What percentage of fatigue?
 

Fatigue seems to be my biggest issue right now, which is probably why I'm obsessing about it here all the time.

What percentage of the time would you say you experience true MS fatigue? All day, every day? A certain number of days a week? An approximate number of hours a day?

Does it go in spells? Or is it fairly "regular"?

A family member asked me if I feel "like that all the time", and it was hard to answer. I never feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed anymore, but there are some days or parts of days that I feel borderline normal.

It's hard for me to sort out fatigue from depression sometimes, because they sorta feel the same, and often overlap. But the last few days I haven't felt more sad or discouraged than usual, just an almost incapacitating fatigue. The too tired to care kind. And for a longer stretch than "usual".

Mine comes in spells. I will have a run of days where I feel just wrung out, and then after a week or so passes, I tend to get most of my energy back. I find if I push myself I can quickly run out of spoons, so I am learning to conserve and not be worried about laying down at 2 pm to rest for a bit, cause it means I can make it thru dinner without falling asleep on my plate. :o

My fatigue is a constant. It goes from bad to worse. When I am not at work, I am pretty much couch bound. I find that I have to push myself through the fatigue or else I wouldn't get anything done. I don't think any of mine is depression. I've been clinically depressed before and this does not feel anything like that. I have my blue days but I still have optimism. When I was depressed, I didn't want to do anything or go any where. Even when I feel fatigued I want to do stuff but I can't or don't because I know I'll pay for it later.

Don't feel like you are the only one that this fatigue is a major roadblock for. I can deal with everything else but this fatigue is what lets me know I have a chronic condition and redefined normal for me.

In the last 9 yrs (LDN?), I don't suffer the debilitating MS fatigue unless I overdo. Since I don't work or have small children to care for or a Dear Husband to dote over and do things with, I don't even try to live a normal life. I do all at a slow pace and take a daily nap or two.

The MS fatigue is just a part of living with a chronic illness....and so is depression of some sort. You don't always have one with the other but, they seem to work often as a team. The only 2 meds I take daily are Prozac and LDN. They seem to keep me as normal as I'm ever going to be.

The only activity I will continue to do, no matter how fatigued it makes me, is my daily PT/OT exercises. I don't want to spend another holiday in the hospital, away from my loved ones nor putting them through the stress. Didn't like being away from you guys either..:grouphug:

My advise, Blessings....get ya sum Prozac and sum LDN..:D

I'm trying to get some LDN. I've taken prozac before and I didn't like the way it made me feel. I was only on it for 6 weeks. If I ever or when I get some LDN, I'll let you know how it goes.

I hated Prozac the first time I tried it. It made me more jittery. but when Paxil stopped working, the Doc said lets try it again....and it worked!!!!

Good luck with the LDN. I hope it helps you feel better.:hug:

Mine goes in spells, also...I get it for weeks at a time, then I'm fine. I personally think it's an uptick due to a hidden infection in my body. Stupid MS...:mad:

Mine is almost always constant, if I go 5-8 hours with out a nap I have accomplished something! I am The Sleeper! What little energy I have just disappears and I need to lay down or fall down.

It`s not like I spend any real time standing anyway, but when I start to lean sitting in a chair it`s nap time. Sometimes I don`t even sleep, I just need to be horizontal.

:D On the bright side? it`s better than dead!

Sometimes I wonder if it truly is being better than dead. The book says don't sweat the small things but these small things can add up and lead to bigger things. I am a sleeper also. Before MS, I could sleep all day and night on long weekends. Now I just lay in my bed most nights looking at the darkness and praying for sleep. I don't sit on my couch and watch tv anymore. I lay down. What is it about being horizontal?

mocha, I am 60, and don`t get me wrong but I had better things planned for retirement. Perhaps age has softened the blow for me? I have no idea how old you are, but I do understand that MS affects more people in the 20 - 40 year old age range.

My onset wasn`t until my early 50`s and I saw enough of life to know there are no guarantees. I had family members and friends die way before their time, some never really had a chance to know or guide their kids.

I got to see mine graduate from High School, I have one in college now that I help and another that lives at home I can try to steer in a good direction in life. I had my fun prior to my illness, for me this is just another bump in the road of life, I try to laugh at them all.

I don`t spend much time feeling sorry for myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXWvKDSwvls

:D

My sentiments exactly. :)

You know, even though fatigue is arguably my "worst" sympton, I would rather have that than some of the symptoms many of you suffer, given the choice (which I'm not).

I'm retired, my kids have grown up, I can sleep and loaf around all I want, pretty much. I hate it a lot more when I don't compare it to other stuff.

How I wish I could accept my fatigue and go with it. Most days I wake up and try to plan when I could possibly go back to lie down again. But life gets in the way and I have to get stuff done.
On a work day the morning is spent on the sofa before setting off at 2pm til midnight.
Then the next couple of days are sleepy days.

I'm getting SICk of it all.

Usually my fatigue is related to overdoing, and could usually be alleviated by some down time, but the last few months it has gotten to be way too constant. My fatigue right now is to the point of freaking ridiculous. If I take my medicine to keep me awake at work, I'm totally wrung out and useless by the time I get home.

This spring, my 15 year old is doing both lacrosse and track, so that means lots of running around after work. I swear I just get more and more tired and less functional. My hubby is a restaurant manager, so he is often gone in the evenings and it all falls to me.

Last night he was off, so he did all the running around and I took a nap and then laid in bed watching TV all evening. Am I all refreshed and great this morning? No! I am seriously pi$$ed that I still feel like dog poo.

Even last year I could keep up. I seriously need to figure this out. Maybe it is a flare?? I haven't felt this bad in years. I've actually been toying with the idea of asking for IVSM because I remember when it was this bad before and how the fog of fatigue actually lifted.

Sheesh Holly, I'm so sorry.:( I hope you are not having an attack, but it may well be. Call your Doc and get some relief.

Let us knpw how that goes..:hug::hug:

I've noticed that my fatigue waxes and wanes. Sometimes it's attributable to over-doing it, sometimes it just comes over me in waves for no obvious reason. :mad:

I am, of course, ten years older :eek: than when I started having symptoms. But contrary to some of my friends' helpful advice, this isn't "normal" tiredness from getting older. My mother had more energy in her 80's with heart disease than I do most days lately.

It's really frustrating (understatement) when I have a rare good night's sleep, wake up feeling rather rested, and think: "Wowee, this is going to be a good day"...and then it lasts about two hours and goes south.

At least you wake up feeling rested. I start off with little to no energy and get worse from there. As the day goes on do you have any problems standing up straight?? I used to have very good posture and still pretty do when I am not fatigued.

Amen and hallelujah!

Sorry, mochagirl, I wasn't clear...it's very RARE that I wake up feeling rested. Maybe once a month, either when it's just the right temperature, nothing cramps up, no loud trucks go by, the moon is in the right phase, whatever...or else by magic.

That's what makes the contrast so stark and discouraging when it all falls apart before I have a chance to use it. Before I can even start my list, I'm circling the drain.

Blessings, I think they were trying to say, Count your blessings, Blessings..:D

I know what ur saying though, When I rarely awaken refreshed, I've learned to hurry up and get everything done before I need a nap.:mad:

:grouphug:

I'm revisiting this thread because, I am suffering more fatigue lately. I barely was able to finish my PT/OT this morning.:(

It occured to me, as I was cleaning and applying my BBP (DR salve), that all that redness means some infection and any infection W/MSers = Weakness/fatigue..:eek:

I hope this D.R. heals fast and I can go back to just feeling the usual fatigue.:rolleyes: I want to feel better. stronger and happier.