General tiredness, especially at midday

PeggyAnn

Hello..I have just been officially diagnosed with osteoarthritis, although at 75 I have long known I had it because of joint pain..I am now finding myself being tired generally but especially midday..My size is small, I have a good diet, was extremely fit until a year ago when I had some back pain and immobility..It just seems as though the rug has been pulled from under my feet and I can’t get back to how I was..Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank You. Peggy

Janlyn

@PeggyAnn I'm not surprised you are feeling tired if you have pain - it is so debilitating and I imagine is affecting your sleep too, which never helps with feeling your best during the day.

Is it worth you seeing your GP for blood tests to see if you need any supplements? I recently had my surgery delayed due to low haemoglobin and actually found that once on iron tablets I felt so much better in myself. Not only that but some irritating tingling in my legs which seemed to come on with the arthritis was much improved.

Are you on painkillers? I resisted for so long but actually found that once I started on them that I was able to exercise and sleep better.

Maybe just worth a GP appointment to check everything out to give yourself the best chance of feeling well again?

Take care, x

frogmorton

Hi @PeggyAnn Peggy lovely to meet you.

I am so sorry to hear you are struggling so much. I wonder too whether being tired is due to rough nights? To be honest I see no harm at all in having a power-nap if you need one after lunch. I was advised by someone here to set an alarm though so you don't spoil your night time sleep.

There are some nice gentle stretches on here that might help you you know exercise even a little can re-energise us.

https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/full-body-stretching/

I do hope you can get things under control a bit better. 75 is still very young these days.

@Poppyjane is right maybe seeing the Dr is a good idea maybe they can offer some help.

Take care

toni x

Nurina

That's ok to have a nap. It's not a weakness. Apparently the best time is around 1pm and no longer than 40 minutes. Longer than that, you fall in deep sleep and when you wake up you can feel dizzy and grumpy. My mum always slept a short nap after lunch. I don't like naps though but I need them for my surgery recovery and I'm sleeping better at night because I'm not exhausted. I set an alarm and I wake up fresh and rested.

HCAcomm1

Hi Peggy, I feel the same, as though someone as pulled the plug on my energy, so I have a power nap for 30 minutes after lunch, I set an alarm so I don't sleep too long. I find my sleep is disturbed at night so this helps, as pain is also very tiring. As suggested it might be worth speaking to your GP and having your bloods checked. I hope you can feel better soon.

frogmorton

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/718976#Comment_718976

Spot on what you should do! I was advised by someone here many years ago and still take that advice now. Set my alarm or I will sleep too much to sleep at night!

Toni x