is there anything i can do / take to keep me awake?

[pinkdee]

hiya im new on here. im 43 and was diagnosed with RA about 18 months ago. looking back i think ive been suffering for a lot longer than that but id put the aches and pains down to getting older and only went to the docs when it got too bad. my medications dealing pretty well with the pain. i do get bad days but i guess thats to be expected. the thing that really does get me down is the tiredness. i used to be really active but nowadays i feel so worn out most of the time and fall asleep at the drop of a hat. i often go into such a deep sleep at times that i sleep through the alarm clock going off and the phone ringing right next to me. i used to be a fairly light sleeper and would wake at the slightest noise and be up to start the day at 6am . oh how i wish that was the case now. i feel like lifes passing me by while im fast asleep. from what ive read on here the tiredness seems to be a common problem yet my doc just shrugged it off .

[sylvi]

I am afraid to say thats typical with ra. You can sleep for england. You can ask your gp and see what they say. Other than that (tongue in cheek) Get a loader alarm clock.

Sorry but that's all i can tell you. I know that won't help you much but if i brought a smile to your face about the clock then i am happy. There might be others on here that can offer you more advice.

Sylvi.x

[pinkdee]

lol well you did bring a smile to my face. its unbelievable though, the alarms on its loudest setting and belts out music and the other half has to shake me awake lol. unfortunately the gp just laughed and said he wished he had an excuse to "take a nap" in the day! what does annoy me is other peoples attitudes when i say i fell asleep, they dont seem to understand its not through choice and that i would rather be jogging round the park / digging the garden etc. hey ho

[Hidden]

Weclome to HU. My GP was the same - he just looked baffled and said "tiredness is usually only a problem during a flare-up" so I don't mention it any more - just yawn a lot when I see him!

Actually I think I've always been a bad sleeper and always have had low energy levels that I've had to fight - but now I get so tired I can do nothing else but go to bed or cat nap wherever I am. But I don't think it's RA related with me because my mum used to do exactly the same thing and she didn't have RA.

And your GP has a point I suppose - at least we have a good excuse and if people don't get it then they probably don't get RA full stop? TTx

[Maggie1]

Hi Pinkdee it will get better. usually the tiredness does become worse if you are having a 'flare'.

the more you get used to having to live with RA the easier it is to deal with the tiredness. it seems apparent that your GP doesn't understand how you feel at all if he did he wouldn't have said that

Chin up keep on smiling and just sleep when you need to ;-).

[caroline777]

Hi Pinkdee. I am the same. I am working full time and I sometimes feel ill with tiredness. I just sleep when it's possible, get extra at the weekends and go to bed early. I play in two bands and (when pain allows it) go off roading with a friend and refuse point blank to give them up!!! I figure if I can go to work, I'm sure not giving up the things I enjoy doing to compensate - result, asleep on the settee at 6pm and in bed by 9!! Have just got up (9.45am Saturday) and am off to the theatre today. Will regret it tomorrow but s** it - my friends will nudge me if my head starts lolling and I start to dribble - haha! Now I need to waddle around for an hour before I get ready. Good luck with the fatigue management, you will learn how to live with it and sometimes, just give in and let it tell tour body to have a rest!

Caroline

xxx

[Custard in reply to caroline777]

Good for you Caroline!!

LOL@ asleep on the settee at 6pm and in bed by 9.

This is sooo true.

[Hidden]

Yes nap when you can I go to bed early too x

[pinkdee in reply to Hidden]

thankyou all for the replies i was hoping there was some magic vitamin i could get from the chemist or something but never mind. caroline i beat ya ive only just got up lol. i love the weekends as i dont feel guilty lying in bed as the rest of the family do too. enjoy the weekend everyone x

[Hidden in reply to pinkdee]

Coffee, coffee and more coffee! Take a regular nap every day, all in all it might equal 7 -8 hrs with what you get at night.

I subsist on 5-6 hrs at night, with an afternoon nap. That really does rejuvenate me. Coffee does not keep me awake, sometimes have a 12 oz. cup just before laying down for nap.

Besides now scientists are saying it is good for the heart, because it has anti-inflammatory effects. So, maybe good for the joints too!! L. xx

[Hidden]

I have tried that soluble Vitamin B tablet that is advertised by runners on treadmills. It seems to work, or at least, if I take it too late in the day I can't sleep!!

I am sure I have read somewhere that a lack of the B vitamins can lead to fatigue, so it might be worth a try. And I think that extra B12 and Folic acid are recommended for our Auto Immune problems.

Having said that, RA fatigue is just part of the package we get delivered isn't it? And certainly chronic pain wears me out.

I have a pet theory that a glass of beer contains B vitamins, and I shall be pouring myself a small glass later.

Cheers.

[Terrpist in reply to Hidden]

:). Smile

[Terrpist]

I am with you, I was so active before RA,I ask my doc to give me adderal I was falling asleep driving to work. She wouldn't.i got a job closer to home.

[LesleyH]

Hi I am recently diagnosed (November last year) and I am tired all the time I was also diagnosed with ulcerative Coloitis two weeks after RA and that also causes chronic fatigue. I could also sleep for England I just have to rest when I can and sleep for about 9 hours at night, neither consultant came up with any ideas just it's part of the disease and to get on with it. I am just trying to keep going

[rubyjuly]

I agree with Phobe. Extra b12. I take 3 gummy B12's a day 1500 mcg. I noticed a difference immediately. If I take it late in the day, I can't sleep at night. I take when I get up in the morning, and I have gone days with out a nap. I usually take 1 or 2 a day. I can wake in the morning, get the kids off to school and go right back to bed.

I have been taking it for a month now. It's such a blessing.