How to alleviate intense fatigue,anyone?

[swimmer]

Hi

I get long bouts of intense and debilitating tiredness which is not alleviated by rest or sleep. Does anyone have any tips to help improve and/or cope with this, please.

Thanks again for being there.

Kind regards

swimmer

[Bealings48]

Yes I get this too. Only solution is rest really and pace yourself Look at info on chronic fatigue or ME for info on pacing. If you have a busy schedule one day then rest the day before and the day after. It doesnt alleviate the tiredness but does enable you to cope and live a relatively normal life.

[swimmer in reply to Bealings48]

Thanks for your advice. I was diagnosed with CFS in 1998, but the tiredness and energy levels improved about 4 years ago. I have continued to pace myself but it doesn't seem to help these days - may just be the breathlessness, I guess. Will go and see GP again to see if he considers if other tests are necessary.

It is hard for me to remember what a normal life is to be honest...

[Hidden in reply to swimmer]

Sound advice from Bealings regarding regarding pacing yourself, etc. I was diagnosed with M.E in 1992 afters years of struggling and working full time. I hadn't any respiritory problems then but the M.E had taken hold and I felt at times like I'd been given a general anesthetic,among other things. Not much to add to the above except that I have had to learn to say no and not try to act so darn normal, LOL, if there is such a thing

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks lovelight

Yep - normal - what is that anyway? Billie Connolly says there's no such thing! Am trying to say 'no' more, but I have this big guilt/remorse thing going on and feel that in order to redeem myself, I have to help people even when it exhausts me. Have had loads of therapy to overcome the guilt too. Occasionally, I do pull back and respect my own needs more - I guess it just take a lot of practice. Thanks for reminding me to do it!

kind regards

[Hidden]

I think you may need to discuss with your doctor about this as the intense fatigue could be down to any number of things which I am sure your doctor will want to check and eliminate.

Sleep apnoea, anaemia and those mentioned by Bealings already, ME etc

Aside from that things that might help you are ensuring your diet is good, drink plenty of water, you have a routine each day, short walks out (even when you are feeling exhausted) and or you could try You Tube for guided relaxation exercises, A short routines of Qi gong and tai chi may help boost energy flow.

Hope you find things improving soon.

BC x

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks BC. I think part of the problem is that I am rather down at the moment - chronic ill health with 'not much light at the end of the tunnel' can be hard to live with. However, your suggestion to do some Qi gong and tai chi is one I will follow up and I guess yet another trip to the GP is in order. Thank you.

[Hidden]

I have this problem, myself, swimmer, and you need to sit down and try to chill out somehow. Do you know what is causing this fatigue? Is it something physical or depression. Really need to see your doctor and talk to him/her. Or talk to the BLF nurse (someone got the number??)

Maybe relaxing music to soothe the senses. Slow up and meditate. Just work on chilling out.

We have this problem here for different reasons, Husband is finding his chemotherapy exhausting. He likes to do different tasks around the home, but for the moment, has to slow down because he gets exhausted. I get whacked out because I get constant chest infections.

Good talking to you, swimmer. By your name, reckon you normally are active. So good luck and chill out mate, Love Annieseed xx

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

I already do a lot of meditation and relaxation - when I am not too tired...and I think I am depressed - who wouldn't be? However, I do not want to take antidepressants so will see what other suggestions my GP may have to help with that. Thanks so much for your kind support.

swimmer x

[Hidden]

I was wondering if you have had a lot of steroids? One of the side effects of steroid use is that it can stop the Adrenal Glands functioning, basically when you take them the glands can get lazy and stop working and allow the steroids to do the job, when you come off them they dont always start working again, this has happened to me and I know of several other members on this site. The symptoms of Adrenal gland failure are fatigue and constant infections. The fatigue is extreme with weakness too. It might be worth getting tested for this as its more common than you think Julie

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Julie

I have sometimes thought my adrenal glands were not working well as I have been under constant stress for a couple of years - compounded by the bronchiectasis. Will ask GP to test for this. I have rarely taken steroids - think the last time was when I had a cortisone injection 10 years ago.

