Fed up

[Rebecca85]

I have been feeling more or less OK since starting aza. But I still can't get rid of this fatigue! I thought I had it sorted with the extra b12, but no, this last week I have been falling asleep on the way home from work. Today I even felt shaky before I left work. And then I come home and sleep on the sofa for an hour and I'm still exhausted. So I'm just fed up, so is the dog since he's not getting so much attention!

 

[bushydougie]

I can totally empathise with you Rebecca. All I am managing to do is work at the moment. After that I am on the sofa either asleep or half asleep. I feel like a zombie. It is rubbish. This is no life.
I got my b12 tabs through the post today and was hoping for a miricle!
Well just to say you are not alone in the way you feel. Although my cats are v pleased I'm sleeping all the time as they can join me

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I don't suppose you are able to get in a quick nap in the middle of your work day? My workplace has a cot set up in an empty office because they know I'm ill and I sometimes need to lay down, so that's been very helpful - sometimes I'll take a quick nap on the cot during my lunch break. Sometimes I wish that I lived in Spain or one of those places where they have the 2 hour siesta in the middle of the work day!

 

[Rebecca85]

Theoretically I could nap. However I work in a school so I don't know if I could find anywhere quiet and out of the way. I'm a teaching assistant so don't even get my own room! Though to be honest, I could manage without the cot- I have been known to nap sitting up I get so tired!

 

[Liverpool FC]

I'm on aza and have had b12 and yet i'm always tired and find it hard to concentrate. Worst thing is, then when I go to bed (early or not) I waken after about 4 or 5 hours and lie wide awake which leaves me feeling even more tired.

It's very hard to explain to someone that you're really tired even though you're in bed from maybe half 8 or 9 at night!

 

[Jennifer]

For Azathioprine:
"If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: unusual bleeding or bruising; excessive tiredness; pale skin; headache; confusion; dizziness; fast heartbeat; difficulty sleeping; weakness; shortness of breath; and sore throat, fever, chills, and other signs of infection."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000602

Found that in the drug facts. Sounds like you should contact your doctor.

 

[2thFairy]

I'm on aza and have had b12 and yet i'm always tired and find it hard to concentrate. Worst thing is, then when I go to bed (early or not) I waken after about 4 or 5 hours and lie wide awake which leaves me feeling even more tired.

It's very hard to explain to someone that you're really tired even though you're in bed from maybe half 8 or 9 at night!

I've only been on aza for five days.. I wake up after 3.5 hours and am up the rest of the day. I'm exhausted!!

(thanks for the link, CrabbyRelish!)

 

[Rebecca85]

And for me I had this fatigue long before I went on aza.

 

[robbo87]

Sorry to hear about your trouble with fatigue, it's something that is really starting to affect me again at the moment and is probably one of the more frustrating symptoms

I'm also really fed up with it. for the last 2 months i've barely seen my friends or been out at all due to just barely having the eneregy to work and then come home and sleep. Had a day off today and ending up feeling like a nap at dinner time... and woke up 5 hours later still feeling like crap I've never had b12 or anything though.

 

[Rebecca85]

If you have disease in the ileum you should at least give b12 a try. If you don't have disease in the ileum you shouldn't need it. I can still go out at weekends with family, I nap/ rest all afternoon in preparation, and family understand that I need to be in bed at a decent time, and don't get offended if I fall asleep! But other than that I don't socialise either, I can't drink much and get too tired to really enjoy myself.

 

[bethany84]

I too have been struggling with fatigue on and off for months at a time sometimes. I am on Aza but I find it comes in waves and seemingly for no particular reason. It means I struggle through work and then have NO energy for anything. I am normally quite active when I am well.

I'm starting to wonder if it's some kind of pre-warning sign of a flare up (looking at patterns emerging from past flare ups) or just a more subtle sympton of a dip in my health that may go by without another trip to hospital? I know this may sound obvious - as it kind of comes standard with crohns that when you are flaring you will be exhausted, but I'm otherwise feeling ok a lot of the time (relatively speaking) when this happens, and the periods of fatigue can pass without major incident. Do you Know what I mean or do I sound crazy? lol!x

 

[Rebecca85]

I know exactly what you mean, since being on aza I have had almost no symptoms provided I eat sensibly (low res mainly). But I can go a week where I think I'm getting less tired, then the next week I'm exhausted again. But still with no real symptoms. But I am wondering if it is somehow diet or stress related, but more subtle as my fatigue changes week by week rathee than day by day or hour by hour as my other symptoms do. Oh well, at least you guys understand! At work if I make a comment about being exhausted they just say 'me too'. I've given up trying to explain, I don't have the energy. At least when they get an early night they actually feel better in the morning!

 

[DustyKat]

When you have bloods done are they checking your Iron Stores?

Dusty.

 

[Rob]

Ok fact your dealing with cd and at work I clap my hands n
applaude you

I too get bouts of exhaustion and find drinking a gatorade or powerade, gastrolite etc can help me loads
maybe it's the potassium/magnessium in them that helps??
I dunno an really don't care as all I know is they help- may not cure etc but may help

 

[Guest]

Rebecca, i just noticed you're on the sublingual B12 - are you getting blood checks to see if you're actually absorbing it fully??

i'm sure you know how it all works with B12 absorption - for many of us, getting B12 into our bodies through diet/supplements isn't the problem, it's the fact we just cannot absorb it due to damage or surgery in one specific part of our intestines.. i have B12 injections 8 weekly at my gp practice - used to be 12 weekly but i noticed i got the deficiency symptoms coming on well before the next *** was due. much better since i have it more often...

on another tack.. i often mention dehydration & electrolytes on here - it's not just that it's one of my favourite subjects lol - it really is so common for us to be low on fluids and/or electrolytes, even if only slightly.. and one of the symptoms is tiredness. i'd recommend anyone who suffers from IBD & is feeling unnaturally tired/lethargic to try drinking one cup of rehydration mixture, powder sachets are available over the counter (Electrolade, Dioralyte etc) and see if it perks you up - just as an experiment. if it does, you have something to discuss with your doctor, and maybe get your electrolyte levels checked. don't overdo it - these levels in our bodies need to be delicately balanced, and too much can cause serious problems, but one cup just to try won't do any harm.

 

[Rebecca85]

According to the blood tests taken maybe 3 months ago, I don't have any problem with vit deficiencies or anaemia or anything. I was anaemic when first diagnosed, but my iron stores were OK so didn't do anything about it, it since cleared up on its own once I was being treated for the Crohn's. So I started the b12 'just in case' to see if it made any difference. I am pretty sure I am absorbing it as my pee is now even more flourescent than before- I swear it would glow in the dark!

I know I have a problem with salt sometimes- my muscles seem to ache for no apparant reason, but a cup of stock soon changes that (but doesn't seem to touch the general fatigue). I will try dioralyte to see if that helps more though.