R.A. Ninjas

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Fatigue!

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lratliff
lratliff Posts: 21 Member
in Social Groups
So I'm just wondering if everyone else with RA has the same issues with FATIGUE! Oh my heavens, I already had the tiredness from RA, I also have 4 little ones with is plenty tiring, but now that I've been losing weight, that calorie deficit is really making me SO tired. Isn't exercise and losing weight supposed to give you energy? I have had several weeks where I nap almost everyday just because I literally cannot stay awake. I'm not willing to resort to caffeine, any suggestions?

Has anyone else had that problem ?


PS- I sure love having other RA ninjas around here for support! Thanks!

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  • chauncyrenayCHANGED
    chauncyrenayCHANGED Posts: 788 Member
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    I really struggled with that too! I can't believe you have 4 kids running around, I don't know how you do it. I barely have energy to exercise because I'm so tired after coming home from my full-time job. What really helped for me, was eating more. Once I started eating more protein, I got plenty more energy. It made me feel a lot better. =)
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
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    Vitamin D. My Vitamin D levels were low due to my RA so my doc suggested taking Vitamin D. I think it has helped.
  • melisha922
    melisha922 Posts: 19 Member
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    Get your DHEA checked as well... I had to go on that because mine were non-existence (again due to the RA). I also was put on thyroid meds to help with fatigue (they were near the low side of normal and another side effect of RA). My energy really improved after I got on both of these as well as Vitamin D (also low) and Vitamin B complex. If you're avoiding coffee and sodas, you might try green tea for a bit of a jolt to get you going ;)
  • chelseagirl82
    chelseagirl82 Posts: 6 Member
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    I know there's a lot more to it than this, but I also found re-evaluating my sleep needs was really important. I've had RA for 2 years and I've just been assuming that my normal 7-8 hours a night was ok. But then I just hit a wall of fatigue. Granted, there's a lot of factors involved, including medications, but lately, I've been aiming for 9-10 hours a night, which sounds like a ridiculously large amount, at least to me, but it's really helped. I know that if you're a mom of 4 that's gonna be really hard, but maybe you can find time in the day to nap -- when the kids nap maybe, or if they're at school. I know it's gotta be hard. But a big part of it for me was taking my sleep needs seriously, and not caving to pressure -- be it external or internal -- that I was somehow lazy for needing so much sleep. And that's really the over-arching lesson: learning to take your body's needs seriously and not comparing to what other people's bodies need or can do.

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