Fatigue. Advice please

Clare71

Hi everyone. I'm 52 and was only diagnosed in late July so very new to this. Feeling very low as in bed for the 3rd day in a row unable to shake off overwhelming fatigue. Sleeping more than being awake in the day, despite sleeping all night. Any tips on how to hasten a recovery and/or to avoid this happening in the first place please? I have a suspicion it was staying up too late at the weekend. Not used to the idea of having to pace myself. Worried about how I will ever be able to work normally again. Thanks so much.

annabanana

Hi @Clare71 , first of all I would like to welcome you to the Online Community 😊.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with fatigue; it is a very common symptom of arthritis, but (as we all know) that doesn't mean that it is easy to deal with. It very well could be from staying up too late over the weekend, but could it also be due to the weather getting colder? Many people find that the colder months' temperature and also lack of sunlight makes them more fatigued, but of course this varies from person to person.

I have attached a few links about fatigue, which may be worth having a read through, I got recommended the "Managing Fatigue" article by my rheumatologist and I found it to be quite helpful. I hope things improve for you!

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2022/april/5-ways-to-help-with-fatigue/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-fatigue/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/august/the-boom-and-bust-cycle-and-fatigue-your-questions-answered/

TiredWarrior

Fatigue is really difficult to deal with but it forces you to pace yourself.

I remember when I initially started getting the extreme fatigue I crashed my car 3 times into walls before I learnt to listen to warnings my body was giving.

When you start feeling tired, drop everything and get rest. Recovery is then within 6 hours otherwise it can take days.

I warned my family, friends and colleagues about what to expect. I also cut down my hours and worked part time.I stopped driving if tired and also did not drive more than 5 miles from home.

Sleep routine was also really important. Also not missing meals

You will need to find your own solutions. If affecting work - apply to “access to work” and they will help

Clare71

Thanks so much for the tips. I will read the article.

That is a brilliant tip TiredWarrior, I will try to act on it. I can now see where I went wrong, as I was already tired but pushed through and then was picked up by chatting with friends and so didn't listen to my body any more. I

I can see this is going to be a hard lesson to learn.

TiredWarrior

@Clare71 it really is a hard lesson to learn and heed especially when having fun - which is why it affected me more on holidays

I would tell myself - I won’t have this much fun again and so it’s worth it.
It really isn’t

Over the years my family have learnt to watch out too and my kids will tell me that it’s mummy’s bedtime now 😂

Baloo

@Clare71 you have to do what you normally do to recover and wait it out.

Preventing is another story if you can identify physical and mental moods that you normally experience and spot which ones are signs that your going to be fatigued, and get them under control sooner. A big one for me is anxiety, the longer it goes on unchecked the sooner I will be totally whacked out by it. The problem with these moods is they seem perfectly normal at the time, and we live with them, when in fact they are signs we are not entirely on the good side of ok.

I once gave all my physical and mental moods a feel happy rating adding up from 1 to 10 and started to avoid the small numbers. Everyone is different, mine was Productivity (7), Happiness (4), Freshness (1), Nothing (0). // Optimism(3), Indecision(2), Anxiety (1).

Productivity and optimism would be 10. Freshness and Anxiety would be 2.

Clare71

@TiredWarrior Can definitely identify with the "I won't have this much fun again". It's definitely not worth it. Still crashing today and not really knowing what to do. Had a shower and that did me in. Finding myself fearful of trying to be active now - which I'm guessing in itself is likely to make me feel more fatigued? Plus anxious about work.

Thanks so much for the advice.

Clare71

@Baloo Thanks so much. Will work on identifying the warning signs before it's too late. Think it's going to be a hard lesson to learn.