Fatigued all the time!!!!

For about the last 4 months I have had a very difficult time hauling myself out of bed in the morning. And I just don't have that bounce in my step anymore.

I was diagnosed with pancolitis in Oct 08. I was having a severe flare from May 08 until Nov 08 and now I've been having a mild flare since I tapered off the pred in Nov (3-6 bm's a day with some blood - as well as some colon pain).

I lost a lot of sleep while I was going through a severe flare because I was having about 7 or 8 nocturnal BM's a night. But now I can sleep for 10-12 hours a night and still not want to get up for the day!!! 8 hours of sleep should be good enough, but it's not and if I get any less then 8 I am really screwed!!!!

Any ideas??

 

I found out I am anemic. I was totally drained of energy all the time. I also got winded extremely quickly. I have been taking iron pills for a few weeks and I am feeling a lot better. I am definitely not 100% but it is an improvement. I don't take the dose on the pill bottle, I take the amount my doctor recommends which is way more than the regular dose. I have heard that only a small % is absorbed so you have to take quite a bit for it to be effective. You should get checked out.

I can relate. I totally get out of breath when I exercise. I tried taking iron pills. They make me nauseous and crampy and give me diarrhea.

Megger,

I've gotten progressively more exhausted the longer I've had UC. Prediagnosis I lifted weights, ran, biked, and spent every weekend hiking and backpacking. Now, on a good day, I can make it through the day without taking a nap. If I don't stay active at work, I'll fall asleep sitting in a meeting, or even just sitting at the computer for a few minutes. I have noticed that as I'm getting over my flare, my energy level is returning, but nowhere close to how it was. I'm hopeful that as I continue to heal my drive will keep growing so that I don't have the urge to sleep all the time. I don't expect to get back to how I used to be, but I'm hoping I'll get close!

Brandon

The gastro or PCP should be checking your blood every few months to be sure you're not deficient in iron, calcium, vit D, etc. But, as Comedy Dork writes, UC is a fatiguing condition. Many of us feel tired a lot of the time even when our test results are good. I could have slept 22 of 24 hours every day during Christmas week-- that's how wiped out I felt. Sometimes I envy pet cats because they can snooze away hours & no one minds! Hang in there & take good care of yourself. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])

When I was in the worst part of my flare (last summer) it was all I could do to wash a sink of dishes! Now, I don't feel as fatigued during the day, but I do sleep 10 - 12 hours at night.

Gigi1227