fatigue and arthritis?

salamander

Hi everyone,

I feel so tired lately that I keep thinking I am coming down with flu.
Rheumy said a couple of weeks ago it is the arthritis, I am wondering if it is the Mtx or whether I am getting ill. Even delayed taking mtx this week as thought it was flu for sure but don't have a temperature or anything so took it tonight. Also, am on steroids, which usually pick me up as well as had a steroid jab two weeks ago. Ankles hurt again as well. Just don't know what to do. Decided to try and rest for a couple of days to see if that helped and am ok when I'm at home but as soon as I try and do anything else I feel exhausted. Any ideas?

chile168

Sally,

I think resting is the best thing to combat fatigue. Im always being told not to use up all my energy on better days but it's easier said than done cos is not often I get them.

It's best to listen to your body and if resting helps then that's what is needed.

Bananas are good for boosting energy levels.

Hope you feel better soon hun x

Eve

fourferrets

I quite often get incredibly tired.
I take my methotrexate on a sunday night just before I go to bed. Monday (now known as Moanday) is spent feeling icky until evening when I end up having to go to bed soooo early because I am exhausted.

I get more tired when having flare-ups.
Shopping wipes me out.

snowball

Hi Sally sorry you're so tired, i too am suffering from fatigue i had a steriod jab 3 weeks ago and its done nothing for me i am sleeping most of the day too if i do anything it wipes me out. I've been to my gp today and they have done some blood tests just to make sure its nothing else. It just gets you down doesnt it. Hope it passes soon take care sending you a ((((hug))))
Julie x

Wonkylegs

HI,

I'm afraid I've not got the answers you want I fear .... cos this dratted arthritis takes it out of our bodies and that is why we get so fatigued.

My OT told me the other week that people with RA use 3 times the energy to do any activity as any 'normal' person so no wonder we feel it!

I thought I had learned how to pace myself but am finding that I need to refine my ideas and pace myself even more efficiently :roll:

The therapy I am having currently has highlighted the fatigue as a huge issue, together with the pain, and it seems that managing things by
prioritising
planning
pacing
protecting joints
& working efficiently seem to be the ways forward.

I wish it was as easy to do as it is to type

:oops: :roll:

salamander

hi everyone again, thanks for all your posts. So it's not just me
Sometimes it feels like I am walking in mud!

Wonky, I do all that stuff and it helps a bit but sometimes you just want to go shopping or for a long walk.

fourferrets (what a great name, wish I'd thought of it) mtx seems to hit me a couple of days after, though have been tired for a couple of weeks or more now. Seems to be getting worse.

Eve, you are right about resting, it's just that it is so boring.

Snowball, hope your bloods are ok. Had mine done yesterday and they didn't ring me up so assume they ok.
xx

skezier

Hi Sally,

Oh flower I so know what your mean..... I feel like I got concrete in my legs and they just don't lift very well..... Sit down and I fall asleep for a few mins then wake in pain cus my neck isn't into armcharing at all. I know I have pa possibly having a flare and I also got the crohn's revving up and I dread the next few weeks :roll:

Sending you a ((( ))) and a hope it will all soon quieten down for you and you will have a bit more energy. Cris xx

Starburst

I feel for you. For me, the fatigue is almost as debilitating as the pain. In my OT assessment, they said most people say that. Everything I read says to pace yourself, although I have no idea how on earth to even begin doing that!

All the best.
xx

valval

some days you can do more than others it a case of listening to your body usually it before joints get bad i feel worse so listen and try to adjust your life on good days do the extra but try to remember to be nice to your self and do something you enjoy not just those jobs you have been putting off

woodbon

Hi, I know what you mean, its horrible. You need to take as much rest as you can and relax as much as possible, but then I'm sure you know that! Its much easier for me to sit here and say this to you, than do it myself. At the moment I feel in the same boat, but please don't ask me to do the rowing! When the medics tell you to 'pace yourself' it sounds easy, but life dosn't always let you do that.

All any of us can do is to do our best and listen to our body, don't worry about letting people down, if you've promised something you can't do now and try and forget the chores for a while.
Love Sue

salamander

thanks everyone. I didn't realise what a problem it was for you all too. Isn't it frustrating? Will it get better when the mtx kicks in, I wonder?
Hope so!

dollydaydream

sally36 wrote:

thanks everyone. I didn't realise what a problem it was for you all too. Isn't it frustrating? Will it get better when the mtx kicks in, I wonder?
Hope so!

Hi all
I too thought it was just me. I wondered if I was doing something wrong to feel so tired. I take my mtx on a Thursday lunchtime & thought I was just being lazy. The tiredness really gets to you when trying to carry on as "normal" My Rheumy told me the tiredness is part of the RA and also I just found out we RA's are prone to have aneamia that is not made any better by taking extra iron. The folic acid helps but not that much. I've been on meds for a couple of years and still find information regarding Arthur comes in dribs and drabs.
( where on earth does that saying come from? I haven't said it for years)

hope things get a little better for you soon
luv Dolly :shock: :roll:

salamander

thanks Dolly! I too think I am being lazy. It's very hard to know what is causing what. I have to be nicer to myself - but then think am opting out of stuff. Hard to find your way thru all this sometimes!

breane

Hi Sally,I have OA and RA and since being diagnosed I've never felt so tired in all my life. I think the continuous pain causes a lot of the fatigue.I've recently had two steroid jabs and neither has worked.Last year I was on steroid tablets for a month and they gave me back loads of energy.The trouble is even though I'm so tired during the day,I still can't sleep at night due to the pain so the fatigue is always there.When I next see the consultant I will ask if I can go back on the steroid tablets for a short time as a 'quick fix'.A month of good nights sleep would be wonderful! Breane. x

salamander

breane wrote:

