Can’t stay awake..

[Birdlady10]

It doesn’t seem to matter if I have a bad or reasonable nights sleep, I find I am so tired all day that I fall asleep as soon as I sit down and relax.
I simply have no energy at all and feel like I have flu like symptoms. How can I perk myself up? My whole body hurts and stings.

 

[sunkacola]

My first suggestion would be to look at your diet. It's possible that a few changes could make a difference. I know that if I eat sugar, or don't eat enough animal or fish protein, my energy level drops noticeably. (Meat or fish is necessary for me, not saying it is for everyone.....some people do better not eating meat). So you might want to cut sugar from your diet completely to see if that helps, increase your protein intake, etc and experiment. Make sure you are not causing glucose spikes with your diet, as that produces fatigue.

Another thing is, how much outdoor time are you getting? Do you get fresh air and go for a walk every day or do some other outside activity? It's possible that might help as well.
And, staying very well hydrated is also extremely important. Not drinking enough water each day can cause fatigue.

I have had the same thing you describe. When I had that problem it was because I was not taking care of myself well enough in some way and changing that made a difference.

Others here may have more ideas for you.

 

[BlueBells]

@Birdlady10

I agree with @sunkacola , but that doesn't mean I look after myself well.

I know dehydration makes me tired, as it does everyone. I've also found I cut back on salt too much, and that makes me sleepy, so I am trying to get that back up.

What works for one may not for another, but do make sure you are drinking enough.

 

[SBee]

Have bloods been checked lately @Birdlady10 ? From my own experience I am thinking iron levels and thyroid issues. May be worth bringing it to a drs attention.

But it never harms any of us to review our water intake and diet. I find its when I am extra tired that's when it's easiest to reach for the unhealthy foods - the worse thing we can do.
Having IBS and a hiatus hernia ( and a vegetarian ) I find it a well worn habit to watch what I eat - but do slip up more often than I should.

 

[Ian waxman]

It doesn’t seem to matter if I have a bad or reasonable nights sleep, I find I am so tired all day that I fall asleep as soon as I sit down and relax.
I simply have no energy at all and feel like I have flu like symptoms. How can I perk myself up? My whole body hurts and stings.

I’ve started taking vitamin b and magnesium.it helps but it is the diet that really matters.if you live on junk then you’re in a mess but eating healthy,stopping drinking and losing weight are three deffos,u can’t ignore what you’re bodies telling you.gentle walks are also good.dont sit in the house and think I can’t do it cos you can.i’ve battled it for 25 years and took everything.please let us know what meds you’re on if you feel ok about doing that.keep fighting

 

[Birdlady10]

Thanks everyone for good advice. ……All my bloods have been done and are absolutely fine.. Got to admit my diet could be better and I will try harder…….i saw a specialist last week and he diagnosed that I also have M E , he said it’s not too unusual to have fibromyalgia combined with M E……..so maybe this is making me more tired ?

 

[SBee]

@Birdlady10 definitely a lot of crossovers with fibromyalgia and other conditions. Whilst not diagnosed with ME, my most debilitating symptom is chronic fatigue. There is a thread on here about chronic fatigue which may have some pointers for you.

Is dr able to advise you on how best to help yourself, or refer you to a pain clinic?? One of the most important things is to pace yourself, do a little, then rest well, and in time, try to very slowly build yourself up to be able to do just a little more. ( I'm a bit rubbish at this,I do something, feel good so then do far too much than my body is capable of. It can take easy to recover )

Definitely look at your diet, I do believe if we are able to make small changes then we are giving our bodies as much chance as we can to improve.

 

[sunkacola]

Many people fail at making dietary changes because they try to do too much all at once. Often this only backfires. If a person can make just a few gradual changes, but keep that up over time, doing a little more then a little more, it's possible to make big changes that will greatly benefit your health without it being too much for a person to be able to handle emotionally or otherwise.

Now, if you need to find out if a certain thing (like sugar, or caffeine, etc.) is affecting you poorly, then you do need to cut all of it out of your diet at once to find out. But if you are just needing to eat more healthfully, it's most productive to do it a bit at a time. Cut down on one bad thing, increase one good thing, in small increments.

And, important: give yourself credit for anything you do that is more healthful. Never tell yourself you are not doing enough. Instead, praise yourself for what you do manage to do. Treat yourself the way you would a kid or a puppy who was learning something. Tell yourself good job, and don't punish if you mess up one day.

 

[MissNeverWell]

@Birdlady10

I agree with @sunkacola , but that doesn't mean I look after myself well.

