So tired, anyone else? | Arthritis Information

 

HI there, I know fatigue is a part of any auto immune disease, but do those of you with RA find it to be a major symptom? I feel like that is more inline with say Lupus. I have pain, but not hidious. I have swelling, again, not hidious. But the fatigue, can be hidious!! Anyone else have that as the primary symptom?

Where as before I had RA...I'd be running, jumping or doing something around the yard...today here I set with my laptop watching TV.  I'm sooooooooo tired after noon time.  My RD perscribed Prozac so I might have more energy...but so far...I still tired. 

kel

Hi I've felt that fatigue for 2 weeks now, and my doc is switching me from Remicade ,also taking mtx & Prednisone, to either Embril or Humira.....The fatigue makes doing anything and everything, slow and hard to accomplish. Just move around slowly, and without enthusiasm, it takes the 'fun out of life' feeling away. sarah Fatigue has impacted my life far more than the pain.  I am a teacher and I found myself going you to my car to nap in between classes.  I spent the weekend doing graduation functions for our daughter and I could barely make it to work today, I actually had to leave early to go to bed.

I am on 20mg adderal (it is the medicine they give to ADHD kids) and that has helped a great deal for most of the day.  But, I can still do with  a nap most days, and have slowed everything down.

I also notice that when I get tired the pain seems worse.  It might just be perception.

Mary B
I can relate. I am so tired. It's kind of the tired I get when I have the flu. Just awful. I take a nap in the morning and afternoon. Alot of time I just sit with a heating pad in my recliner trying to keep my eyes open. CinDee

That is exactly what I am doing now!

 ME TOO! I have the fan blowing on me because I am hot. I tried cold but it makes me ache more. My little puppy we got a few weeks ago knows just where to lay. It's like she has a sense of where I hurt and lays right on it. All nice and warm! She's psychic! lol

Me also.  The fatigue right now is just wiping me out.  I never feel refreshed, just more and more tired.  Can't do anything after work or on weekends.  I have a couple of friends who are close to giving up on placcing things with me, because I can never go.    My next remicade appt. is 5/24, I'm going to talk to him about it.

I am taking anti depressants, but not cymbalta.  My sister did switch rom zoloft to cymbalta and is feeling much better.

Hang in there everyone!

The fatigue is the worse thing as it completly disables me.I woke up this morning at 7am and its now 11am, i havent done anything as i am soooooooo tiredFor a long time I have found the fatigue worse than the pain.   Recently there was a thread about chocolate for energy - I think that it seriously does pick me up sometimes, nothing to do with the fact I love it.
I should have tried it last Sunday when I went to be at 4.30pm, woke for a few hours in the night and then went back to sleep until 8.30am.   I get so tired at times and cant sleep and then crash days later. Sleep deprivation is meant to be a cause of fibromyalgia, which I have.   I can deal with the pain of RA& fibro much easier than the fatigue.YES! I complain to my dr. about the fatigue at every visit. He prescribed me sleeping pills (Lunesta) to ensure that I do get a good night's sleep. He said it's crucial to take a time-out many times during the day if possible no matter how good I may be feeling. I find it especially hard these days to just wake up. I have to get up around 6am during the week to get thekids up for school and I am soooo drained. I keep telling myself that as soon as I get them to school I can get back to bed. I usually feel better by then though or I stress about all the stuff I have to get done. I find it helpful if I iwalk w/a friend of mine in the mornings.

Gets the blood flowing I guess. Also, I feel sort of overwhelmed sometimes thinking of all the stuff that is waiitng for me: kids have sports activities after school, dance recitals, homework, dentist appointments, birthday parties that I have to get gifts for, husband dwants to take us to dinner etc. I start to get so overwhelmed taht I just sit on the couch - maybe in revolt!Honey39217.1489814815Yep - that fatigue sure is a bummer!!   When I was still working full time, I would barely get through the day, then get home and just fall asleep in the chair.   Now that I have finished working, I can pace myself much better - take little breaks between tasks, and a wee "power nap" of about 3/4 hr in the afternoon sitting in my chair with a book (nod - nod). 

