Fatigue from doing nothing.

[LMO]

Hi, I just wanted to say I about cried reading this post.. why, I have no idea. I have just felt so alone with this lately. Seems like no matter what I do I just don't have any energy, no matter how much sleep I get. I work and go to school and I have already cut my hours down to 15 and now I am cutting back to 9 hours of work this term. I just can't do it anymore. I haven't even be diagnosed for a year.

I have had problems with fatigue for years and never understood why but lately it seems like it has been the worst. I had one good week when I went on vacation, which I was so thankful for but before that and after I just can't seem to function.

I am losing friends and my grades are suffering because I just can't seem to do anything. The smallest things like returning clothes or dishes seem so difficult. I stopped working out because it seems too hard to change and drive to the gym. I am trying to get back into it but I am failing.

Anyways, I guess I needed to vent a little as it gets frustrating. Makes me feel weak and lazy, which I am not. I have tried Ritalin and it made me have severe anxiety and obsessions and I learned people with OCD should not be on that kind of medication. It made me depressed and angry also. I am afraid to try anything else.

Thanks for listening. I have to hope there will be a light at the end of the tunnel because I do not feel like this is living anymore, just surviving.

[daraslyte]

i know how you feel . I do notice that the fatigue is much worse when i flare up or have a relapse. like today i cleaned my house and i did fine at it but most of the time i dont the energy to do much at all even as little as taking a shower and i have to sit in the shower as it is due to alance issues and it tires me out to take a shower. That may sound wierd but it does. Does that happen to you? Just walking a little ways will also tire me out alot .

[daraslyte]

ms fatigue really stinks

i have to say fatigue with ms really stinks it waste my days . well today i have been ok but im talking when i go through a flare or relapse thats when i get really fatigued. But no matter what heat really tires me out fast showers forget it im down for a while after taking a shower but i have tried luekwarm ones and well you could say it wasnt pleasant that way either.when im fatigued my brain like short circuits and i feel as though im more mentally out there in space or something because my actions and speech etc... is not on earth thats for sure. aynone else feel like this when they get fatigued?

[Lindz28]

daraslyte I can totally relate. Showers and getting ready in the morning exhaust me, I am just ready to go back to bed. I feel when I am fatigued it wastes my day also, it is hard to do house work, homework or even get out of the house. Lately I find myself a prisoner in my own house unless I have to work or go to school, which is starting to be more of a struggle than it used to be.

I get that brain fog too and it is embarrassing when I am trying to talk about something that I know, or have the thoughts and words in my head but I just can't articulate well or I stumble on words and pretty much sound like a idiot. It gets really frustrating.

I found this article about fatigue and really liked it, I sent it to people in my family and I think they finally started to understand a little better. I learned a lot too.

http://www.lamarfreed.net/fatiguems.html

[palmtree]

We seem to all experience this. I used to be a ball of energy. I swam every day and kept my house clean and cooked my own meals and tended a pretty garden.

Since my dx four years ago, I've been in bed most of the time. My apartment looks like someone died four years ago. I kept thinking, 'I'll get around to that when I have the energy'. But the energy never came and there were always more urgent things to do not to mention being drowned in doctors appointments.

So, my apartment has things piled on top of things. So I would never even be able to get to most things because I don't have the strength to lift all the junk in the way.

I wish there was more help,for people with MS. Oh yeah, you can have PT, you can you OT, you can have mental health counseling, but just people to help with all those little things I used to be able to do for myself.

I wish I had some answers for you. I hope it's some comfort that you are not alone.

[timeuponaonce]

Lindz28,

The article your found on fatigue was very interesting.
Thanks for sharing with us!

10 years ago my neuro suggested I go to a sleep specialist and have a sleep study. Found out I had Sleep Apnea. Have used a CPAP machine for many years. Much less fatigue because of this, and for me taking Provigil also helps.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences!

Time

[ejonesbowlie]

Oh how I remember using those energy drinks and the 5 hour energy. This was years before I was officially diagnosed and I was exhausted all the time. I honestly think that after awhile they didn't even work or maybe it was a placebo effect Of course once I was hit with all of my other symptoms the chronic fatigue made perfect sense. I too was the type that I was not going to be perceived as "lazy" so I pushed through it...worked a FT job...exercised everyday....

