Fatigue and More | Arthritis Information
I was diagnosed with RA in June 08. Since then I have been on methotrexate, prednisone, mobic, humira and currently on Remicade and Arava. My pain and swelling are really not too bad, it is manageable and tolerable. The worst thing for me is fatigue. I am able to work, but then just come home and go to bed. I am also in bed all weekend just to get my strength back up so I can go back to work on Monday. I don't have the strength to cook, clean or even shop. This new "normal" sucks. I think I have held on for so long (had 3 hospitlizations in the spring all caused from meds) thinking I was going to get back to normal, be my old active self and that is just not the case. If anyone has any advice or suggestions for dealing with the fatigue, I would really appreciate it. Also, any suggestions for dealing with the new "normal" are welcome. Thanks very much! I was diagnosed in OCT of 06 and found the fatigue a real bummer to deal with.
Over the three years the fatigue has got better.
In the beginning anything more than thirty minutes and I was done, now I can get up to three hours before I feel it coming on.
Some days tho it just strikes and I drop like a fly, usually a thirty or so minute nap helps to restore.
If I ignore the fatigue and try and push to hard then I start to get the tremors up, have trouble holding a cup of coffee.
The new me has to keep things on a slow and steady pace, eliminate stress and try and just be in cruise mode.
Welcome to the board, Elizabeth!
Stephen has put it pretty well. Fatigue is one of the bugbears of RA which I've had for many more years than he has, and yes, sometimes even a 15 or 20-min. rest on the bed does wonders. A little difficult if still working; i was fortunate enuf to be in a small office where often I was the only one there most of day - meant I could do the sit-down work when feeling lousy, and other stuff when a little more energetic.
Like you, I found it no good to try to push thru the fatigue as one can do with ordinary tiredness - have learnt to just adjust to what my body (and brain) is like from day to day. Also learnt not to get too upset about what my stupid hands/knees etc couldn't do but just laugh and joke about it, and that I learnt years ago from folk on this board. Fellow sufferers can understand, which sadly most of our family and friends cannot do.
Lorraine
Welcome Elizabeth. Yes, fatigue is the biggest issue for me too. I call it another "F" word.
Bodak and Lorrie have it pretty much summed up. I tried working part time with a very understanding boss, but I just could not do it. I hope that you find a solution that works for you.
Fatigue - my WORST enemy!
Over the years I've learned how to be very wise about time management and how to pace my energy. Nowadays, only in times of flares, do I have real "down and out for the count" depletion of energy.
Pace, pace, pace.
I'm willing to bet exercising for 30 minutes each and every day has something to do with my being less fatigued.
I'm still a workaholic and work at home half the time, then overseas the other half. I try to arrange everything so that I don't totally wipe myself out, but the airports usually do me in. I travel with a hard-shell Samsonite carry-on with wheels that makes a perfect stool while waiting in line.
Sam12342009-11-28 16:54:01Six years later and I am still trying to figure it out. It is 7:30 p.m. and I am so tired I could cry. I haven't done anything to feel this way. I think my RA meds are not doing enough.
I wish you all the best. Wish I could offer more.
Hello Elizabeth.
I completely understand your issue with this. For almost two years that is how I felt. The weekends were my respite enough to give me enough to get through the week. Most weeks anyway.
I want to give you hope that you can get beyond that..... I've been taking enbrel for two years and I am feeling SO MUCH better.. My fatigue is a infrequent visitor to my life now....and it took two days of baking, cleaning and cooking for thanksgiving to make me exhausted today.. but it's not the fatigue of RA..this is exhaustion... IT is SO different.
so...... point is....... get your disease under control and you will feel so much better. What, if you dont' mind, is your RX?
I wish you the best.
Hi Elizabeth! Babs and Sam are right... control and exercise has kept me moving. I feel way better now than when I was diagnosed 13 years ago! So many other things can contribute to the fatigue... depression, poor sleep, stress... Try and keep a diary or log to track these things and that may help you.
Best to you Elizabeth, and keep posting and us posted!
One more thing I'd like to add: reduce your stress by choosing your battles. Some stuff in life is just not worth getting aggravated about. Be selective.
Fatigue is associated with Vitamin D deficiency. When you take MTX you run the risk of Vitamin D loss.
Have you had your Vitamin D levels checked lately?
Check out this website.
Hello, Elizabeth, and welcome to the boards!
Fatigue SUCKS! I think everyone has offered some good advice. Exercise helps - not talking about going to the gym for hours on end or anything like that. Just a short walk is helpful, do what you can and build on it from there. And always rest when you get tired. I should probably take my own advice... I tend to push through the fatigue and wind up barely able to do anything for a day or so. ;)
I haven't found any magical cure for feeling drained, wiped out, zapped, mack-trucked... should I keep going? ;) But I have a friend (who thankfully doesn't have RA) that swears by Rockstar energy drinks. I might just pick one up next time we're at the store and let you know how it goes. I'll be the guinea! hehe
Hope you're having a superfantastic and extra-comfortable day and again, welcome to the group! *hugs*
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