Chronic Fatigue

[Deeunit41]

Tiredness is something that is talked about a lot in relation to endo. The advice seems to be work around it, that seems right to me. However I'd be really keen if some of you would kindly share how you work around it. Just feel that some practical advice would be helpful as currently I feel that my quality of life is at an all time low. I am working at the moment, no choice about that right now, but seem to spend my non working hours recovering from the day and/or trying to build energy for the next day. Is this the same for you guys?

[Hidden]

You can tackle it mentally and physically. Your attitude towards the tiredness is important, be kind to yourself, you're not lazy, malingering etc.. it's the body's way of communicating something is wrong. Physically, the olde fav's diet, exercise etc... look into insulin resistance and chart your sleep. If you can understand the patterns of tiredness then you can work around them i.e. do concentration work in the morning. Have a gentle walk in the afternoon or whatever suits.

[DSan]

Hi, yes chronic fatigue is a major issue with endo. Before I was diagnosed with endo, my fatigue was so bad, I remember closing my eyes and falling asleep right in front of my manager at work while he was talking to me- that was when I was at my worst. Luckily I had my first laparoscopy soon after that and got my diagnosis. Since then I have been keeping a careful eye on my diet and taking vitamins on a daily basis- in particular, vitamin D, B complex, vitamin C and high strength antioxidants. I also take probiotics, digestive enzymes and psyllium husk to help keep my bowels clear and drink plenty of fluids.

Although I still suffer from fatigue, (I dont have a social life after work as i just want to get home in the evenings after work, do my chores and rest), it's nowhere near as bad as it was back then. I have to travel an hour each way on public transport to and from work so I attribute some of my tiredness to that.

I know that the majority of vitamins should come from our diet, but I think endo sufferers can benefit from extra supplementation esp if following the endo diet which also helps.

Mentally, I think you just have to accept that you are tired when you are. Keeping an eye on your sleep and making sure you are getting good quality sleep every night is important which i know can be difficult when you're in pain. But my advice in addition to the above would be to rest when you need to and take each day as it comes. Don't beat yourself up about it and do as much as you can when you have the energy.

Good luck

Hope this helps xx

[Deeunit41]

Thank you for your replies I think I've been taking a mainly physical approach to the fatigue and have neglected the psychological issues. Going to try and stop being hard on myself and accept that I need to pace and rest when I can. Thanks again

[unlucky2014]

Hi,

You aren't alone on this. I use to and still can spend my days off being sleeping beauty and catching up on sleep I've missed or where I have used a lot of energy through working to restore the energy.

I found that a B100 on time release gives me more energy, I am sleeping less and feel more alert than I did before. For me it took a couple of weeks before I saw the effects of the B100 but it has made a difference to my social life.

Hope this helps

[kyla78]

I also struggle with this, it's really bad at the moment I can usually work around it but this time going to see G.P to ask for bloods to be checked for B12 levels as I have heard sometimes if they are low it contributes to the fatigue

[Deeunit41]

Will do both ladies visit GP for bloods and look into supplements . Thanks so much