Now 45 yrs old and post diagnosis, I no longer work, but do try and exercise at least 4 times a week for an hour. A combo of exercise bike/light weights/stretching. I find that for me, it does give me more energy and I just feel better overall. Forget the treadmill considering I have foot drop and "walk like a drunk" more often than not If I am too tired, I just let it go and don't beat myself up over it.

Anyway, I totally get the fatigue. It is never ending....I also realize that everyone is different in how their MS effects them. In 5 to 10 yrs who knows...I may not be able to keep up what I am doing now....hoping I can...but you never know unfortunately.

I hope everyone finds something that works for them in battling the fatigue monster

Beth

[daraslyte]

Im with you on the drunk feeling . Alot of times i wont have the energy to do stuff and when i have a flair up of old symptoms or something new is coming on with a relapse i will always feel drunk.
On the same note with the fatigue and the amount of time that you have felt it ejonesbowlie i remember about 7 years back i started getting fatigued real easy and of course i just chalked it up to stress because i had alot going on then.
As time went on it got worse and i kept telling my doctor and he did testing but nothing ever showed up. But of course he was just testing for the routine stuff he never thought of course to do a nuero exam and mri on me. So i was in and out of doctors for a while needless to say and being told i was depressed etc...
So i started a new job at headstart about 2 years after feeling fatigued and low energy alot and still going in and out of doctors.
Finally after getting a job there i got worse with the fatigue and iy felt like i had cancer because i slept so much and i had alot of other issues.
To make a very long story a little shorter i come down with mono. i had very high levels of the mono spot test and the epstein barr virus in me so im wondering if that didnt show up in lab work but i still was getting the fatigue. So i read on the virus and it says that about 90 percent of the population has the virus i them but not everyone will get mono but i was one of the lucky ones.
I also read more on the eptein barr virus and it said that scientist are trying to link the epstein barr virus in with the multiple sclerosis disease . so what this is means is they are saying that this virus could or maybe cause ms.
They still havent proven it totally yet but im wondering if i didnt have ms before also . I also read that The epstein barr virus is in your body for a while and it can cause no symptoms at first or it can cause minor symptoms. I was for a few years before mono in and out of doctors complaining of being fatigued and low energy and had that off and on as i do now.
The only difference now is i have more symptoms that came on subtle throught out the years and i didnt put 2 and 2 together.
Anyways does anyone one else have any insight to this ? Hae you heard of this happening? And before you was diagnosed with ms do you remember having an illness?
Im just wondering because i have done alot of reading about this.
sorry so long. Please respond if you have any answers im curious.

[Lindz28]

When I was 17 I got very sick on a trip to South Dakota where they were having problems with the West Nile virus. I had mono and got my tonsils out about 4 months prier to this trip so that is why I think I got really sick. I got tested then but it came up negative, well I guess you have to wait several days for an accurate test, maybe they didn't know that back then, 2003 I belive.

My mom was absolutely convinced I had the virus, I was not so much. Well after they did my spinal tap my mom convinced me I should ask the Dr. to check for the virus. It is kind of like mono, once you have it you always do. Well it turned up positive. At some point I had contracted West Nile, which I believe was on my trip when I was 17.

West Nile is like what you were explaining, daraslyte about the eptein barr virus. Most people have it but do not know it because they don't get sick. I was one of the lucky ones who got sick, mostly I think because my immune system was already low. I was a healthy active 17 year old.

I have had fatigue for years and just got dx last year. So far nothing has helped, I drink caffeine but that doesn't do much, I have tried Ritalin but that created more issues then what it was worth. So now I am back to square one. Spending a lot more time alone because I am either too tired to do much or just afraid once I get where I am going I am just going to be working hard to stay awake so usually I just try to keep to myself.

My school work is suffering, and I am down to only 9 hours of work a week. I love to be active but I am just too tired. Pretty much I don't feel like I am living anymore, just merely surviving. I know it could be worse so I should be thankful but I am starting to miss going and doing things and I miss seeing my friends and family etc.

But yeah, that is my story about finding out I had one of those weird viruses.

