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Exhausted after breakfast

Hi everybody, hope you are all well today :)

I just wanted some help and advice really. I have Crohn's and I used to have a huge problem with being exhausted after meals, so I started taking a multivitamin and it seemed to really help. I am still taking that multivitamin and now the problem seems to have returned. I got up this morning, made myself a small round of beans on toast (one small slice and about a quarter tin of beans) along with a chamomile tea and now I am absolutely exhausted. I have only been awake for two hours and I could easily go back to sleep.

I also take fish oil supplements and spatone iron sachets. I have recently started taking my spatone iron after having a break from it. It makes me think, is that the problem? But surely not because the iron is suppose to give me more energy. I really don't know.

So now I'm sitting in my pyjamas and I hate it because this isn't me, and I just worry that my parents think I'm super lazy but I just have no energy whatsoever, and I just don't want to do one single thing because I'm so exhausted.

Anyway, I just wondered if anybody had any tips for me?
Thanks xoxo
 

DJW

Forum Monitor
Are you currently in a flare or in remission? I'd suggest getting your blood checked. Check your iron, B12, inflammation markers and some others I'm drawing a complete blank on. Someone will be along to fill in the blanks.

Hope you start feeling better soon.
 
Yes I am in a bit of a flare at the moment, and my iron is very low. I will definitely get my blood checked, see what that shows. I know being low in iron will make me tired, but it's just the exhaustion I get after meals that I can't understand. Thanks for your help.
I think I definitely have a problem with fruit, I avoid eating a lot of fruit, the last time I ate some melon, a banana and an apple, and within a couple of hours I was fast asleep.
I have taken my humira today so hopefully that will help, however it's given me terrible palpitations and made me feel really anxious. Oh well! I'm curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle....one of my best cures.
 
I always get tired after meals. I've thought perhaps digesting takes a lot of energy, but I don't know if that's the actual reason. The only thing I've found that helps is giving in to it! I'm usually alright after breakfast, but after lunch I desperately need a nap, and after an hour or so resting I feel so much better. Not much good when you have things to do though. :( For a long time I've been having something to eat right before I go to bed, because it helps send me straight to sleep.

Some people find that exercise helps wake them up. Even if you don't feel like it beforehand, once you get going the adrenaline might kick in. "Exercise" doesn't have to mean something hugely strenuous - walking constitutes my exercise at the moment. At the moment I nap first then go out for a walk when I've woken up, but in the past I have used going out and getting going as a way to get past tiredness.

I recently tried modafinil, a medication that can help with tiredness. I started a thread on it here:http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=67990 . I have found it helpful, and haven't had any bad side effects, but the amount it helps me is quite unpredictable - sometimes it works well and sometimes doesn't seem to do all that much. But even on the days it works well, I still need an after-lunch nap! I also still sleep very well at night after taking it, even when I've taken it in the afternoon (if taken in the morning, there's more chance it will wear off by the time you go to bed). From what I've read online, this is very unusual - it's supposed to promote wakefulness, and many people taking it complain of insomnia. I take another medication at night that puts me to sleep, which could explain why I don't have the insomnia side effect, but I don't know why I still sleep after lunch. I can take modafinil first thing, find it makes it far easier for me to concentrate through the morning, but then after lunch I just need rest. Actually, now I think about it (this literally just came to me as I'm typing, and now it seems quite obvious!), I don't think modafinil stops me feeling tired at all: it has a few different effects, including promoting wakefulness, and improving concentration. But I don't seem to experience the wakefulness, only the improved concentration.

Have you talked to your parents? They know you're ill, will they understand if you tell them your illness is making you tired?
 
Thanks for all your tips, they're great!
Actually, my parents already understand - they are really good and help me when I'm ill and so on, but I just hate the thought that they think I'm lounging around doing nothing. I think if I lived alone I would just lie on the sofa watching films guilt free! I don't know if you feel guilty in the same way?
I must say I am not very strict in exercising, although it is something I always tell myself to do. I go to a pilates class once a week and that's it. Any particular exercises you would recommend? I've upped my water intake and that helps, I've also stopped drinking black tea and replaced it with green tea...that seems to have helped too! Thanks for your advice :)
 

rygon

Moderator
If your iron levels are low you are bound to feel very tired.
Digestion also uses up a lot of energy (quick look seems that 5 to 15% of energy used is on digestion)

When I had low iron levels I could easily sleep for 12-14hrs and still feel tired.
Exercising just made me dizzy and feel sick.

The only thing that I think will help is getting your iron levels back up via iron tablets/infusions and/or different meds to combat the flare
 
Yeah I find that I'm sleeping A LOT! I've always been a night owl....but now I just sleep from like 10 til 10 easily. Exercising does wear me out a lot, I feel fine at the time, but the next day I feel really worn out and tired and have to just soak in the bath for an hour to feel better. Well I can't take iron tablets, I'm just waiting now for the appointment for the infusions and hopefully I will be back to normal.....as normal as I can be anyway....:tongue:
 
I must say I am not very strict in exercising, although it is something I always tell myself to do. I go to a pilates class once a week and that's it. Any particular exercises you would recommend?
The exercise that I find best for waking up is walking outside in the fresh air when it's cold! First thing in the morning I've found is the best time to do this, but I am a morning person, not a night owl.
 
Thanks for that. Might do me good getting up earlier and getting out in the fresh air, then start going to bed a bit earlier. Anything is worth a try. Thankyou :)
 
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