Funnily enough, if I have that little afternoon nap and get off to bed by about 9-30pm - 10pm, I find that I am getting off to sleep much easier, and staying asleep.  I'm sure that the stress of trying to keep going in my full time job had a lot to do with it.

(I was a special education teacher, then went into our National Benefits call centre.  That was actually pretty stressful too, because I couldn't always give people what I thought they deserved.) and it was sitting down all day, which was not good.

 Anyway, Doc eventually said to me  - enough - 3-6 months off work for a good rest and learn to take care of yourself.  It was the best thing I could have done, although I certainly couldn't afford it!!

 However, I do still have the odd night that I don't get off to sleep, but on the whole, not that awful fatigue which is just like exhaustion 24 x7. and doesn't even let one think straight.

Hope that you can get something sorted for yourself soon. Try to take a break.

Yes, the fatigue is the worst part. I need to sleep a lot on the weekends, and often nap during my lunch break. Lately I really struggle to get up in the morning.

Laker

I don't know if this is extra odd or not, but while I am constantly fatigued and tired - I am NEVER sleepy. My insomnia is just completely out of control but my energy level is low enough to keep me pretty much immobile .....

Anyone else experience this inability to sleep for entire nights at a time while always feeling to tired to really ever do anything?

Regards,

Melly

If you are taking MTX and 1MG of folic acid, ask yr doc for Metanx rather than the folic acid. Metanx has double the dose and really helped with my fatique. Take with food.

from their website............

• Up to 50% of patients are unable to fully convert folic acid into the active form of folate, L-methylfolate.
• There is no conversion required with L-methylfolate.

Metanx^® has a unique formulation providing your patients the active forms of folate, vitamin B₆ and vitamin B₁₂.

Each Metanx^® tablet contains:

L-methylfolate (Metafolin^®)

2.8 mg

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

25 mg

Methylcobalamin

2 mg

Last week I was extremely tired to the point of feeling sick, I called my doctor to complain and he told me to start taking centrum silver (after all I am over 50)

I have fatigue a lot.  Some days it is worse than others.  I dont have too much insomnia tho.  Fatigue goes hand in hand with RA, lupus, and some other auto immune diseases. 

Quilter..I;m confused about the Metanx.  You said it's double the dosage of the folic acid.  So if I am 2mg daily of folic acid and I switched to the metanx that would be like 4mg of folic acid daily?  I just ddi some research on folic acid and mtx due to some docs saying dont take it the day of your mtx dose and some docs say its ok to.  Every single article whether it was pro or con on taking it the day of your dose said no more than 5mg daily of folic acid.  By the way...it was about a half and half split on whether to take folic acid on your mtx dose day or not.  So I guess we should just follow what our docs say on this one lol. 

UGh....fatigue is the worst thing about RA. I was tired and feel like I slept through most of last year. I'm not 100% now, but since I've been on AP my fatigue has lifted dramatically! It's great.

Part of it may be due to having learned to pace myself a bit more. On days I don't pace myself I'll be going along full steam and then suddenly I'm done! Time to sit down/sleep.

Melly you described my fatigue problem to a T. I get so exhausted I can't sleep (especially in bed at night when there is time to sleep).

Fatigue and depression from RA are harder to take than the pain.

Those two things have more of an impact on my life too. I can have a good time when my feet and knees hurt too much to walk more than a block.

