Please help me understand fatigue

[todays child]

Hello everyone,

I'm still very new here. I was diagnosed last summer at the age of 42. I haven't had any issues outside of my original flare - other than being constantly cold this winter and having a few blue fingers here and there...other than that, I'm fine. I started Copaxone in December after a bout with Betaseron left my liver none too happy.

So, lately I get these waves of utter exhaustion. I can be driving to work and I have this strong desire to pull over to the side of the road, curl into a ball and sleep. Today I totally slacked off, stayed in bed until 10:00, went grocery shopping and I was wiped. What causes fatigue? Can I combat it by upping my caffeine intake? Gotta love the coffee...

Also, some days I wake up and large areas of my body just ache - left arm, right leg.. like I spent hours at the gym working completely different mussels. Do these things go away?

Thank you so much for any experience you can share.

[SilverLinings]

Hello everyone,

I'm still very new here. I was diagnosed last summer at the age of 42. I haven't had any issues outside of my original flare - other than being constantly cold this winter and having a few blue fingers here and there...other than that, I'm fine. I started Copaxone in December after a bout with Betaseron left my liver none too happy.

So, lately I get these waves of utter exhaustion. I can be driving to work and I have this strong desire to pull over to the side of the road, curl into a ball and sleep. Today I totally slacked off, stayed in bed until 10:00, went grocery shopping and I was wiped. What causes fatigue? Can I combat it by upping my caffeine intake? Gotta love the coffee...

Also, some days I wake up and large areas of my body just ache - left arm, right leg.. like I spent hours at the gym working completely different mussels. Do these things go away?

Thank you so much for any experience you can share.

Fatigue seems to be the one symptom that sticks around for me, even when my other symptoms appear to be calming. I start everyday with a triple shot latte that gets me through most of my day at work. I've also tried Nuvigil but had horrific headaches which was far worse than the fatigue. My doctor switched me to Ritalin which seems to help without the terrible headaches. I only use the Ritalin on really bad days and so far those have been minimal.

I hope you feel better soon!
Silverlinings

[wkikta]

Fatigue, not that you are tired from not enough sleep.
Some days you are just 'bone weary', there is no energy to do anything. After a few years using Amantadine I have switched to Provigil, works pretty good for me. On a good day I do not 'over do it', there will be a cost.

[nappy]

weighted blanket

I was reading about asperger's syndrome and the article was describing a weighted blanket that was used during outbursts. The heavy blanket is used to override the stimuli that was too much for the patient and "ground" them.

I thought that is exactly how I feel sometimes. Like I am trying to get through my day the whole time being under a weighted blanket!

I wonder how heavy the real blankets are? Mine was 100 pounds on some days.

I take Amantadine and have for years. I switched to Provigil for a while then had to switch back.

Coffee is also my friend but I have to watch or it will surely increase my tremors.

Talk to your neurologist. Perhaps they can help you with an Rx.

Take care,
Nappy

[Cat Mom]

I was diagnosed with RRMS in 2005 and completely misunderstood the fatigue symptom. I stupidly thought "I know a thing or 2 about fatigue... after all I had 3 kids (2 years apart) and worked full time when maternity leave was 17 weeks (my kids are now 19, 21 and 24)... then I married for the 2nd time and now also have 3 step-sons, ages 14, 16 and 18." I was soooooooo WRONG about my interpretation of fatigue. If you are able, please listen to your body and rest when it tells you to. I didn't do this at first but at least my family now has a long list of humorous anecdotes involving me and my fatigue, ie. trying to eat to stay awake. Good luck!

[rubberlegs]

I first tryed Provigil, It did work, but not, with out altering my personality, I swiched to Amantadine, and I think it helps a little, at least it dosent change my demeaner.
I always get 8 hrs sleep.

I dont get a set pattern havent noticed any in 10 years fatuige can hit at any moment and does.

If I'm driving I might pull into a coffee shop, WHEN I HAD A JOB, I would get some fresh air or cool air, maybe a cup of joe. IF I'm walking I juset keep going, slower but keep moving forward. after 10 years I have no good working advise, all I ever do is find a way to cope.

[rdmc]

I was reading about asperger's syndrome and the article was describing a weighted blanket that was used during outbursts. The heavy blanket is used to override the stimuli that was too much for the patient and "ground" them.

I thought that is exactly how I feel sometimes. Like I am trying to get through my day the whole time being under a weighted blanket!

I wonder how heavy the real blankets are? Mine was 100 pounds on some days.

I take Amantadine and have for years. I switched to Provigil for a while then had to switch back.

Coffee is also my friend but I have to watch or it will surely increase my tremors.

Talk to your neurologist. Perhaps they can help you with an Rx.

Take care,
Nappy

I've always described it as wearing around one of those lead dental shields they put on you before they take dental x-rays. Heavy blanket is definitely accurate for what I feel.

[Shashi]

Hi,

There are two anti-oxidant supplements which many have had good results with in battling fatigue, acetyl L-carnitine (ALC) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA). University studies have actually shown them to be as or more effective than Amantadine in combating the fatigue from MS, chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, aging, etc.

I have been taking 1,000 mg. of ALC and 200 mg of ALA daily (about half of the dosage used in the clinical studies) since September of 2009 and have had fantastic results (except for the past two weeks, when I've been in a bad flare and have had a bad spell of exhaustion.)

I used to be so fatigued that just combing my hair was exhausting. If I went out shopping, I could only go to one store, and even then, I had to use the electric cart to even make it. My arms and legs felt like they weighed 200 lbs. each. It was awful.

Since using these supplements every morning, that kind of fatigue is very rare. Now, I can go to multiple stores and walk through them on my own. I can go hiking with my grandchildren and work 12 hour days with no problem. These two supplements have been amazing for me and have given me my life back.

If you do want to try them, be sure to check with your doctor first, especially if you have any thyroid problems or diabetes (they can increase the effectiveness of medications used to treat those conditions, so adjustments to the dosages might be needed.)

Also, keep in mind that it can sometimes take up to a month to feel the full effects of the meds. Also, if you aren't getting results at the dosage that I am, try increasing it up to 1,000 mg twice a day, which is the dosage used in the clinical trials. (Link to the info on the study is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14759641)

By the way, check out the post I started on the nutrition board at this link to read other people's experience with these two supplements: http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=100794

Good luck and hugs,

Lisa

[0485c10]

There kind be different kinds of fatigue--mental fastgue when you think about something deeply and motor fatigue, fatigue by the type of walking you doing--just walking and walking in a crowd requiring adjusting speed, stopping or turning, fatigue cause buy using hands--so fatigue at times can be confusing where it came from when it seemed you were working just as hard yesterday, but were not nearly as tired--it might be just the different things you did yesterday that didn't affect where your MS was..

also described as lassitude.

search on fatigue on nmss site.

the 3rd one down is interesting..what you should know looks interesting .

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/sea...start=0&num=20

[todays child]

Perfect!!! Thanks for the help everyone. This is spot on.

[Thinkimjob]

Like treading water in treacle.

[DianeD]

Bravo to all...

This is without a doubt the best description of MS fatigue ever; particularly the one about wearing the shield they put over you in x-ray. Whew!

[donnainct]

I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT CAUSES FATIGUE IN MS BUT, I TAKE PROVIGIL DAILY I THINK IT HELPS. I NOTICE MY FATIGUE IS AT IT'S WORSE DURING A RELAPSE.