I guess my lack of energy is partly due to the mild depression I mentioned here. Taking Prozac has helped a bunch, but I’m still not as energetic as I remember being years ago. Usually, I go to bed right after dinner, leaving my husband with our baby son, so I can wake up at 10 PM with enough energy for some two more hours of chores and relaxing.
Yes, I know I should exercise. My running program has been dormant since winter. My gym membership is just as dormant.
Does anyone have any tips? What helped you get more energy? I’m really hoping for some quick and easy fixes here.
Eat less. Seriously. Nothing like mashed potatoes and gravy to make you want to take a nap. Avoid caffeine, which will give you a boost then you’ll feel like your plug has been pulled.
Sunlight. Not through a window, outside. 15 minutes.
Cold air. Don’t bundle up, just enough to make you feel slightly uncomfortable.
And, of course, exercise. This boosts my energy more than anything, even though it’s the most difficult thing to do. And if running doesn’t grab you right now, try something else.
If you have a dog, you can get the latter three just by taking him on a 2 to 3 mile walk.
And if that’s not available (Holland isn’t famous for its sunny beaches), and yes I realize I say this in every thread, a “daylight” lamp. Phillips makes bulbs which look just like any halogen bulb but which emit on the “daylight” spectrum, you don’t even need a special lamp. The ones I’ve seen before had blue glass, I’m not up to date on their current models.
Well, you could apply for a new job. I heard a rumor that the job of mayor is open somewhere near you, >snerk<
Sweetheart, may I point out that it is January in freaking Holland, which means we are not quite halfway through the long, grey tunnel. Everybody’s brain is longing for a hibernatory cave so you are at least not alone in your feeling. However.
Ventilate your house. Seriously, Dutch houses close right up against the winter and this is good but the air quality is not improved thereby especially if you do not live in an ancient, drafty farmhouse – which I do as you may recall but I still open everything up every day. If it is really cold, do it in shifts, one part of the house at a time. And get some of those humidifiers if you have radiant heat, subclinical bronchitis does nothing to increase your energy level.
You might want to try adjusting your nap schedule if you can, the schedule you describe would make me insane. Take a walk instead of a nap, it has the same effect and doesn’t leave you groggy. Or take an walk and a shorter hour nap instead. But for God’s sake, don’t do housework instead of a nap, the thought depresses me from this far away.
Take the bike to run errands instead of a formal exercise routine. I find formal exercise routines to be too easily cancelled, whereas the groceries have to be bought.
Whoops, the groceries have to be bought now, more later. Oh, yeah, and get organized.
Mind you, last year I heard a scientist talking on the radio. She said that your body doesn’t “wake up” until you expose it to sunlight. The first exposure each day starts your body clock. She recommends walking outside first thing when you wake up. I now sleep with the blinds open a bit so that I am in sunshine when I wake, seems to have made a huge difference. By the time I leave the house I am feeling alive instead of staggering out the door.
She said that no amount of artificial light can substitute and that even the dullest sunlight is completely different to indoor lights.
don’t ask, different kinds of indoors lights have different spectra and produce different results; it is also different to have direct light, indirect light, multiple sources of light… Did she mention this, or just talk about “indoor lights”?
Check your blood sugar level, you can even do this yourself with a 40 dollar meter available at drug stores or borrow someone’s. Or go to a free clinic, etc. This is the kind of problem you may be able to fix on your own and making medical records of it may not be best idea if you work in certain jobs. At least till you see if diet changes can fix it.
Read up on what is normal, which is usually 60-140, and if high try diet changes first to lower it. About 1 in 8 people now have a problem with this and most do not know. It will indeed make you feel sluggish and tired, just like you do so please check this out.
You go to sleep after dinner, get up at 10:00 for 2 hours, then go back to sleep for the rest of the night? I think if you could train yourself to stay awake after dinner and then go to sleep for the entire night, that would help your sleep patterns and maybe your general energy level. It would probably be a bit tough at first but you need to train yourself out of it. Good luck!
Of that, I’m not so sure. It seems that my kind of segmented sleepis actually the natural state of mankind. And I have tried to keep awake till official bedtime, but that resulted only in zombie-like TV-watching, with lots of yawning.
I have been horribly fatigued for about 5 years. Bad enough that I was in danger of losing my job. We have tested for everything, including HGH and testosterone.
Often we would find a deficiency and I would start supplementing and it would work for a few weeks, but then I would go back to being fatigued.
Last fall my doc labeled it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I bought the book From Fatigued To Fantastic and tried the supplements recommended. They seemed to help for a while, but only a little while.
About 6 months ago my doc put me on an antidepressant. It did not seem to help.
Finally, even though I considered it to be fringe, I decided to try (again from the book) treating it as if it were a candida infestation. Unless you ask, I won’t go into all the reasons it seemed like a possibility. I discussed it with my doc and she said that she was willing to allow me to treat my CFS by treating it as a candida infestation. She said it wouldn’t hurt me.
However: she also doubled my antidepressant.
