Triggers and Fatigue
 

I'm 20 months post injury. I stopped working in February and finally thought I was getting to a good point this summer with balancing activity and rest. My stamina increased and I was able to do more throughout the day without getting too dizzy or exhausted.

Lately, the last month or two, I have been feeling more exhausted and get fatigued easier than this summer. I see a lot on here about avoiding triggers that make you have headaches or get too tired. I have not been able to find a pattern or triggers to my exhaustion and dizziness. Some days I can go for hours without rest and feel ok. Other days I can do about two hours of activitiy and the fatigue hits me like a ton of bricks.

Am I doing something wrong? How do I manage this if I can't figure out what or how much activity will make me exhausted? At 20 months, should I still be feeling such intense fatigue?

Thank you for any help you can give.

Have you tried to track those fatigue days with how you feel when you wake up ? For me, a bad nights sleep can cause the early fatigue days. Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders are common to PCS.

Winter makes me more tired. It's colder and there's less light.

This summer I found that every other day I had a little more energy and the next day I had horrible headaches and no energy. After a while I figured out that I did too much while I had energy and used it all up. I sometimes find it hard to remember that every day is affected by the one before.

My stepmother told me that when she was a little girl her father always made her stay home from school one day extra after getting well. He said that after being sick you need a break resting and doing things you liked, to recharge your batteries.

Try to get help from your surroundings to find the things that triggers your exhaustion. It isn't easy to think straight while exhausted! At least I feel like I can't access my whole brain when I have headaches. Even before my injury I could use hours before realizing that I had a migrain...

Some of the things others made me aware of was that I got exhausted by busrides, that I could only handle a maximum of two hours of social interaction before it affected the next day. I also learned to never go to doctors alone, always ask for the fluorescent light to be turned off and if possible, wait in the corridor instead of the waiting room (my doctor's waiting room have fluorescent light, a radio and a big blue information screen that all the chairs face. The corridor is quiet and has natural light).

I'm finally getting better after two years. I try very hard to not do too much, since I can now see where I went wrong the last time I got better. I went to the cinema, I went kayaking in the sun and I started studying again. Then I relapsed for more than a year. So please be careful!

RRC,

I still have funny swings like you after 20 months and I can't explain half of them.

The good news is I don't nose dive as far down, they don't happen as often after increased activity now and they don't last as long.

Bud

My experience is like Buds, I still get bad days but they're not as frequent or as bad as they were. I do have to be careful I don't do too much physical or mental work or I can't settle when it's time to go to bed. I agree regarding the winter months and lack of sunlight having a negative effect though. I think it's good to try and get an easy day once in a while where you can be on your own and chill.

I have the same problem and can't put any pattern to it for the life of me! It's very frustrating that your abilities one day to the next can be so unpredictably temperamental. Following some bad fatigue days I have terrible broken sleep - it doesn't make much sense.

It appears like there are underlying, subtle patterns for most people, it's just a matter of identifying them taking into account other variables (like season etc).

It's scary that some of you are still experience this confusing predicament so many months and/or years later :( At 9 months, the constant evaluation and balancing is already so exhausting for me

Fuzz,

Try not to worry to much... Some of residual stuff stills bugs me but it is not nearly as intimidating.

For instance when a bad nights rest appeared out of nowhere I would spend the next couple of days dreading night. Now I know that tomorrow will be back to normal sleep usually.

Bud

I have this issue too..4.5 months post concussion. I wonder when will the fatigue go away :( I used to be full of energy, not so much now. Sometimes the fatigue scares the crap out of me. I'm still getting bad panic moments too. Weird how she concussion will cause extreme anxiety.

Sweet,

It is very weird...I wish i understood the connection.

Bud