Fatigue

Chris

Welcome to healing well.Hopefully you will never get tremors .not everyone with PD does.You did not mention the meds you are on,which may be a cause of fatigue.Another possibility is depression which you need to alert the neurologist about.It may also be one of the numerous symptoms of PD,which might be corrected with a med tuneup,and finally do you get enough sleep at nite?I would definitely consult the Doc.on this.Stay well,and stay in touch.Wish you the best.Ed

Hi Chris

I too suffer with fatigue and of all the symptoms I get count that as one of the most debilitating. I belong to a support group for PD sufferers and from what I see and hear ALL of the members suffer from tiredness to some degree and some to the extent that they doze off during the meetings.

However as Ed suggested its best to get it checked out...its good advice. For example I was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure 6 months ago and as a consequence have found out that I am anaemic which in itself brings on fatigue.

Also, do you feel better when the weather is warm and sunny: I know that I do.

all the best BILLY

Den,

Welcome to healing well.Glad you found us.Tremors will tire you out,and so will PD in general.If you have only been on meds for a short period of time it may take your body some time to adjust.This could also be causing extreme fatigue.If you haven't already done so, let your neuro know what is going on.Stay in touch,and let us know how you do .Best to you.Ed

Hi All

Interesting so see that Chris gets no tremors with his PD which means tremors cannot be blamed for his fatigue.  Thats not to say that tremors do not cause fatigue in others but the more you see, hear and read of this disease the more you have to accept that everyone is different, some of us get this some of us get that but, in nearly everyone, fatigue is present.

Like you Chris I get a sudden loss of energy which in turn causes anxiety (because its another reminder that I've got PD) and I just have to give in to it. I go and have a doze in the armchair.  I get periods like this and, for a week or two, am just useless, not all the time but enough to make me reluctant to plan things. Then, for no reason I feel relatively well (note the relatively) and I wonder why I'm popping so many pills. This feeling well period can last a week or maybe only 1 day and then I'm back to the tiredness.

So Den, don't dispair because hopefully, overtime, you may be able to get a pattern that makes your symptoms more manageable.  I have had tremors since the beginning, thats 6 years, and am able, at times, to controll the tremors through force of will (and of course the good old levadopa)

The illness wont get better but your perspective of it can do and I find it helps reading through the board and realising you are not on your own.

All the best BILLY

I believe Rotigotine was licensed for use as a transdermal patch in the UK earlier this year but I have not tried it as I cannot tolerate dopamine agonists.

I do not know if Levodopa is available in patch form yet but I did read recently that The Michael J Fox Institute gave $490 000 to a drugs company to assist in the development of such a patch.

Regards

Chris

Hello Grace

No I do not have any home visits from anyone and thankfully so far no tremors but as you say the fatigue is just awful. I take Amantadine which helps with the fatigue but unfortunately it lowers my blood pressure and if I take more than 2x100mg a day my blood pressure drops below acceptable limits and then I feel really light headed which is as bad as tha fatigue.

Chris

Yankeemom,

Welcome to Healing well.Glad you found us.As you know I'm a redsocks dad.Stay well.Talk soon.Ed

Hi Chris, I purchase my coenzyme q10 at a dixount warehouse in the U.S. Sam's Club or Walmart. I buy the 200 mg softgel pills and there are 50 in each jar.I pay betweeen $27.00 -$30.00/jar. You are correct because it is an over the counter supplement, a physicians script can not be written.
1 Jar lasts 1 week and 1 dose. At $30.00/jar I do pay almost $120.00/month
YankeeeMom

Does anyone notice the heat or weather makes your fatigue worse?  I am a newly dx'ed MSA'er and also have Multiple Sclerosis and have heat intolerance anyway.  But I have noticed that this summer so far, I live in the Midwest with high humidity, has been much worse for me physically then prior summers.  Thanks

Hello Chris , yes this fatigue is a beast and one it seems you can't beat, i usualy sit in the armchair and wait for it go ,but yesterday was a really bad day it lasted the whole day,felt quite fed up. Today has been great, you can never tell when the switch off is going to happen and I really hate not being able to plan ahead.But I really love it when I can smile and laugh and boy can I talk which I think is due to the mirapex. friends and family think it quite funny . If thats all I get from the mirapex I won't mind .Talking I mean , other people seem to have horrible side affects , so if my side affects cause a laugh thats great . The party never gets dull while i'm around , they even stand behind me and wind me up ( the mind boggles ) I hope you are smiling...cheerio for now...Grace.

Mayfly

Thank you for the feedback.

Unfortunately I had a very bad reaction to Cabergoline when I was first diagnosed which is why I now take Levodopa, so I have been reluctant to try another agonist. However the fatigue has highjacked my life so maybe I should try another, like Pergolide, even if on a low dose in addition to Ldopa. I'll discuss it with the consultant on my next appointment.

I have spent a lot of hours this week investigating the supplement coQ10 but at the dose levels suggested for PD sufferers it is hideously expensive, even if purchased from the USA and the evidence to support it's effectiveness is at best fragile. But I must do something.

Chris

Chris,  you may want to check with your DR. or pharmacist to look at when you take this in the afternoon.  Some meds cannot be ingested after 5:00 because they will keep you awake.