Hi Sally,I have OA and RA and since being diagnosed I've never felt so tired in all my life. I think the continuous pain causes a lot of the fatigue.I've recently had two steroid jabs and neither has worked.Last year I was on steroid tablets for a month and they gave me back loads of energy.The trouble is even though I'm so tired during the day,I still can't sleep at night due to the pain so the fatigue is always there.When I next see the consultant I will ask if I can go back on the steroid tablets for a short time as a 'quick fix'.A month of good nights sleep would be wonderful! Breane. x

Hi Breane, thanks so much. I do sleep as I take amitriptyline at night. Perhaps you should get some My steroid jab has worked quite well for my hands but not for my ankles. Don't know why my legs feel as if they've got lead weights attached though.....?

sharmaine

Hi Sally

I won't be able to advise you with regards to MTx as I have OA. However, I understand what you mean about feeling tired with arthur. You are right to rest when you're feling so low.

I hope someone comes up with some better advice and you feel better soon.

Sharmaine

sally36 wrote:

Hi everyone,

I feel so tired lately that I keep thinking I am coming down with flu.
Rheumy said a couple of weeks ago it is the arthritis, I am wondering if it is the Mtx or whether I am getting ill. Even delayed taking mtx this week as thought it was flu for sure but don't have a temperature or anything so took it tonight. Also, am on steroids, which usually pick me up as well as had a steroid jab two weeks ago. Ankles hurt again as well. Just don't know what to do. Decided to try and rest for a couple of days to see if that helped and am ok when I'm at home but as soon as I try and do anything else I feel exhausted. Any ideas?

salamander

thanks Sharmaine, it helps having all your support and also knowing I am not alone in wrestling with this.
xx

lizzie7ne

Hi

fatigue has always been the worst symptom of my RA, the pain is bad enough, but the meds seem to improve that a bit, but never the fatigue, it goes from being there all the time to completley debilitating. My daughter is getting married at the end of May and it worries me how I will get through the day as the fatigue wipes me out, I will go through whatever pain is necessary to see her get married but I am so worried about the fatigue, when the fatigue hits I feel so faint, if I dont lie down I would collapse. Anyone got any ideas on how I can manage it?



lizzie

salamander

hi Lizzie, I expect the adrenaline on the day will get you through but my advice is to prepare as much in advance of the day as you can.
When my sister got married my Mum went back to another of my sister's place between the service and the reception 'to freshen up'. She had a good hour and half between the two so that is how she coped.
Exciting day for you!
xx

valval

lizzie7ne wrote:

Hi

fatigue has always been the worst symptom of my RA, the pain is bad enough, but the meds seem to improve that a bit, but never the fatigue, it goes from being there all the time to completley debilitating. My daughter is getting married at the end of May and it worries me how I will get through the day as the fatigue wipes me out, I will go through whatever pain is necessary to see her get married but I am so worried about the fatigue, when the fatigue hits I feel so faint, if I dont lie down I would collapse. Anyone got any ideas on how I can manage it?



lizzie

if it taking place in a hotel book a room so you can rest for an hour or just get a quiet cup of tea

salamander

good idea val!

caprica

Interesting topic!
Can I ask, did you guys always get fatigue, or has it got worse with time? Or does it come with flare ups?

psyart

Hi - fatigue seems to come and go when it wants to?? Does anyone else find this? I had quite a bad week last week with stress and 'arthur' playing up, so Sat was such a bad day - fatigue hit me big time and I spent the day sat on the settee!! Slept during the morning and slept really well during the night as well!!!! I have found with 'arthur' under control more this year than last year, I dont suffer so much from fatigue but it still hits me hard when it does come!!!

i think its sometimes just listening to our bodies and resting but this can be just as hard and frustrating!! Does that make sense????

Louise

salamander

Yes, I think it does though I've felt exhausted for the past 3/4 weeks. It does seem to correlate with flare ups as am finding walking hard at the moment. I can walk but it feels as if I'm walking in mud so is very tiring. Somebody here said they were told people with arthritis use up a lot more energy. I just find I can't do nearly as much as I used to, not just the pain but the fatigue.

Caprica, I felt like this for quite a few weeks last summer before I got really ill. Kept telling everyone I was coming down with flu but it never really turned into anything. Kept falling asleep on the sofa, that kind of thing. Feel like that again which makes me thing the arthritis is bad in spite of the steroids and mtx (which isn't working yet.)

woodbon

Hi The other week, I saw my doctor and mentioned how tired I get, she said people with OA (me) often get inflammation in some of the joints, which cause the same sort of symptoms as RA. This can cause the general unwell feelings, swelling, and fatigue.

Just thought that it was interesting, as I've been getting swollen and hot red patches on painful joints and they seem to flare for a while before going back to normal achey pains.
The rhuemmy said that OA does have flares from time to time. Not the same as RA, but similar!
I don't know if this is just his opinion or what. But worth knowing about, for us OA sufferers. :?

salamander

woodbon wrote:

Hi The other week, I saw my doctor and mentioned how tired I get, she said people with OA (me) often get inflammation in some of the joints, which cause the same sort of symptoms as RA. This can cause the general unwell feelings, swelling, and fatigue.

Just thought that it was interesting, as I've been getting swollen and hot red patches on painful joints and they seem to flare for a while before going back to normal achey pains.
The rhuemmy said that OA does have flares from time to time. Not the same as RA, but similar!
I don't know if this is just his opinion or what. But worth knowing about, for us OA sufferers. :?

hi Sue, yes, my mother, who was severely disabled with OA, used to get that, especially in her knees. Also, it is something you have to be really careful about if you have a replacement joint as it can mean you have septic arthritis, which can be very serious. The other thing is that lots of people with RA have some OA in their joints too, I believe I have mild OA in my knees as well as inflammatory arthur.