Thank You all, I am sorry that the exhaustion is a reality for you all as well, but at least we know for whatever reason, feeling like we have the flue, most days or many at least, is not uncommon. Mine typicaly is the worst from about 2or 3:00 in the afternoon on. I better get the bulk of my work done by then, or I probobly won't. My pain is worse then, I amnot typical morning stiffness , etc. Some times, my elbows or ankles for a few minutes in the morning, but generally I far worse afternoon and evening. Thanks for everyones time! [QUOTE=pin cushion]The fatigue is the worse thing as it completly disables me.I woke up this morning at 7am and its now 11am, i havent done anything as i am soooooooo tired

Oh my, I did take off a few pounds from dehydrations though? ya gotta laugh some times. And I forgot to put the brake on my golf so the thing ran down the hill backwards, my husband saw it going past and didn't see me falling OUt of it. I don't know what meds you take but between the meds and the disease we do have a lot to deal with, take care, sarah

I am new to this site posted my first message this morning.  I also experience the fatigue I have I think for the last 6 months or so and my brain I think has totally left me.  It is so hard when you want to get up and do the house or take a shower but you just cant seem to muster up the energy.  Does anyone know why the memory seems to go is is just because of the fatigue or some other reason.  I thought I have been losing my mind.  I am so glad I am not alone.  Once again thanks for this site.  Just diagnosed last week.  God Bless   

yup, fatigue, memory loss,  not bathing..   doing the stairs  just has me whipped, and the thought  of all that is involved in getting into the tub... is just too much sometimes..

It isnt tiredness.. I cant nap, its feeling  like I was dragged backwards through a knothole.. just worn out.. its awful

 

and   the kids are just too little to understand.. "mommy's tired" just doesnt cut it when your 19 month old wants to play.

I really admire everyone with little kids that has ra.  I am not sure if I could have handled it as well as everyone here does.  My girls were small when I was diagnosed, but I really wasn't too bad off with the ra then.  The girls were older when I got really bad.  I am worn out after a visit with my granddaughter.  I can't imagine taking care of little ones on a daily basis.  Oh My gosh, when I started this thread, I had no idea I was so NOT alone. I really felt as though the pain and stiffness, which are crummy, but not nearly my worst problem, were the main complaint of most others. Also the memory loss, and short term mrmory issues, what is that? I thought I was just loosing it, but others say this is not uncommon? Ughh. I was ANA and RF positive, they did deeper testing and feel they have ruled out Lupus, but sometimes this fatigue and memory loss, scares me that is could stillbe lupus. Anyway, thanks all.

I also suffer from fatigue, especially in the afternoon.  What I've discovered is that if I do just the opposite of what the fatigue wants me to do...sit, lay down, sleep, or just plain vegetate...I feel much better.  So, I have a routine now.   When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is 15 mins of yoga, take a hot shower, and walk the dog about 20 mins.  At lunch I found a small wooded area behind my office where I can do yoga outside...about 15 mins again...and I go for a 30 min brisk walk in a park nearby.  After getting home from work, I walk the dog again (...he loves me

Alan

Alan39221.4196643519How did you learn Yoga? I'm interested in learning but not the type to go to a class. Is there a book / tape you'd recommend? Also, is it stretches and poses?

I taught myself using "Kripalu Yoga" written by the staff at the Kripalu retreat center in Massachusetts.  You can find it on Amazon.com. It's an excellent book with lots of pictures to show you what to do.  It also discusses the spirtual aspects of yoga.  Yes, it is mostly stretches and poses with  breathing exercises.

Alan

Hi took the 15 mgs mtx Thursday night, today (sat) I slept all afternoon! I can't remember being this tired. Hope I'm not getting 'sick with something else', ugh. Sarahhave you just started on the methotrexate.when i took thats what it did to me . took it fri night then sat i would sleep on and off all day. too lethargic to even get out of bed. I am totally wiped out the day after my mtx shot.  Honey, I have a video called Yoga for Dummies that's actually a really great
primer for the 12 basic poses. I do it a couple times a month when I don't
want to go swimming. I'm just about ready to join a class or a drop in,
though, as the tape is a little slow for me.thanks all. I checked out the book on Amazon. I'm going to go to Borders tomorrow (there's one right in my town) so I'm going to see if they have that or even a Dummies book.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com