Help! Fatigue

lostgrl85

My fatigue has been so bad lately, I don't know how I even function anymore, so exercise is totally out of the picture. I started working a full time job sometime in February, and it has done nothing but wipe me out. My first week I managed my workouts, but starting week 2, I was just too tired to care about anything anymore. I can tell I'm not all there, and I'm guessing it has to be from the fatigue. I actually let a customer leave without paying $800 of their bill and didn't even realize it until maybe an hour later when it just randomly popped into my head. I don't make these kind of mistakes. I never have, so this is really out of the ordinary for me. As time goes on, the fatigue only manages to get worse. Now I feel like I'm in a daze most of the day, and even on the weekends, no amount of sleep changes anything. All I ever want to do is sleep anymore. Nothing else matters. I made some amazing gains in my mobility last year by working out regularly and in such a short period of not working out, every single thing I gained is now gone, so it's hard for me to get around again. This is not acceptable.

When I last saw my neuro, he gave me an rx for Nuvigil. It did absolutely nothing for the fatigue and only made me feel sick and weird, so I quit taking it. I've taken Amantadine in the past and it did nothing. I've also tried acetyl carnitine/alpha lipoic acid in the past and again, nothing. Cutting back on work hours is not an option either, unless I somehow manage to get approved for SSDI, and even if that did happen, I don't even have a hearing date yet, so that won't be any time in the near future.

Has anyone else gone through such horrible fatigue that you don't even know how you make it through each day? Is there anything else I could try? I'm desperate! I can't keep going on like this.

psmd

Hi sorry to hear about your fatigue! I get fatigued a lot too, and actually it was an issue for years before I was ever diagnosed. I did take Ritalin for 6 years ago, I recently stopped because we are trying to conceive. If you're sensitive to medications you might be sensitive to this too though. My doctor also recommended light therapy, so I recently purchased a light box from amazon. I can't tell if it's working yet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009MFUWC/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My neurologist has recommended yoga as well, and said force myself to go even if I'm tired. Also I sleep a lot more now, maybe 9 hours a night, that helps a lot. As does coffee and tea in the morning/early afternoon. Good luck!

mapgeek

OMG YES!
Every person is different and every person with MS is even more different, but...
Have you had your vitamin d levels checked? (Someone else suggested B vitamins as well.) I had them checked and I was deficient. While a light therapy box might help, if they are too low you might need supplements. Mine were low and (and wouldn't come up with OTC Vitamin D) that I was prescribed huge doses. Complete turn around in my fatigue levels. Do I still get fatigued? Yes, but not as long and not as tired.
Also, counter-intuitive to fatigue, you might need some exercise to get past it. Try going for a short walk. That may revive you.
And sleep is vitally important.

Demi510

Same boat! I take 6000 IU of Vitamin D on workday mornings, and I feel better...so I started taking them on the weekends too. I'm pretty sure it's doing something (even if it's a placebo effect, I could care less!). I also MAKE myself go to yoga too and what a difference that makes. I feel like I've taken a pain pill after!
I take Tramadol once a day, Godsend for me. My neuro put me on Provigil annnddd...it really did nothing. Mostly made me weird too. And gave me insomnia.


Yeah, counter-intuitive, but a 30 minute walk does wonders for me when I feel like I'm about to pass out.
Everyone is different, but I'm glad I'm not the only one with these issues!

sugarlips1980

Hi, sorry to hear about your problems with fatigue. I experienced that crushing fatigue no matter how much you slept feeling 10 years ago when I first got ill, but I'm full of beans now! I follow the teachings of Prof. Jekinek: http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org

Of course I can never say 100% that I'm so well because of the diet/lifestyle, perhaps I'd have had it mild anyway. But the science makes sense to me and I know I feel good and I'm medication free.

Good luck.