Ok people, I have a serious problem. I’m lazy, but I don’t want to be. I’m a 20 y/o male, and all I want to do is sleep all of the time. Getting out of bed is a HUGE task for me, and it’s been that way for some time now. I’m also depressed a lot and see a Psychiatrist about it. My Dr. doesn’t know what to do with me, and since all of you seem very intelligent, I came here. Anyway, even standing up from a chair can take a lot of energy for me. I know it’s not due to any medication I’m taking now (anti-depressants), because I have been like this before the medication. I also had a very difficult time in school, (being dyslexic), and was told that could effect a persons “will” to do certain things, (I guess because I never had the satisfaction of being THAT successful in school). I know it’s not as if you people have my medical charts with you, and I didn’t give you much info… but I need some ideas as to what this COULD be, (does it have a name)?. People may think this is too personal to talk about, but it’s not a big secret… I frankly don’t care. Any safe over-the-counter medication one might take to boost energy?
Depression and fatigue are linked. How long have you been on anti-depressants? If you haven’t been on them long, give it some time and the situation may improve.
My doctor gave me a pamphlet on depression that listed a lot of the common symptoms - maybe ask your doctor next time you’re there?
I don’t know much about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but you might want to look it up. Any other suggestions?
perhaps M.E , i forget what that stands for , but i do know a few things with increased sleep there is a correlation with increased suicide risk ,
could be other things as well in a synergistic effect , don’t eat about 2-3 hours before you sleep it leads to poor
sleep or rather you can sleep but your body ends up using
alot of energy digesting the stuff in your gut , and you
wake up really tired ,
Also anti depressants can take upto six months to show any significant progress , however each person is different and
thus cannot be put under a general term
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is now known as Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS) in the US, but is also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or ME.
CFIDS is more than just fatigue, it’s a collection of symptoms. From www.CFIDS.org:
There are more common symptoms listed on that page, and I suggest you take a look. However, you describe your problem as sleeping too much, not as fatigue. There is a major difference. I suffer from Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), which could be described as CFIDS’s brother. The major difference between the two conditions is the amount of pain experienced by the sufferer. I have always battled depression, and have experienced plenty of sleeping problems (too much sleeping, insomnia, irregular sleep patterns) but none of that compared to the complete and total exhaustion that I’ve experienced since getting FMS in 1996.
For the record, it has never been abnormal for me to sleep 12 hours a day. If it makes you feel better, Einstein reportedly needed 12 hours sleep a night too 
I knew something was wrong when I was suddenly sleeping 16 hour nights, and taking naps throughout the remaining hours. I had a bad case of what I thought was the flu, and it just never seemed to go away. Eventually (after about 6 months) I was diagnosed with Glandular Fever. After another 6 months, when I was still experiencing constant joint pain like the ones you get with the flu, I was finally diagnosed with FMS. The only treatment the doctors could offer me was anti-depressants, but they made me terribly sick, and I couldn’t take them. Here we are, 5 years down the track and I still don’t take anything. I try to keep in touch with other FMS and CFIDS sufferers, and it helps somewhat to have a support network.
I hope this isn’t what you’re experiencing, and I hope you find some improvement if you stick with the anti depressants. Statistically, you’re less likely to have CFIDS because you’re male - 80% of sufferers are female. Talk to your doctor is the best advice I can give.
One more thing
I have a collection of links you might find handy. They’re skewed towards FMS and my local area a tad, but there’s plenty of international resources on there that you might find handy. I put together a simple webpage for my local FMS support group, and these are the links they provided for the page.
I’m from the school of thought that FMS/CFIDS are the same thing under two names. I have a friend diagnosed with CFIDS a few years ago, but lately she’s becoming more FMS-y. We found our conditions have always been so similar that we could sympathise with each other, but until recently she’d never had a problem with the pains that characterise FMS.
Do you get plenty of iron in your diet? Do you generally have a nutritious and healthy diet? Do you excercise? Sometimes a person can have very mild anemia and it makes them feel tired disproportionate to the deficiency. (ie a slight deficiency -> very very tired) A regular multivitamin would take care of that. Just something simple to try.
I’m in a similar situation (20 year old male, often depressed, often tired.)
Try to get some exercise.
I find that even a little bit now and then significantly reduces my fatigue (and depression.) Even going for a walk can help.
I’ve never taken any medication, so I don’t know if that will affect things.
