bam! out of nowhere...fatigue

[meeegun]

i was pretty sleepy after work on wednesday. by 1030pm i could barely keep my eyes open sitting on the couch. i called it a night and slept about 10 hours. yesterday i felt pretty good, ran a bunch of errands. nothing strenuous. slept well last night and woke up ok but by about 10 am i was like a zombie. i drove to my g/f's work and i was about to get out of the car and felt like i was spinning. head feels like i have a bit of a cold, just fuzzy. i dropped her off at the airport and spent the rest of the day on the couch.

i feel like i am made of lead! hoping that i feel better tomorrow--i work the next three days and i will need a doctors note to avoid being written up for calling in sick on a holiday. ugh. i have been drinking caffeinated tea all day long. i know thats not good but its basically the only thing keeping me awake (there is another word i want to use but i can't think of it!). full-on cog fog and body fatigue over here...

i know that there is not a rhyme or reason for this and it probably has nothing to do with what i did or did not do, but what do you all do to feel better when you get like this? medications? wait for it to pass? exercise?

[Bob698]

If you're in North America, its very possible you may have caught a cold or flu.
I don't recall if you're on a DMD but mine has changed how I react if I catch one. I don't get things like sore throats or congestion as much but the Blahs and feeling dog-tired is still there.
Maybe give it a couple of days and see if you're feeling better?

[meeegun]

hi bob,

i am one of those ms'ers who never gets sick. as in, the last time i had a bona fide fever and flu-like illness was when i was 19. i'm 31. i had shingles in april and didn't even get flu like symptoms then. no pain either just itching (yes i consider myself extremely lucky for that!) i do have a sore throat and in the past i have had these transient episodes of slightly sore throat and full-fledged fatigue (which is what i always considered *my* version of a cold). i guess its possible.

i'm not so much wondering about the cause, more just what to do about it since its a weekend (and christmas at that) and i am scheduled to work and feel too crappy to even get off the couch to do my shot. i just started copaxone under a month ago and thats the only med or supplement i am taking at the moment. ugh. maybe i'll just call it a night and hope i feel better in the morning.

[jumpinjiminy]

Sounds like how I feel before a two-day sleep binge. I've noticed recently that icing the back of my neck can help perk me up when the afternoon slump comes along. But with that level of fatigue it's not as effective. I did ice a few times yesterday and am a bit better today. I quit icing over the weekend and have been feeling really sluggish ever since. Even the 100mg of provigil wasn't enough to get me up and going.

Good luck with this. Sometimes exercise can work for a few hours, but there is a price to pay for it later for pushing beyond the barrier. I'd try the ice before the exercise if you're already pushing.

[candycane]

sleep binge?

jumpinjiminy you mentioned two-day sleep binge. I've been struggling with sleeping SO MUCH the last couple of weeks. Any clue what this can be from? It happened in the summer too (then went away)
I hope everyone enjoys the holidays

[meeegun]

thanks jiminy, next time i feel like that i will give the ice on the neck a try. i am hesitant about exercise too because even when i am not feeling like lead i always get sleepy after i work out. today i feel much, much better. i was caught off guard yesterday with how the fatigue seemed to come out of nowhere! i made it through work today and immediately got into my pj's! hehe. still going to take it easy today.