What can I do about feeling so tired?
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Nada_2021
Posts: 31 Member
Hey ladies, I'm not sure if all women with PCOS have the same issue but I feel so tired and fatigue every day for almost all day. I just wanna lay down and sleep. I Sleep enough, 9-12 hours and I don't stay up late or things like that. I also eat healthy, plenty to veggies and fruits. I don't know what to do about feeling this exhausted, its effecting my motivation to exercise and that doesn't help my weight loss. Any advice, tips?
Thanks
Thanks
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Replies
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This is SUCH a catch-22. Because the best way to fix the fatigue is to lose weight, but it's so hard to lose weight because of the fatigue.
But there is a bit of good news. Ten percent seems to be a turning point for women with PCOS. No matter where you start, losing 10% of your body weight is often key in getting your cycle to normalize and minimizing some of the symptoms. For me, this turned out to be true. I started at 283, and once I lost about 27 pounds, my energy increased, my cycle improved, my skin got clearer, etc.
Also, relieving stress relieves fatigue. While you're working to lose the weight, here are some other things you could try:
1) Make sure you stay hydrated, get good quality nutrition, and keep your carb count low.
2) Take a good Vitamin B complex. Vitamin B is important for stress, not just emotional stress, but also metabolic and physiological stress, like improper nutrition or inadequate sleep or whatever. Lots of people are deficient without knowing it. Stress sucks energy, so handling stress well improves energy.
3) And even though the fatigue can feel soul-crushing, try to make sure you stay active, and try to get a bit of fresh air and sunshine every day.
4) Keep your living spaces uncluttered (including background TV noise, and all screen time). Leave time for quiet and calm. It's surprising how much energy and stress we expend just filtering out unnecessary sensory clutter.
5) Lastly, I had really good luck with an Adrenal Fatigue herbal combo that I got from the health food store (another friend with PCOS recommended it). It's not that it increased my energy so much, but it decreased that sort of background anxiety/stress that you don't even really notice until it goes away and you realize what a difference it makes.
I hope some of this is helpful to you, and best of luck!0 -
I second the advice above, and have a few other things to consider:
1. I've read a few women online say they got their energy back by going low carb. This probably has to do with the fact that simple carbs loaded with sugars are cut out, like white bread, candy, and soda. I am not low carb, but I do eat gluten free so I never have cookes, cakes, breads, etc. Excess sugars can make you feel tired and sluggish.
2. NO soda, coffee, tea, etc. You think it may be helping you have more energy to do things, but it's a very short term solution. Water is best.
3. Milk thistle to help liver function. Many women with PCOS experience a slow or sluggish liver, which may contribute to being tired. Cut down on alcohol too if you're a drinker.
3. Cinnamon supplement, bonus if you can get one with chrominum, I got mine at GNC. It will help your body process sugar.
4. Vitex, or chasteberry. It's helped me so much.
5. Evening primrose oil.
6. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It doesn't have to be difficult, it can just be a walk around the block.
7. MORE GREEN VEGGIES! These will help soooo much with your energy levels.
8. A natural progesterone cream, I got mine on Amazon. It's advertised for women with menopause, but I use it to help with my PCOS. I just rub a teaspoon or two on starting two weeks before I plan to have my period. If you do decide to take this, start tapering down on it once you start losing weight, and wash your hands thoroughly before touching anyone else after you rub it on.0 -
I have felt tired for so many years! I completely know what you are saying! I finally found out about low carb and that has been the only thing that has helped me! I started out with a Low GI (http://www.livestrong.com/article/226671-pcos-low-glycemic-diet/) and later progressed to very low carb. (http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf). Each stage made me feel so much better! I actually want to get up and take a walk, or clean the house, or do the laundry (want might be a strong word here...have the energy to do the laundry might be better lol).
The best thing you can do is experiment and find the carb load where you feel the best! For me, I feel the best when on the very low carb diet (fewer than 20g/day) but I can lose weight if I am under 50g/day and I gain weight if I am over 75g/day. I found this by just staring to lower my carbs and up my fat intake slowly over time. Many women can lose as long as they are under 100g/day others, 150g/day. Just find what works for you.
Fruit, for most people is great! For PCOS women it can be just as bad as cakes, breads and cookies. Low glycemic fruits are much better, like berries. I hope you start feeling better soon!0 -
This is SUCH a catch-22. Because the best way to fix the fatigue is to lose weight, but it's so hard to lose weight because of the fatigue.
