Am I ill or lazy?

[Alex Heading]

Hi All,

I've got active crohn's disease, but recently I've had a huge drop in energy. All I want to do is sleep, and I've lost motivation to do even little things.

I'm getting really annoyed with myself, why can't I just get it together and push through this? I'm meant to be working on my MA dissertation, but I'm just not managing it. I feel so frustrated, what do I do?

 

[mrsplant85]

I feel exactly the same. I was told it was due to anemia but I have had an iron infusion recently and still feel tired most of the time. Not as much as I did though. Motivation is hard to find so I would love some advice too

 

[UnXmas]

Are you physically tired, do you find physical activity harder than you used to? Or are you just sleepy? Or just a lack of motivation regarding your MA work (i.e. is doing more enjoyable/less stressful things easy)?

If you've had Crohn's for a while without this tiredness, do you have any other new symptoms? Malnutrition could cause energy loss, if you're unintentionally losing weight. This could be from not eating enough, or from not absorbing all you do eat if you have diarrhoea. Or anaemia can make you tired, as mrsplant mentioned. Are you sleeping well at night?

Sorry for all the questions, but there are many possible reasons, so some more details about your tiredness would help to narrow down the possibilities. But good quality sleep and good nutrition will probably help. See your doctor if you have symptoms like pain, diarrhoea - typical Crohn's symptoms - to see if there are treatments to try to improve things. If you're physically ok, then maybe look at whether working on your dissertation is the problem.

 

[Alex Heading]

Thanks for asking. I am physically tired, my joints hurt and I'm finding it hard doing the basics, like laundry! I've had Crohn's for a long time, but I don't remember being this tired for so long.

I sleep really well at night, but I wake up tired and stay tired all day. I just don't know what's going on!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi Alex, welcome to the forum. Have you had your vitamin levels checked recently? In addition to anemia, things like low vitamin D or B12 can also cause big drops in energy levels.

It can also just be something that happens in an active flare. If you think about it, your body is basically doing double duty. It's both causing the inflammatory response AND fighting the inflammation. All of this going on can definitely leave a person exhausted. Once you treat the flare, you might find that your energy levels go back to normal. Are you on any medications for the flare?

 

[UnXmas]

Definitely see a doctor for a general check up if you haven't done so recently. Also have you started any new medications recently? Tiredness is a very common medication side effect. I think you can rule out laziness.

 

[Alex Heading]

I'm waiting for test results now, I just can't believe that Crohn's can make me this sluggish. I am a bit anemic too.

 

[lenny]

Son was diagonosed with Crohn's 2 years ago..he is not lazy. He has been very sick and depressed. NOT lazy. I hope you have supportive people in your life.

 

[InkyStinky]

Not as a replacement for anything that's been said, but check out Katy Bowman with Restorative Exercise. She's a biomechanist and has great helps on alignment and stretches to improve stuff like overall circulation.

external link: http://www.katysays.com/ From here you can get to her youtube, facebook, etc.

I actually got her video series (aligned and well) and I feel better on the days I do a video or two. For me at least I think my overall alignment/how I've been moving have contributed to my fatigue.

Again, not a substitute for you GI/labs/etc! But worth checking out to see if it helps you, especially if you're doing a lot of sitting/leaning forward/computer work with your dissertation (good luck, btw!)