Kind regards

swimmer

[Hidden in reply to swimmer]

Worth getting them checked out. I too have bronchiectasis I had mine checked as a day patient at the hospital, consisted of a blood test followed by chemicals injected then another blood test and then they compare the before and after, only took a couple of hours A lot of people who thought they had M E turned out to have adrenal gland insufficency, the exhaustion is so debilitating and a constant feeling of being unwel lwith muscle aches and pains too. Best wishes xx Julie

[123podmore]

I have this problem, myself,i been to doctor he said luck of vitamin D calcium ,i just feel very tired all the time ,

[swimmer in reply to 123podmore]

Vitamin D is certainly something I will try. Thanks for your kind help.

swimmer

[Hidden]

Snap! In addition to the comments above i suggest you get your blood sugar tested! Low blood sugar can cause intense fatigue!

Let's hope you find a satisfactory solution!

Enjoy your day

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Kevi, It didn't occur to me that low blood sugar could be a problem. Will ask GP if he can test for that.

Thanks again

swimmer

[Lynne1955]

BLF number is 03000 030 555. xx

[swimmer in reply to Lynne1955]

Thanks Lynne

Will give BLF a ring tomorrow - I often forget to use them as a resource for information...

Kind regards

swimmer

[Bealings48]

I have been trying 5htp and have found a bit of a boost in mood,. could be co incidence but I will try anything to avoid anti depressants. I already take calcuim and vit D on prescrip from the dr.

[swimmer in reply to Bealings48]

I will try 5htp - that's a vitamin supplement isn't it? Do you use a particular dose to help improve mood and I have heard that some brands are better than others.

Thanks once again.

swimmer

[Hidden]

There really are a lot of possible causes. I think a good thing to do would be a full blood test including ferritin, zinc, electrolytes as well as the usual other stuff.

I agree with others who mentioned adrenals, so starting with tests for cortisol. While checking out hormones I'd also check your thyroid, so TSH, free T3 and free T4.

Last year I felt incredibly tired and supplementing the deficiencies i discovered has helped immensely. In my case tests revealed deficiencies in iron, zinc,magnesium, vit D, thyroid, potassium, DHEA and testosterone.

Good luck. Fatigue is dreadful when it's overwhelming.

[swimmer]

Hi koala

- a lot of the problem is all the pain I have that gets worse when I am in be and pain killers don't help enough. I will ask my gp to do some tests as I haven't had any done for quite some time. I may not need testosterone though...

Kind regards

swimmer

[Hidden in reply to swimmer]

Hi swimmer

Sorry you're in so much pain, I hope there is something they can do for that, pain is a truly horrible thing.

Testosterone LOL. People who have low adrenal output are often low on a wide variety of hormones incl the sex hormones. Taking DHEA improved my testosterone and it really did help. I am female by the way.

Your problems might have nothing to do with what I mentioned, but it's a good place to start the search - thorough blood tests I mean. There will be other tests of course, but I don't know about them.

best of luck!

koala x

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Hi again koala

Is DHEA the same or derived from 5htp or vice versa (Bealings48 told me about 5htp)? Anyway will definitely look into it, and will get some more tests done via gp too.

Many thanks again for your kindness.

swimmer x

[Hidden in reply to swimmer]

I think DHEA is tested when they investigate your adrenal function, so along with cortisol and the sex hormones.

Mine was way too low and I have benefitted greatly from the supplements. I first took tablets but now use cream or sublingual tabs to avoid taxing my liver.

I have never heard of 5htp and I don't think it is connected to DHEA, which is made from cholesterol in the adrenals.

I think you need a good and thorough doctor who will listen to your medical issues and then decide what to test based on that information. Otherwise, there could be a million reasons for your fatigue and we can't guess what they are.

Certainly, adrenal function is worth checking, as is the thyroid, ferritin, iron, vitamin B12 and probably others I don't know about.

Good luck xxx

[swimmer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks again, koala

I am waiting for my GP to phone me at home as I type this - so hopefully we can sort out what's causing the extreme fatigue/anxiety/pain soon as I am getting very down about it.

I very much appreciate your wise advice.

Best

swimmer xx

[Bealings48]

Hi swimmer - the one I take is from Health Spark - it says 3 a day but I only take 2 as it says to adjust the amount to suit yourself. I do think that supplements help sometimes - trial and error I suppose,

[swimmer in reply to Bealings48]

Hi again

Will ask GP for some up-to-date tests and see what comes up - he (GP) is quite open to trying new/different things, so hopefully something will be found that can sort out this pesky fatigue.

Will look at Health Spark's website.

Thanks everso.

Kind regards

swimmer