But there is a bit of good news. Ten percent seems to be a turning point for women with PCOS. No matter where you start, losing 10% of your body weight is often key in getting your cycle to normalize and minimizing some of the symptoms. For me, this turned out to be true. I started at 283, and once I lost about 27 pounds, my energy increased, my cycle improved, my skin got clearer, etc.
Also, relieving stress relieves fatigue. While you're working to lose the weight, here are some other things you could try:
1) Make sure you stay hydrated, get good quality nutrition, and keep your carb count low.
2) Take a good Vitamin B complex. Vitamin B is important for stress, not just emotional stress, but also metabolic and physiological stress, like improper nutrition or inadequate sleep or whatever. Lots of people are deficient without knowing it. Stress sucks energy, so handling stress well improves energy.
3) And even though the fatigue can feel soul-crushing, try to make sure you stay active, and try to get a bit of fresh air and sunshine every day.
4) Keep your living spaces uncluttered (including background TV noise, and all screen time). Leave time for quiet and calm. It's surprising how much energy and stress we expend just filtering out unnecessary sensory clutter.
5) Lastly, I had really good luck with an Adrenal Fatigue herbal combo that I got from the health food store (another friend with PCOS recommended it). It's not that it increased my energy so much, but it decreased that sort of background anxiety/stress that you don't even really notice until it goes away and you realize what a difference it makes.
I hope some of this is helpful to you, and best of luck!
Thats great news! I did feel much better after I lost my firs 21 pounds and kept it off, but I guess now I need another 10%
Thank you for all the tips! They've been real helpful
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I second the advice above, and have a few other things to consider:
1. I've read a few women online say they got their energy back by going low carb. This probably has to do with the fact that simple carbs loaded with sugars are cut out, like white bread, candy, and soda. I am not low carb, but I do eat gluten free so I never have cookes, cakes, breads, etc. Excess sugars can make you feel tired and sluggish.
2. NO soda, coffee, tea, etc. You think it may be helping you have more energy to do things, but it's a very short term solution. Water is best.
3. Milk thistle to help liver function. Many women with PCOS experience a slow or sluggish liver, which may contribute to being tired. Cut down on alcohol too if you're a drinker.
3. Cinnamon supplement, bonus if you can get one with chrominum, I got mine at GNC. It will help your body process sugar.
4. Vitex, or chasteberry. It's helped me so much.
5. Evening primrose oil.
6. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. It doesn't have to be difficult, it can just be a walk around the block.
7. MORE GREEN VEGGIES! These will help soooo much with your energy levels.
8. A natural progesterone cream, I got mine on Amazon. It's advertised for women with menopause, but I use it to help with my PCOS. I just rub a teaspoon or two on starting two weeks before I plan to have my period. If you do decide to take this, start tapering down on it once you start losing weight, and wash your hands thoroughly before touching anyone else after you rub it on.
I'll make sure I get enough green veggies. I'm sure I'm not having enough. The whole low carb is interesting me! I will defenitly start paying attention to how much carb I eat and start lowering that. Thank you so much! But what do you mean by evening primrose oil? What do I do with it?0 -
I have felt tired for so many years! I completely know what you are saying! I finally found out about low carb and that has been the only thing that has helped me! I started out with a Low GI (http://www.livestrong.com/article/226671-pcos-low-glycemic-diet/) and later progressed to very low carb. (http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf). Each stage made me feel so much better! I actually want to get up and take a walk, or clean the house, or do the laundry (want might be a strong word here...have the energy to do the laundry might be better lol).
The best thing you can do is experiment and find the carb load where you feel the best! For me, I feel the best when on the very low carb diet (fewer than 20g/day) but I can lose weight if I am under 50g/day and I gain weight if I am over 75g/day. I found this by just staring to lower my carbs and up my fat intake slowly over time. Many women can lose as long as they are under 100g/day others, 150g/day. Just find what works for you.
Fruit, for most people is great! For PCOS women it can be just as bad as cakes, breads and cookies. Low glycemic fruits are much better, like berries. I hope you start feeling better soon!
That was really helpful, thanks I'm really new to eating healthy while being aware of my PCOS, so thanks for mentioning the fruit thingy. 0 -
Evening Primrose Oil comes in a liquid or in a gel-cap. You can find it in a health food store. It's an Omega-3 fatty acid, which I'm sure you've heard about. Fish oil is a more common form of Omega-3 fatty acids, but Evening Primrose Oil is one plant-based option, and is considered more helpful to many women with hormonal issues.