This is not intended to be funny, but I knew someone who was tired all the time until she received a lot of money in a settlement. Overnight (after getting her money) she exhibited boundless energy and would even call me before 6 AM (while I was still sleeping – grrrrr). So, do you have enough money?
First, the kind of fatigue you describe can be a symptom of physical illness. However, even if that is the case, you may have a difficult time getting a diagnosis. “Tired all the time” is one of the most frequent symptoms doctors hear. Nevertheless, you would be well served to seek a consultation with a physician, either a general practitioner or an internal medicine specialist.
I wouldn’t bother with a student health services physician (your age and mentioning school make me think you might be in college?). They have a pretty “get em out of here quick” mentality. If you have health insurance go see a private doctor. Some problems that could cause this kind of fatigue are iron deficiency, thyroid dysfunction, and very serious diseases like leukemia and AIDS (not trying to freak you out, but pointing out why a physician consultation might be a good idea).
Be as specific as possible about describing the symptoms. Write things down before you get in there (I have a terrible time keeping my head clear when talking to doctors). When do you experience the fatigue? When DON’T you? When is it worse? Is there anything you do that seems to ameliorate it? Are you experiencing other symptoms? Be certain to tell the doctor about your depression, your medication (all the medications you are taking including “natural” remedies and over the counter medicines) and your course of treatment with the psychiatrist, but be firm in saying you are consulting the physician because you wonder if there is a physical problem underlying the fatigue.
All that said, I am going to offer you some tips that helped me with depression. As others have said the kind of fatigue you have described can be a symptom of depression. On the other hand such debilitating physical symptoms can be a cause of depression and once a cycle like that starts it might not matter how it started.
You didn’t mind getting personal, so I hope folks won’t mind me getting personal. I suffered from serious depression when I was around your age (I am 32 now. I’m female). It eventually caused me to drop out of college. What eventually allowed me to return to college (a year later) was addressing the thoughts that were leading to my depression. This approach is called cognitive therapy. If you have the resources to seek out a cognitive therapist you should be able to find one by calling people under “therapists” “counselors” “psychologists” in the yellow pages and asking specifically if they do “cognitive therapy”
There are lots of books about cognitive therapy, and in fact, it was through books that I was able to address my problems with depression. I never saw a therapist.
My own personal experience with depression led me to very concrete steps that I take every time I feel the dark shadows coming on. My first child died at the age of four months old (when I was 27) and the skills I learned fighting depression earlier kept me from sliding into depression (I didn’t avoid grieving, but I did avoid depression).
Every time I would start to feel bad I would ask myself
-have you taken a shower today?
-have you gotten dressed (all the way to shoes) and put on makeup (I guess this could be shaving for guys)
-have you eaten a meal? (A meal, not chips out of a bag)
-have you made your bed?
-have you done any other housekeeping task?
-have you taken a walk?
The point was, everytime I’d get to a no answer I would make myself do that thing, on the theory that if I was going to feel crappy, I might as well feel crappy while taking a shower, or while preparing a meal, or while sweeping the kitchen, or while taking a walk. And there was never a time I was feeling crappy when at least one of these questions didn’t get a no answer. Usually when I was feeling crappy the answer was no to all of them. Doing these things at those times was difficult, but not doing them would suck me into the well of depression. Hard to feel good when you’re dirty, hungry, still in what you wore to bed, in a messy house, feeling your blood pool in your veins.
Look I know that stuff sounds pretty basic and it is --unless you are not doing it.
I hope this is helpful. Even if it is not, I hope you are able to get the help you need to resolve your depression and fatigue. If what you are doing is not working after a reasonable amount of time, try something else. I know how crappy it is to feel that way.
If all else fails, CRANK is great.
:eek:
A second medical opinion might help.
Are your living quarters regularly cleaned? Dust allergies can be a nasty thing.
Drink plenty of water and get a moderate amount of exercize.
All things a person should be doing anyway.
I would also get my blood sugar checked out. Hypo-glycemia can zap all your energy as well.
Lots of good suggestions here, and I’d like to throw out “Are you getting enough sunlight?” I understand that for instance people who live in places with long winters and don’t go out get Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD, oddly enough) from not getting enough sunlight.
Diet Dr. John McDougall claims many health problems are food related. Here’s a link to his page that might help you with some of your ailments. He has links on depression, fatigue, hypoglycemia and other things that might be bothering you. Your answer may be as simple as a food allergy (milk or something,) which might be worth exploring.
Hello,
I’m another fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome person. If you want, you can email me and I’ll tell you my experiences. I might be able to give you some helpful tips.
Good luck.