any tips to combat tiredness please

kentishlady · 12. Jun 2013, 08:18

Hi everyone. Hope you are all having as good a day as possible. Should love any advice/tips/magic formula for combatting this awful tiredness. As some of you will know, I have OA in my back and right knee plus possible inflammatory arthritis (according to my physio) - the remnants of a frozen left shoulder.

I try and pace myself and have frequent 'sit-downs' whilst doing chores but it seems to be a vicious circle. The awful pain makes me feel tired, sleep is disturbed on a regular basis and therefore the tiredness level builds up. Am now finding I am getting 'tetchy' with myself and it is getting me down. Am sure I am not the only one, so how do you all cope with this? Any ideas and/or advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks a lot.

Beryl

elnafinn · 12. Jun 2013, 08:38

When I have had periods of tiredness I have a nap and then a cup of coffee. I pick up the phone to a friend or relative. Invite someone around for a cuppa. Sometimes if all I want to do is sleep I leave the house, ie go into the garden or into town, go and find a bench to sit on and get absorbed in what is going on around me and this helps me forget my tiredness, crankiness and discomfort.

I hope you feel better soon. It does seem like a vicious circle sometimes.

Elna x

frogmorton · 12. Jun 2013, 08:46

Hi Beryl

A certain someone (above

) advised me to take a nap when I am really tired but set an alarm so I don't oversleep

There just are some days when you can't overcome tiredness. Pacing is good, but also periods of sensible activity like swimming etc.

Do you avoid caffeine later in the day Beryl?? I have banned myself now from it after lunchtime and I am convinced it helps a bit with sleeping at night (most of the time anyway

)

Also make sure you take painkillers before bed and consider asking for slow-release versions so you are not (hopefully) woken in the night by pain.

Love

Toni xx

dreamdaisy · 12. Jun 2013, 09:02

I am permanently tired, I wake tired and go to sleep tired. I cook tired, clean tired, iron tired, watch telly tired, type on here tired and actually cannot remember what it's like to feel alert. I know one thing though - it must be pleasant

I think you are doing all the right things already and the tiredness could be a part of the possible inflammatory arthritis. It is difficult and I do empathise but I can't suggest anything to help. I am sorry. :oops: DD

dave331 · 12. Jun 2013, 10:03

hi

3 months ago , I suffered with tiredness and to an extent still do , you did not mention what medication you are on , but I am on a cocktail of methotrexate , humira , steroids and tramadol , including various calcium boosters and stomach settlers , as I go for monthly blood checks I asked my GP to check my iron levels and my thyroid , my iron was very low due to medication and I am now on a course of iron tablets , 1 a day . it has not cured the prob but has certainly improved it as I am now able to hold up a full time job as a forklift truck driver , I also found out my calcium level was very low due to extensive years on steroids with no break , as a result I am now due for a DXA scan to find out if I have osteoporosis .
in amongst all this I also found myself getting angry with the world , advice , please don't get angry there is nothing left and nowhere to go only down to depression , and in my case divorce , there is no complete answer , this is how I deal with tiredness , hope it is helpful in some way , keep smiling and remember there is no record of anyone getting OR in the teeth so at least we can eat . ps , don't sleep in a chair , its not the same , bed is best .

DebbieT · 12. Jun 2013, 10:44

Hi,

I have Fibromyalgia along with PsA & OA so insomnia & Chronic Fatigue is part of my life whether I like it or not!!

I've tried all of the advice there is, forcing myself to stay awake, only drinking non decaf drinks after 2pm, no tv in the bedroom, etc etc etc Unfortunately my problems aren't & weren't helped by any of the suggestions. Wot did help was actually listening to my body, if I need a nap I take one I've realised it's pointless beating myself up about the things I can't change!! :?

Id say do wot makes you comfortable huni. Good luck.x

villier · 12. Jun 2013, 10:52

Beryl, I'm sorry I am in the same boat, constantly shattered, I eat a healthy diet only drink water and de-caf tea,(oh! and a glass of wine here and there, before SW puts her penithworth in

) like yourself I pace myself doing the chores etc, I can only send you some of these (((()))) and lots of sympathy...........tc............Marie xx

kentishlady · 12. Jun 2013, 10:56

Thanks for all your replies. I will try and take all your advice and tips on board. DD, I know what you mean, it's horrible isn't it. I tend to drink de-caff coffee, but admit I like to have a drink of hot chocolate before I go to bed and maybe I should cut that out. It is a little comfort to know that it is not just me who suffers with such terrible tiredness, but is part and parcel of these various forms of arthur we all suffer from.

Take care all of you.

