How do you know if your fatigue is MS-related?

[hope32]

Just curious; how do you know when your fatigue is related to MS as opposed to not enough sleep, maybe dietary issues, nutritional imbalances, etc.?

[misslux]

MS fatigue is totally different from anything I have experienced. It is like flu fatigue -- no energy, nerves don't fire properly. Starts with my back feeling scrunched and then my body just stops working. It isn't anything close to feeling tired from not enough sleep, at least for me.

Also, I get my blood checked every year. No deficiences.

[Fed Up]

Because I would not be sitting if I could do anything else.

Mostly, MS fatigue does not make me sleepy. I even quit using mmj to see if that was the cause. Took a sleep study=not that; eat a proper diet and take proper supplements.. What else could it possibly be? MS fed

[misslux]

Fed up, same here. My fatigue has never been the sleepy kind.

[sbates]

Because it never goes away no matter how much sleep you get.....

[Alicious]

Mine sounded just like traditional MS fatigue, but it turns out it was depression related. I treated that, and voila! Normal energy levels.

That's not to say it's the solution for everyone, but I suspect it is at least a compounding factor for many people. It may be worth investigating.

[TomD]

Fatigue Nobody Understands

Hi Everyone, I have been reading the comments made by others about MS Fatigue. All I can say is that nothing I have taken helped. I spoke to my Neurologist and asked if he could increase my dosage of medication for energy. He said I was taking the legal maximum dosage.

Am doing much better now that I am off that drug. I am not glad that others have felt like I have, but it is 'good' to see that others can validate my experience with fatigue.

[Cat Mom]

Fed & misslux, mine is not the sleepy kind either.

Whole body feels heavy and there is no second wind if I plod on, just get more fatigued.

Jen

[odd duck]

Fatigue vs. Lassitude

I'm a relative newbie diagnosed 12/1/12 and still getting the hang if this. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder for years because I was so tired all the time. I disputed the depression because I wanted to do things but I was just so tired I couldn't. But I also have bouts if lassitude. That bone crushing tired that makes your head hurt, your a little nauseous, you can't stay awake, you try but you walk around in a brain fog. I've gone as much as two weeks sleeping 18 hours a day. My neuro wrote me a prescription for Provigil to use during those times of lassitude however Medicare refuses to cover it and the generic cost is almost $1000 for 30 pills. I guess I'll just sleep.

[TRIOCAT]

Ritalin

Hey Odd Duck. I know Provigil is $$$, but have you tried Ritalin? It's really cheap, and if you use it only when you need it, you don't build up tolerance very fast. It makes you feel awake, but not wired-up. It is considered a cns-stimulant instead of an amphetamine like Adderall.

[Thinkimjob]

It's not "don't want to do anything" tiredness or lassitude (like that word), it's "can't do anything".

I know the garden needs watering and I'd like to go outside and do it, but the effort of moving is too much sometimes. And I know the legs like lead are due to nerve damage.

Even sitting in a chair is tiring, which is completely insane.

[Portia]

My fatigue is that bone-crushing tiredness that others describe it as. Never makes me sleepy either. Sometimes, most of the time, it is short-lived. I will be puttering around the house on the weekend feeling just fine and suddenly I have to sit down. Can't move, can't even hold a book to read. Head, arms, legs must weigh a ton.

This may last an hour or a few hours, but then it lifts. After an episode of fatigue, I won't have the normal energy I am used to, but at least I can function again. I had two or three months when the fatigue hit me pretty often, like a few days a week every week. Lately, the past month or so, I've not had to deal with it as much.

[hunterd]

I always describe my fatigue as "it feels like I ran into a brick wall" or I will tell people "imagine running through the woods and running flush into a tree". My fatigue is MS related, after all the testing I am fairly confident in saying that.

[MSwhileOverseas]

I know mine is MS fatigue because it started with my first recognizable flare. My fatigue is more of a mental fatigue. I can't think straight, it's hard to move because it seems like my brain can't tell my body what to do. Just having a conversation is exhausting!

[amyrising]

My fatigue is much different than being tired. I feel like someone has hooked a vacuum up to my body and sucked every last bit of energy from my body. It makes me too tired to even cry. I just lay still for a while and let my reserves build back up. Then I can move from one couch to the other