Omega-3 fatty acids are good for many things: joints, brain, heart, skin, etc. You can google that on it's own. When I worked in the vitamin aisle at whole foods, I asked our resident vitamin guru if there was anything we sold that EVERYBODY could benefit from. She said: Omega 3 fatty acids.
I'm not sure this will have much impact on your low energy issue, but it certainly can't hurt, and will probably benefit you in lots of ways.0 -
1. I've read a few women online say they got their energy back by going low carb. This probably has to do with the fact that simple carbs loaded with sugars are cut out, like white bread, candy, and soda. I am not low carb, but I do eat gluten free so I never have cookes, cakes, breads, etc. Excess sugars can make you feel tired and sluggish.
THIS! I feel 10x better when I strictly adhere to a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet. When I cheat and eat a bunch of carbs, all I want to do is curl up into a ball and sleep. I feel amazing eating low carb, and recommend it to anyone with PCOS / insulin resistance.0 -
I have been really tired as well as of late. I just made the realization that my diet has not been the best these past few weeks. It's not horrible but I have some extra sweets in my diet. I am postive that is causing my exhustion and that I need to stop with the sweets.
So I suggest focusing on your diet (just like I need to do again) and see if you can boost your energy level but eating the right kinds of food.0 -
My naturopath helped me get my energy back by putting me on iron supplements for two months. According to my blood work, I wasn't "deficient", but at the low end of the scale. I can't believe the difference it has made. I can make it through a normal day without falling asleep on the couch at 7pm. I can get up without hitting snooze for an hour. I don't need to sleep for 10 hours a night anymore. I feel great!0
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Personally, the birth control I was taking was a BIG reason for why I was so tired all the time. I think the hormone balance was off and besides being chronically tired, I was always hungry. So I ate which, in turn, made me tired blah,blah, blah. I've been off the pill for over a month now and have noticed a definite change in my energy levels. This might not work for everyone, but if you're on the pill, it might be something to consider.0
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so I have a number of issues besides PCOS that contribute to feeling tried all the time:
PCOS
Low Iron
Low vit B12
Low vit D
hypothyroidism
You may want to see if you are having issues in other areas of your body including low vit and minerals. These things can cause you to feel tired. Before I started taking meds and or injections for all the above listed things if I didnot have anything that I had to be up for I could easily sleep 18 hours a day, also during high stress times you tend to be more tried too. Doing things to relieve stress can be helpful......exercise can help relieve stress and added bonus help with weight loss. Also get a copy of your labs......often times a dr will say you are good even if you are at the low end of normal........VIt B12 has a wide range that one can be in so if you are at the low end I would ask about getting a shot like once a month or so....most Docs don't have an issue with it0 -
It may just be winter. People aren't exposed to the sun as much and there isn't as much sun during the day. Start taking vitamin D3 and calcium, if your calcium is low you can't absorb the vitamin D as well. Or start tanning.
Remember that an object in motion stays in motion while an object at rest stays at rest.
I had to force myself to get up and out of bed or I will just sleep 18 hours on my days off. I find that once I am up I am fine for the day. Hope this helps!0 -
so I have a number of issues besides PCOS that contribute to feeling tried all the time:
PCOS
Low Iron
Low vit B12
Low vit D
hypothyroidism
You may want to see if you are having issues in other areas of your body including low vit and minerals. These things can cause you to feel tired. Before I started taking meds and or injections for all the above listed things if I didnot have anything that I had to be up for I could easily sleep 18 hours a day, also during high stress times you tend to be more tried too. Doing things to relieve stress can be helpful......exercise can help relieve stress and added bonus help with weight loss. Also get a copy of your labs......often times a dr will say you are good even if you are at the low end of normal........VIt B12 has a wide range that one can be in so if you are at the low end I would ask about getting a shot like once a month or so....most Docs don't have an issue with it
2nd this. LOTS of women with PCOS have low Vitamin D, so if your doctor is willing to do it, get your levels tested. Mine was super low, and now I take 3000 iu per day. Also my iron was low, and that's one of the first things a doc will test if you are fatigued so get that done too.
Personally my thyroid is in perfect range, but I have heard that hypothyroidism is really common in women with PCOS. Actually my doc was really surprised my thyroid was fine because I had ALL the symptoms.
