I’m having a really hard time lately…I was wondering if anyone else literally feels like they’re dying. I am so tired lately all I want to do is sleep! I don’t sleep the best at night but lately I can barely function as I am so tired….this has been going on for weeks! My dr thinks I may have cfs. Plz any advice would be appreciated thank you all!!
So tired
- Thread starter Mickey
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Hi @Mickey . Many of us here can relate to what you are saying, as many of us suffer from chronic fatigue. I sure do, myself!
It's part of having fibromyalgia, and also many people with fibro also have ME/CFS, so it is possible that you have both. I notice from your other posts that you are also going through menopause, and that can cause fatigue as well.
The best thing you can do for yourself is try to be as healthy overall as possible. This can make a big difference. Getting outside for at least a little time each day and going for a walk, or doing some kind of light exercise indoors can be very helpful. Even when we don't think we have any energy for actually "exercising", just moving the body can make a big difference. sometimes expending a bit of energy, carefully and gently, can bring more energy.
Having a nighttime and a morning routine that you follow can also be helpful.
Avoid alcohol completely, and cut down drastically or completely on sugar intake. Eating sugar will seem to give you energy but it causes your blood sugar to fall later and you are worse off than before, and alcohol is a depressant on the CNS, which ultimately will make you more tired. Eat the healthiest diet you possibly can, and make sure that every day you eat a balanced diet.
What you eat makes a huge difference! What is healthy for one person is not necessarily right for another. For one person that's vegetarian, for another it's carnivore. Find what works for you and stick with it. But certain things, like sugar, are not healthy for anyone.
Any way that you can reduce stress i n your life, do it. And keep in mind that stress takes many forms. There's mental stress, emotional stress, and physical stress, and your diet can cause your body to be stressed out as well. The less stress you have in your life the better.
And consider looking at your sleep habits and environment. Your mattress, sheets, pillows, should be the very best most comfortable that you can manage to have. Make your bedroom dark and quiet....use light-blocking curtains... and don't do anything on a screen for at least an hour before bed. Try some relaxation techniques before bed. Consider using herbal supplements that are designed to help with sleep, and if all else fails, consider asking your doctor for a prescription medication for sleep. Getting enough solid sleep in one of the most important things you can do.
I hope that something here helps you, and probably others will chip in to offer their advice as well. The more people who can give their experience of what helps them, the better. Best of luck to you!
It's part of having fibromyalgia, and also many people with fibro also have ME/CFS, so it is possible that you have both. I notice from your other posts that you are also going through menopause, and that can cause fatigue as well.
The best thing you can do for yourself is try to be as healthy overall as possible. This can make a big difference. Getting outside for at least a little time each day and going for a walk, or doing some kind of light exercise indoors can be very helpful. Even when we don't think we have any energy for actually "exercising", just moving the body can make a big difference. sometimes expending a bit of energy, carefully and gently, can bring more energy.
Having a nighttime and a morning routine that you follow can also be helpful.
Avoid alcohol completely, and cut down drastically or completely on sugar intake. Eating sugar will seem to give you energy but it causes your blood sugar to fall later and you are worse off than before, and alcohol is a depressant on the CNS, which ultimately will make you more tired. Eat the healthiest diet you possibly can, and make sure that every day you eat a balanced diet.
What you eat makes a huge difference! What is healthy for one person is not necessarily right for another. For one person that's vegetarian, for another it's carnivore. Find what works for you and stick with it. But certain things, like sugar, are not healthy for anyone.
Any way that you can reduce stress i n your life, do it. And keep in mind that stress takes many forms. There's mental stress, emotional stress, and physical stress, and your diet can cause your body to be stressed out as well. The less stress you have in your life the better.
And consider looking at your sleep habits and environment. Your mattress, sheets, pillows, should be the very best most comfortable that you can manage to have. Make your bedroom dark and quiet....use light-blocking curtains... and don't do anything on a screen for at least an hour before bed. Try some relaxation techniques before bed. Consider using herbal supplements that are designed to help with sleep, and if all else fails, consider asking your doctor for a prescription medication for sleep. Getting enough solid sleep in one of the most important things you can do.
I hope that something here helps you, and probably others will chip in to offer their advice as well. The more people who can give their experience of what helps them, the better. Best of luck to you!
Thank you so much sunkacola!! I appreciate any and all help! I definitely need to try and take better care of myself!! I so want to eat better but finding the energy to cook is so difficult!! I will keep pushing but not too hard!
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Mickey....I hate to cook and rarely have the energy for it. If something is going to take me more than 10 or 15 minutes from the time I decide I want to eat to the time it is on a plate, I won't do it. But it's not hard to eat healthy food even so.
Here's what I do....your method may vary in ingredients, but you can do the same.
I buy things like frozen roasted potatoes at Trader Joe's (very healthy ingredients) and frozen vegetables, and make sure I have them always in the freezer.
I buy meat (whatever kind you want, beef, chicken, etc) and cut it into strips and package it into meal-size packages in the freezer. Or, I cut it up and cook it all at once by sautéing it in a little olive oil, and then package the individual meal size amounts in the freezer.
I buy pre-washed salad greens and some carrots and HEALTHY no-sugar salad dressing.
I love salmon so I buy frozen small filets individually packaged in plastic. (Not expensive at all if you buy a big bag of the frozen filets)
I keep rice on hand and have a rice cooker
I keep fresh fruit on hand, apples, bananas, etc.
I hard boil a bunch of eggs all at once so I can put them onto salad, or just eat as a snack or for breakfast if I am too tired to fix something.
Breakfast can be a boiled egg, or plain yogurt with fruit.
Then, all I have to do is thaw out (microwave thaw if I forgot to do it earlier) the meat, quick sauté it up if it's not already cooked, microwave the veges and the potatoes, or cook some rice, or throw the salad into a bowl. Good, nutritious healthy food that NEVER takes me more than 15 minutes to fix, and usually takes a lot less.
Trader Joe's is a great place to get frozen meal components that are healthy without bad ingredients, but if you don't have one nearby, then find alternatives in your store. Just read the ingredients and make sure it's not full of sugar, chemicals, or fat.
If you make a point of keeping your healthy fast-to-fix ingredients on hand, you can eat well without spending a lot of time -- or money-- to do so.
Here's what I do....your method may vary in ingredients, but you can do the same.
I buy things like frozen roasted potatoes at Trader Joe's (very healthy ingredients) and frozen vegetables, and make sure I have them always in the freezer.
I buy meat (whatever kind you want, beef, chicken, etc) and cut it into strips and package it into meal-size packages in the freezer. Or, I cut it up and cook it all at once by sautéing it in a little olive oil, and then package the individual meal size amounts in the freezer.
I buy pre-washed salad greens and some carrots and HEALTHY no-sugar salad dressing.
I love salmon so I buy frozen small filets individually packaged in plastic. (Not expensive at all if you buy a big bag of the frozen filets)
I keep rice on hand and have a rice cooker
I keep fresh fruit on hand, apples, bananas, etc.
I hard boil a bunch of eggs all at once so I can put them onto salad, or just eat as a snack or for breakfast if I am too tired to fix something.
Breakfast can be a boiled egg, or plain yogurt with fruit.
Then, all I have to do is thaw out (microwave thaw if I forgot to do it earlier) the meat, quick sauté it up if it's not already cooked, microwave the veges and the potatoes, or cook some rice, or throw the salad into a bowl. Good, nutritious healthy food that NEVER takes me more than 15 minutes to fix, and usually takes a lot less.
Trader Joe's is a great place to get frozen meal components that are healthy without bad ingredients, but if you don't have one nearby, then find alternatives in your store. Just read the ingredients and make sure it's not full of sugar, chemicals, or fat.
If you make a point of keeping your healthy fast-to-fix ingredients on hand, you can eat well without spending a lot of time -- or money-- to do so.
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@Mickey ..................ME/CFS has some things in common with fibromyalgia, and one of them is that not everyone manifests it the same way. Some people with ME/CFS do sleep more and have a tendency to fall asleep in the daytime or take naps, but others have difficulty sleeping even at night. The only thing common is that both categories of people feel deep fatigue all or almost all of the time.
This is also common with fibro, and again some people with fibro sleep a lot and others have difficulty sleeping. I, for instance, have difficulty sleeping and have never in my life been able to take a nap, not even when I was a child. Makes no difference how deeply fatigued or just plain tired I am.....not going to happen.
I can spend the whole day lying on the couch on really bad days, but at no point do I come close to falling asleep. I've always thought that if I ever actually took a genuine nap in the daytime some day I would have to celebrate!
Whether a person sleeps more or cannot sleep well seems to be the case for some people whether or not they are in a flare; for others these problems only come when they are in a flare.
So.....yeah...pretty hard to say that any one thing is common to everyone with fibro OR CFS.
This is also common with fibro, and again some people with fibro sleep a lot and others have difficulty sleeping. I, for instance, have difficulty sleeping and have never in my life been able to take a nap, not even when I was a child. Makes no difference how deeply fatigued or just plain tired I am.....not going to happen.
I can spend the whole day lying on the couch on really bad days, but at no point do I come close to falling asleep. I've always thought that if I ever actually took a genuine nap in the daytime some day I would have to celebrate!Whether a person sleeps more or cannot sleep well seems to be the case for some people whether or not they are in a flare; for others these problems only come when they are in a flare.
So.....yeah...pretty hard to say that any one thing is common to everyone with fibro OR CFS.
SBee
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Hi @Mickey I totally agree with @sunkacola that symptoms affect us differently. I was diagnosed with CFS prior to the fibromyalgia diagnosis, then inflammatory arthritis. All three carry the chronic debilitating fatigue symptom. So as I cannot tell which condition (s) this comes from, I try to treat the symptom rather than figure the cause. For me, chronic fatigue is the hardest part to live with.
Sleep.wise, at night is pretty good, but to be honest that is because 2 meds I am on have side effects that help with sleep. Occasionally I do find myself needing to sleep\nap right there and then. But mostly, the fatigue hits worse for me in the bodily sense? The inability to walk even short distances without needing a long time to recover. Bad fatigue after doing a relatively simple task.
As anyone with such fatigue knows, its completely different to the 'good tired' feeling you get from maybe a long cycle ride ( and thats a joy so far out of reach of course). Its the total bodily fatigue when sometimes you cant even get the energy to pick up a cup. Flares can mean hours, days or weeks to get back to 'normal' or what is now normal for the individual.
Sunkacola gives you such good advice. One thing that helps is to begin to listen to, and understand your own body's limitations. Dont try to push yourself too hard. Its not always easy to find that balance of stopping before you push too far ( I know that all to well!). I see it as trying to work with your symptoms, understanding them, rather than fighting against them - the phrase boom and bust is often used... Go too far and your body may well keep crashing. Wishing you well.
Sleep.wise, at night is pretty good, but to be honest that is because 2 meds I am on have side effects that help with sleep. Occasionally I do find myself needing to sleep\nap right there and then. But mostly, the fatigue hits worse for me in the bodily sense? The inability to walk even short distances without needing a long time to recover. Bad fatigue after doing a relatively simple task.
As anyone with such fatigue knows, its completely different to the 'good tired' feeling you get from maybe a long cycle ride ( and thats a joy so far out of reach of course). Its the total bodily fatigue when sometimes you cant even get the energy to pick up a cup. Flares can mean hours, days or weeks to get back to 'normal' or what is now normal for the individual.
Sunkacola gives you such good advice. One thing that helps is to begin to listen to, and understand your own body's limitations. Dont try to push yourself too hard. Its not always easy to find that balance of stopping before you push too far ( I know that all to well!). I see it as trying to work with your symptoms, understanding them, rather than fighting against them - the phrase boom and bust is often used... Go too far and your body may well keep crashing. Wishing you well.
