to get me thru the afternoon. And of course salt, fluids and compression hose help too.

You also may want to search on the forum because this topic has been discussed a lot. There are also some supplements/meds you can take for energy, but I think most of us just stick to diet and exercise. Over time they have helped to give me a lot more energy. I am still nowhere near where I used to be pre-POTS, but I think some fatigue is unfortunately part of the territory.

-Rita

[LisaColumbus]

Karen.... I feel your pain.

The fatigue is the most disabling aspect for me. I basically sleep around the clock. I wake up in the morning and am back in bed within two hours. Sleep for another 4 hours, then back up for another 2, then back to bed again. I finally am awake enough around 5 pm, to stay up for 4-5 hours before going to bed for the evening. I don't have a solution for you, I just wanted you to know you aren't alone.