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Posted 9/8/2008 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
 I feel extremely exhausted 24/7 even though I am getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night.  Is this just from the enema?  If so, how long does it last??

Thanks in advance

Posted 9/8/2008 3:29 AM (GMT 0)
it's most likely just because of the disease itself. I am also tired 24/7 right now no matter how much I sleep.

Are you anemic possibly?
Posted 9/8/2008 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
I've complained constantly b/c of extreme fatigue 24/7 and my doc said chronic inflammation does that. Even while in remission I am tired. I'd make sure your iron levels and potassium levels are OK, but it's part of the disease. Hang in there.
Posted 9/8/2008 4:43 AM (GMT 0)
Ya its very common with it. I have it alot, make sure your getting your cbc's and stuff checked. UC just drains you, you arent getting the good digestion and nutrional breakdown anymore.
Posted 9/8/2008 7:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hyoscyamine .125mg
Percocet 5-325 mg

two helpful in encouraging the no energy aspect when flaring.

q
Posted 9/8/2008 10:50 AM (GMT 0)
Before I started on Zyrtec, Neurontin and Skelaxin (these are non UC meds), I was always tired but at least I had a little bit of energy. But as soon as I started these other meds, I am so darn tired all the time!! So I agree that maybe it can be combo of the meds and the disease itself. Do you take a multi-vitamin? If not, you might want to start because they really do help. I am personally partial to Forvia. This is a special vitamin designed for IBD'ers and it has increased values of Calcium, Iron, Folic Acid and Vitamin D. I have always been on vitamins but when I started Forvia, I felt better overall 100%.
Posted 9/8/2008 1:43 PM (GMT 0)

I used to be an unusually high energy person. So much so that I wished I could slow down a little when my kids were small so I could read to them and just hold them. But we were always running around going places. They turned out great though.

Now that I am so tired, I would be able to just sit with them.

I don't have any family or anything so I just sit and watch TV. The inactivity has caused me to develop several blood clots. One was a dangerous Deep Vein Thrombosis, (DVT). Now I am on blood thinners for life. I have to go to the Coumadin Clinic every few weeks to get my finger stuck and I am getting to where I can't stand the needle. Also, they did not know enough to tell me not to use a heating pad and I have a disfiguring, permanent, brown, web-like discoloration all over the inside of my legs. My dermatologist diagnosed it immediately. He said it was in medical book after medical book. So the info was out there. The Coumadin Clinic just did not know. Their attitude is that since they have never heard of it, it does not matter. Now I don't even want to go anywhere because people stare and even curl up their lips and say "what's that?" Even medical people.

So, people, keep moving. Even when you feel drained.

Posted 9/8/2008 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
I am super tired and I push myself to do at least 30 min on the treadmill every day @ work and try to keep moving on the weekends, I go to bed hours earlier than I did before and find that I need to rest much more when doing any type of activity.
Posted 9/8/2008 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
First, make sure your blood (hemoglobin) is in normal range. It also could be the pain meds--when I took Darvocet, I was SO exhausted. But fatigue just comes w/ the disease, especially when your colon is inflamed. I need at least 9 hours of sleep to function, and sometimes I need naps. I even need a lot of sleep when I'm in remission. It's just another thing we have to deal with.
Oh, and I would suggest Foriva, too.
Posted 9/9/2008 1:16 PM (GMT 0)
ok, so it looks like it's definitely not just from the pain meds (I've been easing off of those for the past 2 days). When I was in the hospital they didn't say anything negative about my blood levels, but I do have to see the GI in a week so I will bring that up. Thanks for the suggestion of Foriva- I am going to try that on top of my multivitamin. Thanks for the replies..gotta take a nap!
Posted 9/9/2008 1:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hamley, do not take Forvia in addition to a multi-vitamin. Forvia is a multi-vitamin just with extra additional daily percentages of minerals and vitamins that IBD'ers need. By taking both a multi-vitamin and Forvia, you may run the risk of overdosing on the essentials. If you decide to use Forvia, you have to order it online at www.forvia.com.
Posted 9/9/2008 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
When I'm fatigued it is because I've become anemic.
I also find exercise helps, although I know it's hard when you feel tired. Maybe trying some stretching exercises in the "safety" of your home will help revive you.