Which means that I can’t tell you which one is working - only that *something *is working for me. For the past 5 years I had trouble putting in a full day. Last night I was programming and looked at the clock and holy cow(!) it was 10:45. And if I didn’t have a meeting this morning I could have stayed up and programmed late, just like the old days. I still have some bad days, but they are getting fewer. I still sometimes take my (prescribed) stimulant, but less and less often.
I cannot say what will work for you. I searched for a *long *time. The book may be worth looking at, but I urge you to discuss it with your doc too.
Right after I got married I could have written almost your exact post. I was seriously sleeping 12 hours a night, easily (my norm is 8), and then on weekends was taking naps on top of that. Never had any energy. I stopped exercising because I didn’t have enough energy for it (not the other way around). People told me it was because of the stress of planning a wedding, but three months… six months later I was still sleeping a LOT. And feeling very down, even though I could see my life was great.
At this point I realized something was not normal, went to see the doctor, and it turned out I had hypothyroidism. A very low dose of levothyroxine, and I snapped back to normal. …So, yeah, make sure there’s no physical cause for this. (Especially if you just had a baby, which I’m told is a risk factor for hypothyroidsim.)
I echo what raspberry hunter said. I went through a draggy, sluggish time some years ago but thought it was because I had small kids and just never got the rest I needed. I went to the doctor for a complete checkup for an unrelated reason and he found that I had hypothyroidism. On my third morning after starting to take the tablet, I shocked myself by being so awake that I began straightening up my son’s room instead of making myself a nest of blankets on his floor and dozing for an extra hour, as had been usual.
Also, what Marienee said – northern Europe, January, grey tunnel of winter. Any chance of a concentrated dose of sunshine? Maybe a quick flight down south for a weekend?
My wife and I just visited a friend whose 41 year old son collapsed and died during a hockey game about 9 months ago. It turned out that he had been suffering fatigue for about six months and his doctor never checked his heart. It turned out on autopsy that he had had a silent heart attack (there was scar) the main coronary artery was blocked (doubtless the cause of the fatigue) and had some congenital malformation of the heart (described as thick muscle). I don’t think any of this would have shown up necessarily on an ordinary cardiogram, but an echocardiagram would have shown the scar, at the very least.
What method(s) did you use to treat your (potential) candida infestation? I have been diagnised with Fibromyalgia, which has many similar symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As fatigue is always my worst symptom, I’m always looking for other ways to improve.
For the OP:
Have you ever had a Sleep Study? I did not have the usual indications (such as moderately overweight and excessive snoring), but I had a study done in 2008 because of my extreme fatigue. I had severe Sleep Apnea, waking up 2-3 times per minute. It was half obstructive (airway collapses) and central (loss of signal/response to take a breath).
I’m now on a CPAP, and the change within 1 month was extraordinary. I would highly recommend looking into having one done. Disrupted sleep can do horrible things!
I have hesitated to answer because we are not supposed to give medical advice. However, I *think *I am allowed to relay my experience. Please note though that I did this in conjunction with my doctor.
My doc prescribed 20 days of an antifungal. After that (with her support) I used over-the-counter supplements that are supposed to have antifungal properties. These include (but are not limited to) Garlic, Milkthistle, Grapefruit seed extract and olive leaf extract. I also took probiotics. I take some that are rather costly, but do not have enough experience to tell you if the cheaper ones are just as good. The book mentions that the ones known as “Pearls” are preferred, since they will get through the stomach and into the intestines better. Since my stomach isn’t in the plumbing path, I didn’t worry about that.
There are many good books on candida on Amazon, but I still like From Fatigued To Fantastic the best, since it addresses many different causes of both CFS and Fibromyalgia.
Well, as others have said, exercise can prop up the energy levels. Trouble is, if you’re feeling fatigued, getting out and moving is the LAST thing you feel like doing.
It’s definitely worth discussing with the doctor. It’s possible you’ve got some sleep disorder going on that means you’re not getting sufficient restful sleep. As vile as a sleep study (polysomnogram) is, sometimes they turn up useful info.
Have you had your vitamin D level checked? I was shocked to find out on my last physical that I was rather deficient in Vitamin D, and taking high-dose supplements has helped somewhat. Most people don’t get enough in their diet, and so the best way to get it is via exposure to bright sunlight. Which, given your location, I’m guessing is an issue this time of year.
For that matter, what about your iron level? When’s the last time you had basic blood tests?
Exactly what I recently learned and came in to mention. Doc has me on high dosage script but of course any pharmacy or grocer will have it OTC. From what the doc says there’s a significant percentace of people deficient and undiagnosed.
My iron is good. I know that because I’m a blood donor so I get tested every three months. Vitamine D must be good; I take the same vitamine drops my kid gets.
So far I’ve tried the airing rooms and sleeping with curtains and shutters open. We had them closed to save energy. I also talked to a few people at work and, indeed, I’n not the only one suffering form Grey January Syndrome. It can’t be a coincidence that this months Dutch Consumer Guide features alarm clocks with wake-up lights.
Could I have sleep apnea if my spouse says he always hears me breathing normally?
I’ll discuss it with my doctor at the next opportunity. You’ve given me a lot of ideas to talk over with my doc. Thanks everyone!
