Fatigue Is Different Than Feeling Tired
Fatigue is different than ordinary tiredness.
Fatigue is disruptive and interferes with all aspects of daily living.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, 98 percent ofrheumatoid arthritispatients and 50 percent of people withlupusorSjogren’s diseasereport fatigue.
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Many people describe its effect on their lives as greater than pain.
Fatigue affects your ability to think, and its unrelenting presence can cause emotions to change quickly.
Here are 10 tips for fighting fatigue.
Talk with your healthcare provider and ensure all of these issues have been addressed.
Treat Arthritis Pain and Other Symptoms
Chronic pain alone can cause fatigue.
Pain also can lead to depression and mood changes that can worsen fatigue.
To control fatigue, it’s important to have pain well-managed.
Talk to your healthcare provider about drug and non-drug techniques for effective pain management.
If the medications are part of a daily regimen, drowsiness may add to already-present fatigue.
Have your blood tested for anemia.
If present, discuss solutions with your healthcare provider.
Also be tested for any underlying conditions that might relate to fatigue.
Overdoing exercise is counter-productive to your goal of increased energy and decreased fatigue.
Keep it at a moderate level.
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Your mother likely harped on this when you were a small child.
Guess whatMom was right.
When you first wake up, your blood sugar is low.
Eating a proper breakfast can serve as an energy booster.
Skipping breakfast drains your energy, contributing to the fatigue problem.
It’s important to eat nutritiously at every meal but focus on breakfast to start your day off right.
Start breathing deeply to consciously ward off the effects of stress.
Drink a Sufficient Amount of Water
Dehydration can cause a person to feel very tired or fatigued.
Drinking plenty of water each day should becomepart of your routine.
It seems like such a simple thing, but hydration must be taken seriously.
Protect Your Joints
Joint protectioncan reduce stress on arthritic joints and decrease pain.
There are several joint protection principles that, if followed, will help to conserve energy.
Useadaptive equipmentto protect joints, too.
Good body mechanics can also help decrease fatigue.
Devise a plan for how to accomplish certain tasks.
Plan for all that needs to be done.
Prioritize the list and what needs to be done first.
Pace yourself as you go through your prioritized list.
The trick is to be organized and deal with tasks in manageable chunks.
Don’t forget to schedule time for yourself.
Time for something you enjoy is the only criteriait can be anything.
Take just a half-hour or hour a day for yourself and reap the benefits.
2007;2(5):439-42.
How to Beat Fatigue.Arthritis Today Magazine.