Oh, and when I was your age I still needed and could sleep lots more than 8 hours a night!!
Posted 9/9/2008 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
OK, thanks for the vitamin help. Do you think I should take Forvia instead of my regular multivitamin? Does it make much of a difference?
Posted 9/9/2008 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
Forvia is made for people w/ IBD, so it has a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals that aren't absorbed in our bodies. You could always just finish your current bottle of multivitamins and then switch to Forvia.
Posted 9/9/2008 10:09 PM (GMT 0)
In my personal opinion Forvia made a HUGE difference on how I felt. It took a while though, I would say about 2 months or so before I realized how much better I felt.
Posted 9/9/2008 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
I've been fatigued as well since my diagnosis. I went from running up to 10 miles 4x week and daily weight training to hardly being able to stay awake at work in 6 months. Now, I have to REALLY push myself even to get out walking for 20 minutes. Fairly depressing for me. I used to think it was my meds, but after stopping the what I thought the main culprit, I've discovered that it was innocent, or at least innocent of all the evils I was blaming it for. I've actually got a prescription for Adderall XR (amphetamines) to help me to stay awake during my work days. I can still nod off despite it. Wouldn't recommend it as a solution for anyone, though it has some uses as a stop gap measure. It is good for a few days here and there, but is extremely addictive, and there is always the rebound effect. Your body is tired, and using something to keep that needed sleep from yourself is no good.
Posted 9/10/2008 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
I have bee diagnosed with UC for about a year and a half. In looking back I can see the fatigue was there several years before the diagnosis. The fatigue drives me crazy. Not enough energy to make it through the work dat and not enough energy to exercise. Started 6MP 3 months age (could not handle Imuran and Azathioprine) and the fatigue doubled. I talk to my specialist and he either looks like i am talking an alien language or refers me to my D.O. I can't imagine that with this problem so widely spread that there isn't something to help. I am taking vitamins, flora-q, calcium and my blood is checked very regularly. I did find one product that helped clear some of the mental fog. It is called O-Tropin, a HGH supplement that stimulates the pituitary gland., but costs $80 for a month supply
Posted 9/10/2008 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
I too am fatigues alot. Use to be a high energy person. LOL my husband would say, honey, would you please just come sit down beside me! Now, I work only 2 days a week and on the nights I work, I am sound asleep anywhere from 7 - 8 p.m.! I don't like being fatigued, but have just accepted that this is another one of those wonderful things that go along w/ this disease.

Funny how before, w/ going thru the change of life I never slept, then UC became a part of my life and I can't get enough sleep!

Hope you feel better, sweetie!

Gigi1227

Canasa
Asacol
Multi Enzyme
Mega Probiotic
Psyillum
Metamucill Fiber Wafer
Nictoine Patch 21mg's for 2 weeks
Posted 9/11/2008 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Fatigue gets difficult to accept because if I can't work the income stops. So I keep looking for alternatives. I had heard about aderall (I don't know how to spell it), but the side affects seem like they might make that risky.
Posted 9/11/2008 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
I am always tired now, even after getting 9 hours of sleep, and it is worse during a flare. I am not on any meds between flares and exercise regularly, but I just can't seem to stay awake after 8PM.
Posted 9/11/2008 8:53 PM (GMT 0)

I get extremly tired also.  Sometimes you just have to go to bed.  I think once diagnosed with UC whether flaring or not fatigue is always with you.  Of course it is much worse when you are flaring.  You just have to listen to your body and sleep when you can.  Know your limitations.

Stacy

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