UC in remission but still exhausted

the fatigue hit me first when I began getting sick 25 yrs ago and even with my ulcerative colitis essentially in remission I still fight the exhaustion. It's exhaustion that can hit like a Mack truck any time. Also have a low tolerance for stress. Anyone else experiencing the fatigue even though BMs are somewhat 'normal'??

Fatigue with autoimmune disease is common even while in remission. Even when in remission your body is still fighting itself. It doesn't stop just because you're in remission.

Good to know garylouisville

Are you getting enough nutrients and vitamins? I agree that you should have your levels checked if they haven't been in a while, but also agree that your disease being in remission doesn't necessarily mean everything will just bounce back, especially when you consider what it takes out of us to fight inflammation so much longer than we usually get remission periods.

Get extra rest and maybe a little extra exercise would be helpful, I'm starting my exercise routine back up again now that I have my diet on a normal track eating proper amounts of fibre, protein and good fats....hoping it will help me with my workouts and some energy....keeping my age in mind too and what my poor body's been through for over 2 decades lol!

Hey juststud
Thanks for your input. Wish I had the same graditude you have re: a great life - frankly - my former, pre-UC, life was great and full of energy ... Now just full of fatigue & many joint pains - I mourn the loss of my former self.

Are you also depressed Prisoner? Could be low serotonin levels. I have been depressed, anxious and horribly fatigued since January, my UC is in "remission" but I have not regained muscle mass, I'm chronically tired all the time. Finally started a course of antidepressants (very hard to admit to depression while being a zennie). Most UC'rs are low in serotonin as most of it is produced in the large intestine. See http://www.progressivehealth.com/low-serotonin-symptoms.htm Best of luck!

Anxiety causes extreme tiredness, depression causes tiredness, so maybe that is something worth looking at.

Also sometimes it can be the food we are eating that is causing the problems, have you checked for Gluten intolerance, food allergies, that kind of thing.

My colitis has been flare free (except when attempting to go sans Asacol) ... and not depression ... I envy those that don't suffer from fatigue - i work around it as best I can ... limit stress, eat healthily (no preservatives) and don't skip meals, keep a decent sleep schedule, exercise, etc. but when ignoring one or more of these habits sends me in a tailspin. Employed part time to keep a good schedule but my circumstances have just changed and need find full time to maintain health insurance ...

Tried numerous dietary changes over the years - gluten free, low carbs, candida, low acid etc - no noticeable changes with any of them!

Doesn't fibromylgia (in your Profile) also have fatigue associated with it? Yes your fatigue could be UC but since you are in clinical remission from UC it could also be a different auto-immune issue. I don't know all the different conditions that have fatigue as a major symptom but there are many.

get an iron/ferritin levels..I was a reasonably healthy guy even with rampant flares for YEARS, and when they checked it, they were all in the dumper, I was so sick...I was on iron for 2 weeks and felt FANTASTIC....

not just the iron, you need iron binding and ferritin..... there's a whole panel of 4-5 tests, as well and your hemoglobin.

I have been working on solving this problem since tapering off earlier this year. I tapered off abruptly but was left with no energy.

All products with L-DOPE feel great but it aggravates UC as does creatine.

Rest

• First of all go to bed 8/9 PM and
  
• take Magnesium Taurate.

Upon rising take

• Thermo-Rip ( cheap for 240 capsules ) it has Bitter Orange among other helpfuls
  
• Anaracetam with choline & fats or eggs & fish oil
  
• MSM ( makes your own cortisol more effective)

Eat

• no carbs / as little as possible but as much from veggies as you want.

Carbs wreck my energy level.

I have been eating TWO double-beef patty burgers at 5-Guys with all the veggies no cheese no fries and I get MORE energy from it. I could barely get to sleep last night.

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 7/31/2015 7:42:41 AM (GMT-6)

Dikid said...
If you don't get any complex carbs it's bad for you
Eating whole grain carbs don't sap energy like refined ones
An addition to ferritin and iron levels and t3/t4 I would get b range vitamins tested
Especially b12 as pernicious anemia can cause fatigue

They talk about the dangers of no carbs here :

healthyeating.sfgate.com/signs-symptoms-not-enough-carbohydrates-8462.html

But that is what the veggies are for. Excess is a whole other problem and its hard to completely exclude carbs they are in protein shakes, burger buns etc. My experience is its better to limit them to veggies.

MikeCCD said...
Go get a blood test to see if you're still anaemic, if you are then that is probably the reason you're still exhausted. Even slight anemia can cause extreme exhaustion

I had several iron infusions for anemia, had the numbers right where they should be this year and I was still exhausted.

It takes the adrenals a long time to come back and if you have inflammation going on its going to be tough to have energy.