Can you share your secrets? I struggle through mid-day (after lunch) fatigue. As I sit at my desk at work, my eyes get so heavy and my body just about shuts down. My brain completely loses it, at times, I can't seem to get the words out of my mouth. I almost feel like a heroin addict and wonder if I look like one.
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
Thank you
I have a terrible time with fatigue also ! I'm going to ask my doc to prescribe plaquenil which is suppose to help with Arthritis fatigue. Many people on this forum have suggested ensuring that you have a high protein diet. And someone suggested making whey shakes that have lots of protein. I've been making whey shakes about 6 times a week with fresh or frozen fruit and it does help me and its healthy. Not a cure for the fatigue, but it has helped me. I'm still looking for a solution.
I actually have a whey shake every morning around 9am, eat lots of nuts, taking my vitamins and still struggle. I haven't really paid attention to plaquenil. I will do some research on that. If you find anything else that works, I will be happy hear about it.
Thank you
I will definitely post any tips I find for fatigue. Good luck - I feel your a pain, rather fatigue ! :-)
Plaquenil was the first DMARD I was put on, and I'm still on it, for 5years now. It did help immensely with fatigue, but the fatigue isn't gone. Fatigue is related to disease activity, so the more active the disease, the more fatigue.
I find that taking iron and B12 help put me over the hump from struggling to stay awake to being merely fatigued physically. If I eat a sugary or higher carb lunch, I get more fatigued mentally.
I really watch my carbs. I stay away from grains and eat lots of protein, fruit, vegetables. I also take a b commplex instead of a b12 for I am tired of always sticking myself.
I also drink green tea.
I take Plaquenil and I love it. it has really helped with me feeling weak and tired all the time. Now I am able to do things with out feeling weighed down or slugging through tasks. It takes a while for it to start working and 3 months to feel the full effects. I still have another month or so before I feel the full effects, but so far I really love the medication. Fatigue is something really hard to deal with and it really makes everyday tasks harder to complete. But with the Plaquenil I feel like a cloud has been lifted and that the fogginess of the fatigue is gone. I highly recommend it. :)
Is this in addition to mtx or a replacement for it? I will talk to my doctor next month about this. I will also try the b complex. I do take a lot of supplements but it's just that afternoon shut down that really gets me. I'm doing well physically with taking Humira and MTX. I look forward to address the fatigue.
Thank you all for your suggestions.
Fatigue is one of my biggest issues. I’m playing with diet and hope that this will pass. I went from a highly active person to almost inactive. I hope it’s the meds and this too will pass. Trying to be patient …time will tell.
Drinking iced green tea with fresh mint, lemon and natural honey. Eating all natural…very limited dairy and lean meat. I’ve cut red meat back but eat it occasionally as my iron is also low which also contributes to the fatigue and according to my rheumy is part of the disease.
Tara- Just to define this, it's called anemia of chronic disease. But I don't think it's actually iron-deficiency anemia, so be careful about supplementing outside of diet. Take a look at this site http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000565.htm
Before supplementing, you should ask your doctor to check your blood iron levels to determine if there is a deficiency.
Hi Stoney,
I’m only supplementing with diet. I understand it’s related to the arthritis as this is what I’ve been told. My iron has been up and down for the past few years prior to the MTX. I also have a problem with salt and have fainted in the past…like three times in a row so my family called 911 and the result was my body needs more salt as I seem to have a problem. Has anyone else had this issue?
I asked my rhuemy for plaquenil and he said it's only given to Lupus patients and he won't prescribe it for me. I don't understand because I know several people on this board take plaquenil????
crookedtoes84 said:
I take Plaquenil and I love it. it has really helped with me feeling weak and tired all the time. Now I am able to do things with out feeling weighed down or slugging through tasks. It takes a while for it to start working and 3 months to feel the full effects. I still have another month or so before I feel the full effects, but so far I really love the medication. Fatigue is something really hard to deal with and it really makes everyday tasks harder to complete. But with the Plaquenil I feel like a cloud has been lifted and that the fogginess of the fatigue is gone. I highly recommend it. :)
This is a helpful discussion for me - thanks to everyone for posting comments. Fatigue is my worse symptom.
I think that some rheumys won't use Plaquenil for PsA because it can worsen psoriasis. I have very little psoriasis, and it made it no worse.
He did mention that it can make Psoriasis worse, but my Psoriasis was always mild and now non-existent because I'm taking Remicade.
I am on 400mg of plaquenil a day and have had no increase in my psoriasis activity on either foot, if anything it has decreased a little
Thanks for the info ! Now I need to find a doc who will prescribe plaquenil. What a pain in the a**!!!!
Plaquenil is a great med with little side effects. I hope that you find a doctor willing to prescribe it Frances. My doctor just said it will not cure the psoriasis and that the MTX would. He never said it would make it worse, but you do have to make sure you get your eyes checked regularly because the med can build up in your eyes and cause problems. it is rare and slow forming so if you get regular yearly eye visits they can catch it early. Since I only have a little Psoriasis on my toenails and scalp I decided to stick with the drops I have. I would seek some other advice because if you have a mild case of Psoriasis then I don't know why he is giving such a hard time. Good luck with that :)