New Symptom? | Arthritis Information

Hi Everyone,

Over the past couple of weeks, I have experienced a feeling of exhaustion that I don't recall before. It's like every cell in my body is drained. I am concerned.

I do not feel any additional pain. No muscle aches or tenderness. No sore throat, fever, headache. I haven't slept well for years. My RA symptoms began in Feb of 2006, and I finally started feeling better after Enbrel shots in March 2008.

I am feeling a little more internal stress lately, b/c I feel pressured to start working very soon. I have a lot of fear around that. Besides that, I don't have any lifestyle change.

Any ideas? Anyone else experience this?

Take care,

Nori

Sorry you're feeling that way, nori king.. exhaustion is hard to deal with... absolutely the worst!!

but getting sleep is tantamount to feeling better... can you do anything to avail yourself more sleep?!!

That's one of my main symptoms, physical exaustion and not being able to get into REM sleep, the kind that makes you feel rested because I'm in pain. It's a cycle that I don't seem to bea ble to escape from no matter what they give me for sleep or pain. I know this sounds dumb but sometimes I wish they would put me in the hospital and just knock my butt completely out for just a few days! Hope you feel better soon. [QUOTE=nori king]Hi Everyone,

When my RA is not controlled well I also have extreme fatigue; but I'd think you'd have other symptoms if that was the case.

maybe your anxiousness about going back to work is wearing you out?Hey Everyone,

I think you're all probably right. I am anxious about going back to work and putting a lot of stress on myself mentally.

I do not get nearly enough sleep. My doctor tried flexeril. Unfortunately that drug causes intense grogginess and doesn't help me to actually fall asleep. He then prescribed me neurontin (sp?), but it can cause weight gain so I'm not willing to take it. Also, the pharmacist had never heard of using it for a sleep aide before.

What's weird is the exhaustion comes right after walking up stairs or cleaning the dishes. Who knows it could all be psychological relating to the job search. Like trying to convince myself I'm not ready.

I do also have a thyroid problem - Graves disease, but I've never felt exhausted before.

Thank you very much for your feedback. It really helps just to 'talk'.

Nori

I don't know how old you are but now that you are saying the exhaustion comes from taking steps or cleaning, it concerns me that it may be an underlying heart condtion. I have heard women exhibit those types of symptoms.

Hey,

I'm a 34 year old female. I think what's bothering me is that even b4 I was diagnosed w/ RA, I never felt like this. I don't feel like I need to take a nap, but it does feel more in my chest area than the rest of my body. Not specifically my heart though. Sort of like every cell in my upper torso is suddenly overloaded. It's not painful, just strange.

In another post I had mentioned my CO2 levels have been (slightly) low since the RA symptoms, but no doctor has ever mentioned it.

Nori

PS - how do I get my heart checked out? Doctors haven't believed me all along. It took almost a year for my knuckles to swell up from RA, and then they started to believe me. That and those CCP antibodies finally kicked in. But while I just had a bunch of irregular labwork that didn't point them in a particular direction, I was sent home w/ a 'just deal w/ it' talk. Oh and here's some steroids to make you feel better.

When I said I just want my life back, the response was "Chritsopher Reeves just wanted his life back to." I haven't had much luck with doctors.....

Thank you,

Nori

Hi Nori

Don't know if this will help at all but i had the same symptoms you did for about a week. It started off with me just feeling tired for a couple of days then suddenly I was getting really out of breath after doing the simplest things and my chest was hurting. Unfortunately I never found out exactly what it was but it did clear up after I rested (well!) for 2 to 3 days.

I did mention it to my rheumatologist and he sent me for chest xrays but nothing was found.

I think you should still tell the doctor and get everything checked out in case it is something more serious but don't stress yourself too much as this will probably make it worse.

There was a point there when i actually thought it might have been a stress attack I was having, but with recently being diagnosed with RA, who knows!

I'm sorry you don't have a doctor who doesn't care to listen. I am quite fortunate that both my RD and GP are very responsive.

I would start with a visit to your GP and explain your symptoms. Come right out and say I know I'm young but I've heard or read somewhere that women experience heart problems in a different manner then men and what I have been feeling matches those symptoms...what do you think?

I do have an appt in about 5 weeks w/ my GP, so I can bring it up then. It's a clinic, so I will not have met this person b4. This can give me some time to really focus on resting as Jay77 and many others have suggested to see if this helps.

Thank you again, for the suggestions!

Nori

I have the same exhaustion in the same place. It is terrible. People think you are just making it up. but it is real and it just makes you not able to move. The other day I couldn't lift my chest much. It was really hard! In those times I could literally sleep all day or just not move all day.
My kids though they motivate me to get up and even if it takes me extra extra longer... I try to get to do something with them. I swear though at times, I feel like what is the use because it is absolutely so hard! I also feel it in my throat... hard time swallowing. Not all the time.. but enough to mention it at drs next week I went swimming at the local community college pool tonight with my 8 year old. He and I did laps. That helps the heart and I go at my slow pace. We did about 15 laps or so but we rested in between . My 8 year old was also almost a pools length in front of me. I am about 107 pounds now and I consider myself to have a few swollen knuckles. and not so bad as of yet otherwise. But, My chief complaint these days is fatigue and depression.. I think the pool is helping. He thinks it is so much fun too:)
I still have gone to a heart doctor but I think that is my next step as well. Good luck and I hope you get some needed rest.I haven't had much luck with doctors either. I sometimes feel so fatigued I can barely make it to my bed to fall asleep. I started taking a multi Vitamin and I feel much better. I try to get a nap when I can as fatigue is a symton of RA. I hope you feel better soon.

You might want to have a vitamin panel done. It's a simple blood test. I had it done in the hospital in April. I had what they called Orthostatic hypotension. Every time I stood up, my blood pressure dropped and I passed out. They never did figure out what wa causing it, but it eventually went away. The lab did find that i was very low in b-12 and started me on injections at home, low on magnesium and iron so I take prescription levels of these. My primary re-did the bloodwork and found my b-12 levels normal and said to stop them, but I can tell you, I was so lethargic a couple of days ago, I couuld not function. At bedtime I did a b-12 injection and I felt ready to take on the world the next day! It's definitely worth checking into.

Good luck at your appt, and I hope you get it figured out!

Hugs!

deb