If none of the usual stuff is working, I suggest you ask your doctor or a naturopath about supplements to help the fatigue. I personally take rhodiola, which is a herb, and it has really changed my life. I have SO much more energy and motivation now that I did before. I think it might be magic! Lol. But definitely talk to your doctor or medical practitioner before taking anything to make sure it's right for you.0 -
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Personally my thyroid is in perfect range, but I have heard that hypothyroidism is really common in women with PCOS. Actually my doc was really surprised my thyroid was fine because I had ALL the symptoms.
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I did a lot of research into the testing of thyroid and learned a great deal. First most labs are not up to date on what the American Endocrinlogist Association (AEA) say is the normal range. Example most labs say a TSH of 4 and above is abnormal however, the AEA state that anything above a 3 should be treated. Furthermore new research done on women alone show that they feel best when the TSH is bellow a 2. So if you do have your thyroid test ask what the exact number is of TSH. Also learned that while many doctors including my own PCP don't tell their patients this, caffeine can give a lower reading on the TSH. I stop all caffeine products about five days before testing. Also fluoride does as well however that is harder to remove if you have city water. In any case when doing this I went from a 2.7 with those things and the following week to a 8.9 My dr told me that the reason she doesn't tell her patients is because most of them would not stop the caffeine for a long enough period to make a difference
ok top part is suppost to be a quote but I don't know what i did wrong0 -
I did a lot of research into the testing of thyroid and learned a great deal. First most labs are not up to date on what the American Endocrinlogist Association (AEA) say is the normal range. Example most labs say a TSH of 4 and above is abnormal however, the AEA state that anything above a 3 should be treated. Furthermore new research done on women alone show that they feel best when the TSH is bellow a 2. So if you do have your thyroid test ask what the exact number is of TSH. Also learned that while many doctors including my own PCP don't tell their patients this, caffeine can give a lower reading on the TSH. I stop all caffeine products about five days before testing. Also fluoride does as well however that is harder to remove if you have city water. In any case when doing this I went from a 2.7 with those things and the following week to a 8.9 My dr told me that the reason she doesn't tell her patients is because most of them would not stop the caffeine for a long enough period to make a difference
Mine's 1.7.
Been done multiple times. It's definitely perfectly fine. But yes, often doctors will go by the old specifications and miss an underactive thyroid.0 -
have you been tested for a b12 deficiency? i started getting b12 shots and it has helped my energy for the most part. it wears off a week before my next schedule shot and my doctor knows this but won't change the frequency. ask your doctor about it!0
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Yes. I understand exactly what you mean. For years I thought I was lazy. Last year I learned I am vitamin D deficient. During your next doctor visit ask for a screening. In the meantime, buy vitamin D supplements and take 2000 IU a day. I swear after I completed my prescribed supplements I felt the difference in energy. I used to require naps after work daily, not anymore.0
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I agree with what so many are saying. I feel the same way! I was feeling absolutely exhausted. I talked to my doctor about this and she sent me for a sleep study. Turns out I have a sleep disorder in which my brain tells my body to keep moving (somewhat like restless leg) and I was never making it past stage 2 of sleep (out of 4 stages). My new meds are working wonders in helping me sleep and feel better. I also know that possible sleep apnea was a concern for my dr. at my weight (currently 235). Could this be a possibility for you?
I also know that exercise makes me more awake and alert. Sounds backwards but it does!0 -
I really can't stress enough how much Vitamin D has done for me. Really wish I had discovered it sooner, it changed my life!
I got blood work done and it turns out my Vitamin D was waaaaaay low. After I started taking supplements, my energy went through the rough, and now I can actually keep up with my workouts without getting tired.
And fun fact, I have had my period five solid months, in a row! WITHOUT MEDICATION!
I had been taking it regularly for about eight months before it happened, though. Also, I have been eating pretty good, in terms of really trying to eat cleaner. Cut back the process foods and added more fresh food. (but I still need my coffee!)
Also, working out really does give me energy, too.
I take a pretty high amount....was prescribed 2,000 IU/day, and it helped, but it wasn't until I upped it to 8,000 IU/day where I started to get my period. I know that's pretty high, so I cut back on it significantly this month, and now I missed a period. I will be getting blood work done in April, but there is something to be said about missing the period...
Really, I SWEAR by Vitamin D. Changed my life.0
