Please help. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

[LadyPenelope]

I constantly feel tired and worn out from this endo illness. Sometimes I'm so exhausted I can't get out if bed for days. I've had my iron and thyroid checked and everything seems ok. I can only blame it on endo. It seems like lately I'm getting exhausted more often and it's lasting longer. I've had endo for over 20 years with lots of surgeries snd procedures. Lately I've noticed that everything is such an effort. Does anyone out there have any tips or advice to help me get by? I'm divorced and live alone so it's extra difficult. Please help.

[hayls]

Hi

Firstly I just want to say that I feel exactly the same!!! Last year I had 11 doses of prostap and 2 big endo ops and even though I am now 6 months on from my last op and finishing prostap I still don't seem to be able to build up my energy to do anything, I am constantly tired and completely worn out, it doesnt seem to matter how much rest I get, yesterday I very almost collapsed due to it and the only thing I could say to my husband was that I was exhausted yet I hadnt done anything that would make a normal person that tired!

I have recently started to do more exercise and that does seem to be helping, starting slowly with 2-3 mile walks. Also I had loads of bloods done about 6 weeks ago and they came back showing I had very low folate levels, I didnt know until then that you can actually get anemia from folate deficiency and not just from iron deficiency. I have been prescribed high dose folic acid and this does seem to be helping (I was already taken it as trying for a baby but still managed to be deficient), GP said it would take 4 months to build up to the right level again. Having researched it and discussed with my GP it appears your folate levels can be depleated due to inflammation, its common in crohns sufferers so my GP has put it down to my endo and how much surgery ive had recently, including bowel surgery, and if you anemic from it the effects are very similar to anemia from iron deficiency, maybe worth checking with your GP to see if they checked this when they did your bloods??? x

[LadyPenelope]

Thaks Halys

I will definitely speak to my GP about having my folate levels checked. I'll also attempt to do some more walking. I'm glad I'm not alone in this. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just being lazy like some of my colleagues think.....but the lethargy is real.... I try so hard but I simply cant seem to shake it off. Its been downhill since I had a bowel resection in 2012. Thank you for your advise. I wish you all the best.

[Bokkie]

Hi LadyPenelope,

I am ALWAYS tired too! Doesn't matter how much sleep I get, it never changes. My whole body aches and feels exhausted. I walk a lot but it doesn't help me - just makes my legs ache more. I often feel weak. Just going up the stairs at home is an effort sometimes. I have had anaemia in the past (which did cause my tiredness apparently because of the heavy bleeding) but I have not been checked again recently for that because I haven't been having periods due to my hormone treatment. Maybe I should now.....x

[Hidden]

The tiredness is one of the worse things for me. I have three children and I work, but I'm finding it so difficult at the moment,

I wake up because of the pain numerous times in the night.... And I'm sure this is adding to the fatigue.

Feels like a miserable life sometimes!

[LadyPenelope]

I cant imagine how you manage with a job and 3 children!! You're Superwoman! All I have to deal with is "me" and I sometimes feel like running away from myself. No amount of resting is able to cure that fatigue. Just like Bokkie, going up the stairs to my house after work is a big effort. These days I'm always on the lookout for lifts and escalators. My GP has just started me on the Butrans patch and I'm hoping that it will help with my pain. Sometimes when I think of the future I get very scared because I feel it will only get worse as we get older