Fatigue!

taylor04
taylor04 Member Posts: 18
edited 12. Feb 2013, 14:21 in Living with Arthritis archive
Hi all!
Just wondering if anyone has found anything that has helped overcome the fatigue that comes with RA? Whether it be a particular medication or an alternative/supplementary treatment?
Feel like I could sleep all day at the moment :o
Thanks!

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    This crops up again and again and again. There is no remedy as such apart from listening to your body and resting when needed. The fatigue indicates that the RA is having a snap at you (it can do this regardless of the meds) and can often be part of payback if you've overdone things. Pacing oneself is necessary but if it hits hard then it has to be acknowledged - trying to work through it just aggravates matters. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • lizzy100
    lizzy100 Member Posts: 235
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    get your ferritin levels checked, and eat iron rich foods- watermelon. otherwise cant do much.
  • DebraKelly
    DebraKelly Member Posts: 398
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    This is something something I suffer from a lot .

    I usually take a vitamin B tablet and have some peanuts.
    It doesn't get rid of it, but it does help.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Fatigue is part and parcel of RA and learning to handle it is very important.

    I was once told by my rheumatologist that low iron levels were characteristic of the disease and also a by-product of the meds we take for it :roll: Hence the importance of regular blood tests. If there is a problem it will be picked up on straight away. If not, it's just a matter of learning when and how you can push your body and when you must give in to its demands.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • suzygirl
    suzygirl Member Posts: 2,005
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I try and eat fresh spinach & watercress to keep my iron and B vitamin levels up. Just add to soups and blend, no need to cook. I also add spinach to curries etc.
  • kentishlady
    kentishlady Member Posts: 809
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I suffer from this too and have OA. It really gets to you at times, doesn't it and you wonder if you are ever going to have enough energy to do what you want and/or need to do. I think it may partly be to do with the constant pain which obviously wears you down and I also think that the meds we take don't help with it either in that respect.

    Like the tips about peanuts and melon. Will try that and will also get some Vitamin B to see if that helps.

    All I can suggest is that you rest until you are feeling a little more like doing anything. That's what I have to do.

    Hope you will feel a little better soon.

    Beryl
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    The iron in spinach isn't well absorbed by the body due to the oxalic acid content(which also causes problems with calcium absorption). Pumpkin seeds are said to be a good iron source.
  • jillyb1
    jillyb1 Member Posts: 1,725
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Plenty of rest and sleep when possible , nothing else really works . Jillyb
  • mrsshamps
    mrsshamps Member Posts: 2
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have recently been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and just joined Arthritis Care. The steroid injection has started work so for the first time in a long time my discomfort is reducing. I can't get on top of the fatigue and it's getting me down, I think I was expecting miracles from the steroids. I am going to start methortrexate once I get back from holiday does any of this make the fatigue better? thanks
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    mrsshamps wrote:
    I have recently been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and just joined Arthritis Care. The steroid injection has started work so for the first time in a long time my discomfort is reducing. I can't get on top of the fatigue and it's getting me down, I think I was expecting miracles from the steroids. I am going to start methortrexate once I get back from holiday does any of this make the fatigue better? thanks

    Hello mrsshamps. I don't think we've 'met' before so welcome from me. Mine is RA but there's plenty of PsA about on here and the treatments are much the same.

    I'm glad your steroid jab is helping. They work well for me, too, though not for everyone. And methotrexate has worked well for me for about 12 years now.

    The fatigue is really part and parcel of the disease. It is, however, much worse when we're flaring so, with the help of the steroids and the methotrexate, with luck, yours should soon be reduced. However, we do have to learn how to pace ourselves and not overdo things. And then, when we have overdone things :roll: to make allowances for that next day. The two worst things you can do are (i)pretend all is well and carry on as before and (ii)assume all is far from well and do very little. The boring middle way is where it's at :wink:

    Enjoy your holiday :D
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • mrsshamps
    mrsshamps Member Posts: 2
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks, it's nice to know there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Has been quite a shock for me to be diagnosed although I have had symptoms for sometime. It's also nice to know that methortrexate has done you well. It is all very scary reading to start with! I am beginning to understand that if it works for me it could be good news. Have you been on it constantly for 12 years or do you have rest breaks?
    Thanks so much for responding it's been a bit of a week!

    :?
  • salamander
    salamander Member Posts: 1,906
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    My rheumy nurse says the fatigue is because your body is fighting inflammation and disease and not necessarily linked to iron levels. Certainly not in my case as iron levels high even though I am a veggie. As someone further up the thread think it was DD, you have to pace yourself and rest when you can.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I think all the DMARDS seem daunting at first but we are on very low doses and, as long as we are sensible about our blood tests, any potential problems will be picked up early.

    Yes, I've been on it for 12-13 years without a break except for a few weeks when I had a THR and, later, a knee revision. I don't want 'rest breaks' cos I like what it does for me :D
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright