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wat does everyone do 4 the fatigue????help!

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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joci
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2005
Posts : 93
Posted 12/17/2005 6:45 PM (GMT -6)
i am so tired i cant do anything i have managed to get some of the pain to go away and the IBS almost there i think KNOCK ON WOOD!! but i tried Provigil but it gave me d i tried like 2 other energy pills without caffeine but they didn't work, i tried one with caffeine it gave me d! it seems like caffeine is the only help. what does everybody do??? i've tried a lot of b vitamins because it's supposed to help but nothing! i'm really trying hard to fix things i have a friend who moved to Florida and i'm from Massachusetts where its freezing and i really wanna go but i'm still working on the IBD and the fatigue is terrible!!!!
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snohare
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2004
Posts : 2088
Posted 12/20/2005 6:47 PM (GMT -6)
nono  Caffeine is a fiend ! Notorious for it's ability to lift you up higher...only in order to throw you down all the harder ! yeah   The bounce it gives to your blood sugar is a truly evil effect...which makes you crave sugary foods...which stresses your pancreas...which affects your adrenals and your gut....

Personally, I am on a diet that avoids sugar ( you can't eliminate it) and salt (ditto), gluten and dairy products (I have food intolerances - you may not) and additives in general. As you might guess from the latter, it's also an organic diet, high in vegetables and nuts, seeds, grains. I am also taking probiotics and Aloe Vera, to help my damaged gut (I have been diagnosed with CD), and Udo's Oil, which is an Omega 3,6,9 balanced oil designed to improve my Essential Fatty Acid status.

I usually find that eating well is the key to avoiding fatigue...junk food is a total no-no. As in, no cost = no energy. There are days I've missed a cooked meal, and the fatigue kicks in within half an hour. I've come to think of the fatigue as "instant starvation".

Supplements - particularly vitamins - only work when other more basic biochemical infrastructure components such as EFAs are already in place to help your body make use of them. If your cell membranes lack the right lipids, they cannot process anything properly. Ditto for minerals. And to make things worse, some vitamins and minerals are "antagonists" - they mop each other up, preventing uptake.

In terms of behaviour, I find that treating exercise like I'm weight lifting is a good idea. If you remember that feeling tired is like a pain warning from your muscles, a little pushes your boundaries but too much is damaging, - then you will not overdo things.

I don't know if this is any consolation to you...but in my experience it takes years to get used to throttling back and taking it easy when circumstances other than your body's warnings say otherwise.

 

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joci
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2005
Posts : 93
Posted 12/20/2005 10:56 PM (GMT -6)
Thanks for responding I have IBS-D so I have food intolerance as well. It's hard to eat any dairy, red meat, sugars. So you can say I don't eat well. i'm to tired to cook so I order out a lot and I have fibromyalgia and weights make it worst! I try walking when I get tired it helps a bit. I tried Provigil for tiredness its great but gives me diarrhea! It has a lot of magnesium I guess so that's why.
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sheryl=jk
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2004
Posts : 4083
Posted 12/22/2005 9:47 AM (GMT -6)
Joci I have same question as you, what do others her do for fatigue, its horrible even with coffee, I have never tried provigil, not really that familiar with it, can anyone explain it a little further. Feel like I am on a lot already, but was fatigued before any meds, the Darvocet actually helps with energy when I take it, and even the valium when taken somewhat motivates me, but still overwhelming fatigue. How does Provigil interact with the other meds, i already have loose bowels ( IBS), so if it (Provigil) gave me energy, I would deal with the IBS-D just to have more energy, and which type of soc would I ask, my fp, gyno-uro, pain management or psychiatrist?
Sorry didn't mean to jump in on your thread , but you had same question I did?.. Any thoughts or suggestions, the b-12 sublinguals is all I can take, it doesn't do much. the pill makes me sick, now along time ago the shots really helped, but fp wont do it, so he probably wont prescribe Provigil either, thinking of psychiatrist best bet on the provigil. And if my fp wont give me b-12 shots who will, he says, there isn't anything wrong with the vitamin. ( except it makes me vomit, with or without food, no matter what time of day I take!), Ok sorry so long..any thoughts???....
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joci
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2005
Posts : 93
Posted 12/22/2005 5:43 PM (GMT -6)
Hi sheryl, the provigil isn't covered by a lot of insurance its pretty expensive its ok with all my meds, ur not supposed 2 take it with a lot of depression meds I dunno y though! It has magnesium so thats why it gives you diarrhea. I got it from my pain dr. It's 200 mg I am trying to see if I can get a lower mg. I'm on cholestyramine for ibs d along with Elavil its helping so I am gonna try to add the provigil back but a lower dose and c if I can tolerate it. If your IBS is bad you shouldn't take provigil it has a lot of magnesium and that is used as a laxative!!!!
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sheryl=jk
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2004
Posts : 4083
Posted 12/23/2005 9:17 AM (GMT -6)
Oh, so I should probably not take it, if D is already a problem. ANd I am on anti depressants meds. darn!! I needs something for fatigue, I can't blame my meds, It was actually worse before and of my meds, but still at a point I really wish there was more I could do about it. I will email you, thanks for the info...
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btrpaso
New Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 3
Posted 1/4/2006 11:09 PM (GMT -6)
I did just post a msg relating to cfs and fms but I did find out one very interesting thing about the anti depressant they put me on. I only take 75 mg a day of Effexor XR but oo myyy does it help in the energy. Twenty minutes after I take it, I actually feel it kick in, I wake up and start to work on the farm we own. Granted it doesn't last long because I do take a nap every day but it sure helps get me going for several hours. They have had me on just about every anti depressant made and this seems to be the one that has finally worked. Hope this helps a bit!
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sweeterthanhoney
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2005
Posts : 540
Posted 1/5/2006 12:12 AM (GMT -6)
I wish effexor gave me energy too sad
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Rock
Regular Member
Joined : Oct 2005
Posts : 28
Posted 1/13/2006 6:29 AM (GMT -6)
I used to be a workaholic. Now I've had CFS for 25 years. Have no energy and nothing I've tried has given me any. I take Effexor for my depression, but it gives me no energy.

I keep reading about people who have success w/ one supplement or another, but so far none of helped me. If I could only find that bottle w/ the genie.
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obs ann
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 679
Posted 1/19/2006 1:00 AM (GMT -6)
snohare gave the best answer there is, but most folks don't want to be bothered with it or like me, just can't afford all the supplements, etc..
I eat as healthy as possible ... but I'd rather drink coffee than take any drugs for energy, if I had to weigh the side affect differences.
The less drugs the better - my liver and other organs say. Most especially mood altering drugs. I'd rather cheer myself up some other way and I sympathise deeply with anyone who fights depression. Been there done that and I 'battle' for at least a few minutes with it now, if I'm not careful. Had the organic kind of depression that comes with this disease of the brain (Lyme/CFS), so that was a real battle to learn how to take charge of, without help. But Thank God Only, He threw me a lifeline and at the same time, showed me the way out.
These drug commercials crack me up sometimes. The side affects are worse than what you're being treated for. One side affect was lymphoma, and what it was for was some mild illness. Go figure.
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cutie-pie
New Member
Joined : Feb 2006
Posts : 4
Posted 2/17/2006 2:19 PM (GMT -6)
The first 4 years I took a lot of different meds but my body couldn't handle the side effects of most meds. Over the years I've noticed that staying as stress free as posibble helps alot. Of course it's hard to eliminate all stress but you have to try. I also learnt that when I do have a "good day" to not push myself too much to make up for my "bad days". I take it one day at a time, one activity at a time. I've been coping as best I can with CFS for 8 years now. On good days I try to go outside for a walk, not a fast or long one, just a walk to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. Most of the time I think I'm too tired to go outside and walk but once I'm back home I feel a bit better, at least mentally if not physically. I also am very aware or what I eat and drink; I try and stick to foods that are the most natural...you know, fruits, veggies, non-processed food. I noticed that when depression sets in, all my symptoms are aggravated and my exhaustion is really bad so it's very important to stay positive (which is really hard to do if you're new to CFS) Hope my input helped you a bit
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FallenAngel311
Regular Member
Joined : Nov 2005
Posts : 90
Posted 2/24/2006 3:06 PM (GMT -6)
I've been taking Provigil and it's worked WONDERS for me! Yes it is incredibly expensive, but I'm fortunate enough to have a doctor that keeps getting me these "cupons" for Provigil so I don't have to pay for them.

As far as drug interactions, you have to check with your doctor or pharmacist for which meds you can and cannot take with Provigil. I'm also on Lorazepam for anxiety, and that's fine.

Coffee or any caffiene has no effect on me anymore, as I've built up a tolerance to caffiene over the past 10-11 years I've been dealing with CFS. I can have 4 shots of espresso and go right to sleep!!!

But, I'll get up in the morning, and with my cup of coffee take my Provigil (200mg, once a day) and I'm good to go! I don't have any side effects, other than I'm awake, alert and can focus and don't feel like I want to sleep all day!!!!

*******side note*******

Anyone considering talking to their doctor about Effexor. BE CAREFUL!!! I was on Effexor once before, and it was literally h-e-double hockey sticks on earth. The withdrawls are HORRIBLE... horrible to the point I wanted to die so I didn't have to feel that way anymore. A lot of doctors (my past doctor included) do not know of the horrible side effects you can have, and over perscribe it. My new doctor explained to me that Effexor is really only effective for few people, and he said that doctors sometimes overlook all of the possibilities of the side effects.

I've found nothing in my research that says that Provigil contains high levels of magnesium though.
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Donkey
New Member
Joined : Mar 2006
Posts : 12
Posted 3/31/2006 4:12 PM (GMT -6)

yeah  Hi Joci,

I think your question is so much in need for an answer for all of us... I thought thatnk God I'm not going crazy as I can not figure out how to live life on empty all the time.  I am also allergic to caffine and sugar pretty much all refined bad carbs.  But when you have no gas as I call it to keep going I have in the past got hooked on those mocha coffee's and just bad crabs. So it makes me have this energy for a short time just to hit hard rock bottom later.  So a visious cycle.  I have yet to find out how to give myself energy with out the blood sugar drop.  if anyone knows please pass it on.  Sorry no help confused

hugs, Donkey

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Donkey
New Member
Joined : Mar 2006
Posts : 12
Posted 3/31/2006 4:18 PM (GMT -6)
Hi I just wanted to say, i agree with you about caffeine way up to way down for us. You sound very knowledgeable on eating right, so would love to know if you could tell me where do i start first on changing my old way of eating , for me it would be a diet of no refined sugar bad carbs kind of like Atkins, but would love if you could tell me in the right order so I can stick to it.
Thank you, hug...
Donkey
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