[daraslyte]

thank you lindz28 for responding to my post . I have been wondering alot about what i mentioned i think i may ask my nuero if i remember. it seems that ms could be triggered by a virus but its not totally proven as of yet i just know the epstein barr virus has been on the table as a possible cause for a while now ecspecially with people with high blood levels of it and mine was.


At any rate i have ms and i guess it has made me want to study more on it so i have been on the ms society website because my nuero told me to look things up on that site if i want to learn more about it so i have.

you should look at the website lindz28 if you havent already i have learned alot from there. Thank you and have a great weekend.

[Lindz28]

Yeah I go on that website pretty frequently. A lot of the time I have to go back to reread what I have already read because I cannot remember what it said. Seems like with all the stress in the past year my memory is going downhill, not suppose to happen at 28

Another good book to get that I reference a lot is MS for Dummies, I think it is only about $15 or so on Amazon, maybe closer to $20, I cannot remember. It is such a complex disease and I believe that book breaks it down really well, and maybe another reason why I keep having to reread. Each time, I feel like I understand just a little bit more.

West Nile and MS actually have a lot of similarities if I remember correctly, and if I remember right the lesions are just in different places or something like that. I cannot remember why my Dr. said it wouldn't be affects of the virus. I do think that the symptoms would have shown up right away though if it was the virus.

It is interesting about the virus connection though, I spent a lot of time looking up and thinking about it too. I finally just gave up because I guess even if there is a connection, not much that can be done now

I have also been in a pretty dark place lately too. Usually try to remain positive but lately it has been getting harder to do. Just so tired I cannot stand it anymore. The weather is changing from Sun to rain and gloomy also so wondering if that has an effect. I live in Oregon and it just gets so depressing during the fall and winter.

But if you come across any interesting articles you should share them, I would not mind reading

[daraslyte]

i agree with you lindz28 theres not much we can do about it with the virus situation. I also know exactly how you feel about your memory mine is the same way .I can do something and within seconds i forget.


Also i understand what you are saying about it being gloomy out and dark i am so fatigued during this time of year its not funny. Also thank you for the info on the book you mentioned you read . I have the same issue as you do i forget what i have read and reread alot so it takes me a while to do so.

Have a good weekend.

[DianeD]

Share with you

I share much the same fatigue symptoms that everyone mentions here. Originally I read that typical MS fatigue begins mid day or later, but mine is 24/7. I get so tired of being tired. Just now I have the flu/bronchitis, so it is even worse.

I feel lucky (imagine that!) that I am older, retired and don't have to work. It must be horrible to have that burden as well as MS! I take Nuvigil for my fatigue. It's no miracle drug though and I feel it becoming less useful. I'm probably becoming resistant to it.

I would imagine you could attribute memory problems to the fatigue issues. People with MS usually do find some variety of memory problems, but it seems to me a lot of that could be the fatigue.

Just want you to know that you are not alone. Wish I had an answer for you (and for me). Diane

[Lindz28]

Diane D, I pretty much have fatigue 24/7 also. Doesn't matter how much sleep I get I am still tired. I kind of figured some of the other issues I am having such as memory is probably caused by lack of sleep. I feel like I could deal with the other symptoms a lot better, pain, numbness etc. if I could just feel rested. That by far has got to be the worst, just always feeling like a gosh dang zombie.

Called Dr. today because she had mentioned a medicine that isn't a stimulant that helps with fatigue. I guess they use it for people who have the flu but found out it gives people energy. I will never try a stimulant ever again. Just hoping my insurance will cover something else. I could not remember if she wanted to wait until after MRI or if I could get the meds and try it now. Would be nice if I could get them sooner rather than later.

Well I hope you feel better, bronchitis and the flu is not a good combination especially with MS.

[cmj123]

Sigh I am getting fatigue now, even posting on these boards just wears me out, I post a few posts then time to rest. I wake up tired.

My legs hurt so bad because they are tired if they would just quit hurting I could go to sleep and they could rest. Legs jerk at night and that just started.

Last night was sitting in my computer chair and so tired I wanted to go lay in my bed, but took me awhile to get up the energy to walk two feet to my bed.

I tired of being Tired, I got things I need to do, I just venting also. It seems things I need to get done take this much energy

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and I have this much

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