Does anyone have any advise on how to deal with fatigue when you have to work? I’m an archaeologist, so quite a physical job. I stopped running when I got a job again recently after being unemployed for a few months, and I do miss it, but appreciate that I have to be careful. Cant imagine doing anything different, (I have tried, but unless I can afford to re-train, no one seems interested in what I have to offer!) It’s not all digging, you have to record the archaeology too so that gives me a break. I’m just so fed up of not being able to stay up past eight or nine in the evenings. Just constanty wanting to sleep and it’s starting to get to me.
There was stuff in the news recently (a study from Sheffield Hallam University) about exercise reducing fatigue in people with MS. I know it sounds contradictory but that’s what they found. I have recently started going on a cross-trainer every day and my fatigue levels are definately down. I’ve worked up from 12 minutes a day to 21. My aim is to get up to doing 30 minutes a day and then do that until I am better or until I die, whichever comes first.
I had pretty debilitating fatigue until I started taking supplements (anti-oxidants, aloe vera, vitamine D etc.). Do a research on it, there’s tons of information on the web. Diet also helps quite a bit - focus on eating colourful vegetables and fruits daily - they have been great for increasing my energy level. I still do need to get my sleep - if I don’t I’m still more tired than before MS, but not as much as before changing diet & taking supplements.
Modafinil helps me to stay awake, but I was retired on ill-health grounds, so cannot exactly claim that it solved the problem! But it did help me stay employed for as long as I did (which was quite a few years). That plus going part time, and having very understanding and accommodating colleagues. I wish I had a better answer for you. But I think you are doing all you can do by trying to manage your own energy economy and concentrating your limited resources on doing the things that matter to you most.
Hi I too was like you and struggled to stay up past eight or nine until I started taking Modafanil a couple of months ago. I now manage to stay up til about ten to ten thirty most evenings and I am also out of bed in the morning much earlier too. This has made a huge difference to my daily life. I do also exercise on a regular basis which definitely helps with the fatigue too. Ann Marie
I also suffer from fatigue. My mother-in-law discovered ‘Energise Me’ multivitamin tablets. She read about them in a magazine. It was apparently a lady with MS that’s behind them. What a difference they have made to my day to day living. I work full-time and have a 9 year old and until I started taking these tablets I really struggled. I’ve been taking them for about 4 months now. In fact I actually forgot to take a tablet this morning because my usual routine was disrupted and I’ve struggled all day wondering what on earth was wrong with me. It wasn’t until tea time that I realised I’d forgotten my multi-vitamin. I order the tablets from my local Boots store but I believe you can also get them online. The chap in Boots said they should be hitting the shelves soon so hopefully even easier to get hold off. They’re not so cheap but I get them on a buy 2 get 3rd free. I definitely recommend them.