Beryl

barbara12 · 12. Jun 2013, 11:05

Hello Beryl
The tiredness is hard to deal with, I sometimes have to have a short nap in the afternoon..but like Elna I find sitting in make me feel worse ..so I find things to do outside ..the trouble is with this up and down weather..its not always possible...I wish there was a magic potion...you take care xx

Boomer13 · 12. Jun 2013, 12:15

Hi Beryl;

I have a horrible time with fatigue too but I know I have inflammatory arthritis and it's related to that as well as pain. I struggle along and it's constantly frustrating. I rarely make it being upright for more than an hour. The effects of pain and systemic fatigue seem to be intricately woven; I've never been able to say which was which.

Mine worsens in a cyclic way with flares typical with inflammatory arthritis so you might try keeping track. If there seems to be a pattern you might mention it to your doctor and get tested for inflammatory arthritis. I know huge fatigue was one of the first symptoms of my illness.

Sometimes it gets so bad that everything I try to do is ten times more difficult and I'm snapping & grumpy with everyone & everything. I also get forgetful/can't concentrate, so really can't function anyway. When it's like this, I give myself permission to really rest for a couple of days. It isn't a cure, but does help me feel a little brighter for awhile. It's taken a very long time to finally accept how little I can do without making pain/illness worse.

Cutting out hot chocolate might be worth trying, I know I have to stay away from this at night. As much as I like it, it's as bad as coffee for me. I would echo other comments about time-release pain medications if you don't have these already. These help me get longer periods of night-time sleep. Without them, I'm awake every couple of hours. Once you start feeling severely painful, it takes so long to get it back under control even if you have taken more pain relief.

The only other thing that helps me is lots of fruits and veggies, protein and low carbs in my diet. It helps a bit but sadly, not a cure. I tend not to eat when I'm painful/fatigued so I added a mixed antioxidant/greens powder to my diet to get extra in an easy way. I keep some meal supplements on hand too so I "eat" regularly. It has all helped a little.

Fatigue is one of the hardest things to deal with. I want to fight back and keep going, which is exactly the opposite of what I need to do. Now (mostly) I try to give in, just rest as needed, and give myself little rest "holidays" every now and again. Always feels like I'm wasting my life, and I have so much to do etc., but I try to ignore these thoughts now. Rest is what's needed.

Well I see I've written a very long note here, so I'll stop now.

Hope you find something that works for you. Please let us all know if you do!

Best wishes and healing hugs to you,
(())Anna

dreamdaisy · 12. Jun 2013, 12:32

What sort of hot chocolate do you drink? If it's the instant sort then that may be a culprit because that is full of nasties. I very occasionally fancy one so I buy proper 'full fat' milk and use an organic cocoa powder. :oops: DD

Boomer13 · 12. Jun 2013, 12:47

Thought of one other thing: is your mattress comfortable for you?

I recently switched mine from old, thin and hard to thick, new and med. firm. Again, no cure but it has helped with sleeping better.

kellerman · 13. Jun 2013, 05:18

Hi
I have no advice as I am permanently tired. I do tend to put my feet up during the day for an hour sometimes I nod off but then I find it harder to get to sleep when I go to bed.
I agree with DD that it could possibly be the hot chocolate if its the instant type. When I worked nights we all had a choccy boost about 4 in the morning to keep us going.Sorry I can't be more positive for you.

tkachev · 13. Jun 2013, 09:02

I've been really tired lately. I find a few hours nap here and there help me and Its just enough to take the edge off.I'm afraid I cannot fight tiredness and at least I do sleep nowadays whereas in the past I could never get any shut eye.

Elizabeth

frogmella · 13. Jun 2013, 12:37

Hi Beryl,

When i went on the pain management course I learnt that even though I thought I was pacing, I wasn't. I thought that by getting stuff done on chunks then resting for a bit that I was doing things the best way. Turns out that I wasn't!

The advice is to colour code ALL your activities (fun and not fun ones alike) - Green cause no extra pain
-Amber cause extra pain sometimes
- Red cause pain every time

Then spread red activities through the week and try not to do two reds on any day.

Then we were supposed to approach red and amber activities in little steps with breaks to do stretches, greens etc inbetween.

I found it hard because, like you, I was tired and wanted to get done so that I could have a sleep. I wonder though if it might have resulted in me being less tired overall?

There was also a thing where you "baseline" activities. So do an activity for as long as you can and then halve that time and that is your baseline time for that activity. So I could say sit for 20 minutes max so my baseline was 10 minutes. You were then supposed to work on increasing the amount you did that activity over a few weeks. On a bad day you would halve the number again but keep doing it.

Hey - none of this might help but I just thought I would share it. I have been back to bed for three hours today! Back at work and made to do parents eve on top of 4 hours in school teaching practical lessons on Tuesday. Was definitely too much in one day! So I am not very good at following my own advice!! :oops:

any tips to combat tiredness please

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