I'm so tired all the time. I've a sneaking suspicion this has to do with the weather, as pollen has permeated every breath I take for a couple of months now. When I'm not in the Georgia air, I am traveling--and traveling makes me tired, too.
When I first started taking Petadolex and rid myself of Zonegran, I was happily shocked at the energy boost I felt. "Wow," thought I, "turns out it's not normal to want to take a nap ALL THE TIME." I wanted to do things; I cleaned the house without complaint while blasting music or This American Life (my life's blood).
But recently I've become tired again. In the last week, I've attempted to go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning. Maybe I'm getting too much sleep at once? (In a week I've not yet avoided my obnoxious pattern of waking up in the 3-5 AM range--grr.) I get up and at 'em and have even been getting exercise recently. Seems like the new me would be ready and rarin' to go.
But no. I just want to close my eyes. Is it working on the computer? Maybe, but not being on the computer doesn't guarantee wakefulness. Instead of my long walks resulting in an energy boost, I want to curl my sweaty self up on the couch and doze off for awhile. Driving makes me tired. Reading makes me tired. Walking makes me tired. Immobility makes me tired.
What to do?
Oh! One more thing. Maybe this nugget is my savior, the piece of the puzzle that will soon right itself and make it so I can live energetically again. I cut out caffeine completely about two weeks ago. I had cut down a lot and was only having caffeinated coffee when headachey or (in one case) slightly hungover. But after one cup I'd switch to decaf (a la my parents).
Now I'm clean, kids. I'M CLEAN! But I'm tired. The boost that caffeine provides is brief, I know, so having a cup of joe is not the solution.
I ingest six BILLION* pills of riboflavin (B2) each day and take my multivitamin in the morning. I have been eating breakfast, including delicious fruit smoothies and chock-full-o-goodness juices and snacks.
What gives? Does anyone see something obvious happening that would explain my sleepiness, my laziness? Am I missing the obvious or am I doomed to a sleepy existence forever!?
* or so it seems
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7 comments:
I hear ya about the billion pills daily. I just upped my magnesium...again....now to 950mgs I think it is.
So Zonegran was a no go for you? I want off the Topamax NOW!!!! I was going to ask about Zonegran....
This American Life....the show??? Not sure if it's the same thing here, but the show is really good!
Good job on the no caffeine!!! I just can't do it. I love it too much.
Hope you get back to sleeping better soon....(have you tried (or can you try) Melatonin?)
Do you think it might be that your body is still adjusting to being off caffeine?
Otherwise, I'd just wonder if you have any other symptoms that might indicate a thyroid or metabolic disorder. I'm still not super energetic, but since I started insulin for my diabetes, I've noticed a marked improvement in my energy levels.
This American Life is the best! And the TV show is really cool, too.
Thanks for the feedback! I wonder if I should check out the metabolic disorder issue, as I've been a sleepy kitty all my life. (Ask mom how awesome it was to try to wake me up in the mornings during elementary school.)
Eileen, if you want my take on Zonegran, I highly recommend you go to my blog and click "zonegran" under the list of tags I've given to posts. Alternatively, you can use the search bar to search the blog for Zonegran. I wish someone had warned me that the side effects could last longer than the pamphlet advised!
I know when I reduced my caffiene intake it just caused crankiness (more than usual) and many more migraines (to be exprected). However, I totally have the same tiredness issue these days. Thought it was my thyroid, ruled that out. Thought maybe the season, ashtma issues, but does not seem like it. And other than taking too much Axert for too many migraines, not really on anything that has that side effect, at this moment. Certain times of the day I blink too long and I fall asleep. Really hard to shake off. And so not like my usual insomniac can't knock me out with a baseball bat self. So, as a last resort I blame medication; one of them, all of them, whatever... it is them. My solution, which will not work for you, is drink a crapload of coffee.
Hey Janet - I'm with you on this one. I don't know if the meds may have something to do with it for you, but me I'm sleepy with or without medication. My dr. diagnosed me with early stage chronic fatigue (CFS) a few years back. We've been managing that with a bunch of different natural hormones - and I guess we've managed to keep it "early stage" which is good - I'd hate to see what late stage looks like. Of course I'm also hypothyroid which makes me sleepy too, and is or is not related to the chronic fatigue, depending on who you talk to. I think it's all related. I also am clear that I get more migraines when I am fatigued and I push through it or drink coffee to compensate. As a CFS friend said, if you're fatigued, you need rest, not caffeine!
Anyway, I could write a book on this one. I have tried to build my life around getting enough rest. When I don't push my energy I seem to have more of it. Good luck, dear!
- megs
What a great blog to find! I get migraines, I love books, and I'm fed up feeling tired, and not knowing why!
Oh, I also noticed you mention Georgia. I'm in the UK myself, but I have a friend in Georgia (Snellville).
As a fellow sufferer of fatigue, I can give you some options of what it might be
1) hypothyroid
2)diabetes
3)malabsorption syndrome (which means that even though you're taking billions of pills in vitamins daily, none of them are getting into your bloodstream because there's something wrong in your gut
4) food allergies
5) pollen allergies - even if your nose isn't running and your eyes aren't itchy, pollen can make you feel bad all over
and,
last but not least,
the dreaded monster,
5) depression
Wish I could give you more cheery answers...
Signed -
Your migraine sis
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