I know dehydration makes me tired, as it does everyone. I've also found I cut back on salt too much, and that makes me sleepy, so I am trying to get that back up.

What works for one may not for another, but do make sure you are drinking enough.

Interesting note about the salt; I've been cutting back because of all the negative press it gets. I didn't realize the connection between sleepiness and lack of salt - it is always portrayed as a high blood pressure culprit.

 

[sunkacola]

Salt is not really the evil that some information would have you believe. You need to have salt for good health, and in the summer it is even more important to make sure you are getting enough salt in your diet.
But..........It also is very important to use good salt. It makes a huge difference.
The kind of salt you buy in a supermarket is not good for you.

What I use is Grey Celtic Salt, and I get it coarse and put it into a salt grinder, but you can get it already ground fine.

Now, this stuff is amazingly expensive, so I'll say that right off the bat. But the thing is it is 100% natural, organic, and contains a great many many trace minerals that should be in the salt you eat but are not if you just buy the stuff at the supermarket. So the Celtic salt is actually good for you.

And the best part is the taste. The first time I tasted it, I felt as though I'd never tasted salt before in my life. It tastes so good that you use a whole lot less of it in order to season the food. So, you get less use, and what you use tastes better and is actually good for you.

They sell it on Amazon and while it makes a person gulp to spend that much on salt, I can tell you that a one pound bag of this salt will last me over a year and a half, and I am a pretty heavy salt user. I highly recommend it.

 

[JamieMarc]

@Birdlady10
I agree that you should take a good look at your diet to make sure that you are getting all of the necessary nutrients that help produce energy.

I would also look at your daily medications and supplements to see if any of them could be contributing to your tiredness. As we all know, many medications can make us drowsy. If that is the case, there may be an alternative medication you can take or a reduced dosage.

It is also possible that you have an infection that needs to be treated. I would suggest speaking with your doctor about your symptoms and consider taking short-term antibiotic. I mentioned this not only because infection can cause fatigue and tiredness, but you said you were feeling flu-like symptoms.

You might also consider supplementation to help boost your energy and alertness.

It sounds like you said you were getting a good night's sleep some of the time yet you were still tired. Are you getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night uninterrupted? If not, perhaps consider taking some melatonin 1 hour before bedtime. If you have a partner that you sleep with, ask them if they have noticed anything unusual that might point to sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.

I hope that something in here might help you.

 

[Scrappin4Spoons]

I'm struggling with the same thing - falling asleep, flu symptoms, pain, etc - right now, again.
I've noticed that - for me - when I'm sleeping, I'm not actually sleeping SOUNDLY so I resort to nighttime routines such as meditating, listening to calming music, guided meditations, drinking herbal night time tea, etc to try to improve that.
I find I also have to seriously step up my water intake - I downloaded a cute app that helps me reach goals for self care and I include drinking water on my list.....and since my bladder can only hold so much, I get some easy exercise going to the loo a bunch throughout the day
I agree with the getting sunshine and fresh air - very important! I would be a hypocrite if I said I do it right now because temps are averaging around 100 right now and pool water feels like a warm bath If you can, take advantage even if it's a walk to get the mail!
I hope this episode eases for you - gentle hugs

 

[Ian waxman]

It doesn’t seem to matter if I have a bad or reasonable nights sleep, I find I am so tired all day that I fall asleep as soon as I sit down and relax.
I simply have no energy at all and feel like I have flu like symptoms. How can I perk myself up? My whole body hurts and stings.

Hi!feeling exhausted is one of the worst symptoms of fybro.i get up in the morning after a yo yo nights sleep and start to nod off again and all through the day.its our bodies instinct to shut down due to pain.i’ve been taking dextro tablets with vitamin c and glucose and they do perk u up a bit.sell em in Tesco.i’ve had fybro for 25 years,been through every med possible even fentanyl and to be honest none of them work it’s still there niggling at you.i would go down the vitamin route first and see how you feel.doctors will do nothing.i’ve been to them a thousand times they must hate me.but they haven’t got our condition.try the vits,i take vitamin c and d,magnesium and dextro tablets and they’ve helped more than all the meds.give em a go and be positive.your not by yourself.take care

 

[JamieMarc]

@Ian waxman
What are dextro tablets?

 

[SBee]

Not something that I would use. Basically @JamieMarc they are a sugar, made from rice\corn etc that's is identical to glucose.

For me, it's kind of a very quick fix of ' false ' energy - but I think it would lead to a subsequent huge crash in energy. Like I would never touch the Red Bull type of energy drink? But it's an individual's choice as to what to use and what works for them.
Just not for me