tired of being tired

[Guest guest]

Hi Debby,

First welcome to our little family. It is one of the warmest families you

will find on the net. Our moderators are knowledgeable, compassionate and

just plain wonderful friends. You will learn so much here and hopefully

never feel alone again by this disease.

The fatigue is the hardest thing to describe to any physician. When I tell

them, their response is " Well, fatigue is a very subjective thing " .

Baloney....I have given birth to children, had serious illnesses and have had

several major surgeries none of which have ever compared to the fatigue that

this disease gives you. It feels like you have been hit by a Mack truck and

then they rolled back and hit you again to make sure they got ya! There are

days that you can't even get your head up off your pillow.

Well, as I told Iris, I have a training camp here in south Florida for cabana

boys. What my cabana boys are trained in is fanning us with large palm

fronds, making the very best pina coladas, having our terry robes warm and

ready for us upon us exiting the pool and anything else that we can possibly

think of. The boys are sent out to members who are well-deserving (ie having

a bad day)or are facing some serious medical problems. They usually arrive

via Fed Ex so watch for the delivery truck! LOL.

Don't forget to be good to yourself on these days when tired is your middle

name. Remember, no one else is probably going to do your dusting for you or

clean your house for you or vacuum your floors for you. They will all have

to wait for another day. When you do regain a little bit of your strength,

start slowly by doing things YOU like to do; water the plants, fluff some

pillows on your bed or sofa, play with the cat or dog and slowly get back to

your new normal routine. Things may never be the way they used to be and

that is something that most of us all mourn for from time to time. We just

try to keep our sights focused on the future and keep our mourning time down

to a minimum. This list will help so much; sometimes even more than any

medication that the medical field has to offer us.........human feelings!

Remember, we have all been where you are now and sometimes even return. We

serve whine and cheese on this board everyday with no limit on whine!

Again, welcome and look forward to getting to know you better.

Gentle, tender, newbie angel hugs,

Debs in FL

[Guest guest]

hi everyone:

First let me say thank-you for the warm welcome to the group. As i

previously mentioned I just found out in june that I have RA. My

meds are working great, but I am always tired. Sometimes when i get

home from work, all i want to do is go to bed. I have to force myself

to stay up and get things done around the house. Can you tell me if

this is because of the RA or the medications? Should i be taking some

vitamins? My second visit to the rheummy is coming up next week, is

this something i should mention to her? This is all very new to me

and I have so many questions.

Thanks for all your help.

Debby

[Guest guest]

I think I love your cabana boys!

[Guest guest]

Hi Debby:

Yep, the tiredness is a big part of RA. The article

that submitted is very good at describing why it

occurs and what we can do to cope with it. I have

always said that the fatigue is more of a problem at

times than the pain - seems that people can understand

the pain part of RA pretty well, but they don't get it

when you tell them of just how tired you are. After 3

years with this disease, my family is still surprised

when I lay down for a nap in the middle of the day!

Also, some medications can cause fatigue too. One of

the meds I take is 15 mg of Methotrexate every Friday

and the whole weekend I am more tired than usual - I

know it's the Metho. When you are fatigued, listen to

your body, it's telling you that you need to slow down

and rest, and fighting it will only make it worse.

Let your doctor know about it - don't think that there

are any meds out there for fatigue or I would be on

them! but it is a major RA problem.

Kathe in CA

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Debby,

Fatigue is tied with pain in my complain department. Some days the fatigue

is worse than the pain. I used to try fighting it and pushing myself, but

I¹ve gotten wiser and just go lay down and take a nap. Most times I don¹t

sleep, but I rest. You will learn to pace yourself. Both RA and the

medications make you tired. sent in a great article that may help.

a

> hi everyone:

> First let me say thank-you for the warm welcome to the group. As i

> previously mentioned I just found out in june that I have RA. My

> meds are working great, but I am always tired. Sometimes when i get

> home from work, all i want to do is go to bed. I have to force myself

> to stay up and get things done around the house. Can you tell me if

> this is because of the RA or the medications? Should i be taking some

> vitamins? My second visit to the rheummy is coming up next week, is

> this something i should mention to her? This is all very new to me

> and I have so many questions.

>

> Thanks for all your help.

>

> Debby

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh I am so sorry to hear that. Events like his Graduation and

his looks are important at that age. I hope he heals up quickly and

doesn't fall into a depression. Send our regards from the group.

-Nick

> Welcome Home Joe, Glad everything went well and you made it home

safely. How was the graduation? We are a few weeks from

graduation, pictures and all that and my son was badly burnt at work

all over his face and neck from hot oil. Second degree burns. He

is in a lot of pain and was looking forward to graduation but is now

concentrating on making sure every inch of skin is covered with

ointment and trying not to move his skin too much. You just never

know. I feel so very bad for him. I hope we can heal him up with

no scars.