Nuudawn

I'm on my 16th day of sobriety and all is well..except for I seem to be plagued by lethargy. I have very little energy which I find very odd. I'm getting plenty of sleep but feel tired. I force myself to do stuff. I'm getting to meetings and out and about and going for walks etc...but I feel soooo tired all the time.

Is this normal?

CarolD

I think it is not unusual
as we are getting ourselves back in balance

Here is a link that is interesting..
from my files on PAWS...

http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm

Glad to see you are moving forward

Nuudawn

Very interesting..thank you Carol!

Jbh5058

Not unusual for me. I find that meetings tend to snap me out of it. I always hear something that wakes me up. Congrats to you!
Jenn

CarolD

And...
Many alcoholics follow an eating plan for
hypoglycemia with good results.

I did for 6 or so months
I also added a daily multi vitamin
+ a B complex.

Take care

GlassPrisoner

I'm 9 weeks sober, and usually pretty "up". Howeverm today, I'm also quite lethargic. I think it's a combination (for me, today) of yesterdays binge eating and the fact that the Holiday is over, my freinds and family are gone, and I'm alone.

I think Carol hit a big part of it too. We can be borderline hypoglycemic or even Diabetic (Type II) after drinking so hard and so long.

I too take Vitamin B complex, multi-vitamins , and milk thistle for my poor liver.

I'll grab a cup o java here soon and head out to a meeting. That always seems to help.

came2believe

I found I was catching up on sleep & rest for about six to eight months after getting sober.

I figured I had cheated myself of REM sleep for about 15 years. We don't sleep well when we're sleeping off a drunk!

I'd just take it easy... first things first--stay sober. If you've done that today, you've won a major victory. If other stuff slides (the house, the gray hairs, the whatever), well, first things first. Early in sobriety I actually made myself a list of "to-do" things each day. #1 was STAY SOBER. And if that was the only checkoff of the day, I was still a success in my own eyes. (And that was, indeed, the only checkoff for many many days!)

CONGRATS on your sober time!

nivosa

With all the sugar calories that you get from booze it's not a wonder that your lethargic, I found that once I laid off the bottle I was just the same way. In fact, if it weren't for my 14 cups of coffee a day I would have been borderline comatose. Things get better once your body gets back into balance though, usually a few months. The one thing I hate is those darn sugar cravings!!! They tell me that too is normal, but man if I were to bend every time my mind told me to get a candy bar I would weigh about 300 pounds!
Rick

I'mready99

I think it has to do with the body using energy to rebuild itself after so much damage drinking has done to it over the years...

I'm sure your energy level will improve over time...

One day at a time.

Steve

Nuudawn

Thank you so much for these thoughtful responses. Geepers, I keep hearing about Vitamin B lately...think I'll get me some. Love the "to do" list "Cametobelieve" and checkin off the "stay sober"...cuz you're right...that is accomplishing the most important thing here...first things, first and the rest should work itself out.
And it makes perfect sense Steve that this ole body I have mistreated so long just might be using a heck of a lot of energy to rejuvenate.

Happy New Year all,
Tracey

I'mready99

Happy New Year to you also Tracey...

I hope we all have a fantastic and sober 2007!!!

One day at a time.

Steve

leeside

Bee Pollon has the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. that pick you up.

leviathon

Nuudawn, the explanation for this is that you have taken out a vast source of readily digestable energy (alcohol) that your body had become very dependent upon. Now it is having to work for its energy by digesting food, which it isn't doing so well at because of the imbalance created by the alcohol.

In short, it is totally normal.

Peace, Levi

nanita

I also found that I was terribly lethargic for about the first 2.5 weeks after I quit drinking. At 3:00 p.m. every afternoon I would get so sleepy I couldn't even function. I'd just crash in the recliner and sleep very hard for about 2 hours. I'm over it now (44 days sober) and stay pretty active all day, everyday.

I also had (and still have) an incredible craving for sugar. I have hated sugar (except in alcohol) my entire life and have never eaten sweets. I finally had to quit making cookies for my husband's lunch, because I couldn't leave them alone.

Diet helps, as Carol said. Many of us are hypoglycemic when we quit drinking. I take a double dose of Centrum Silver, a double dose of B Complex, milk thistle for my liver, calcium with D and try to eat lots of protein. Hang in there - your lethargy will go away.

Tazman53

Today is my 101st sober after 40 years, what others have said is so true and I am sure varies from person to person, I was dragging butt physically for over a month.... mentally my mind was recovering at a rate I never dreamed of and continues to do so.

In de-tox they prepared us for that, eating right due to hypoglycemia, vitamins to help our abused bodies recover quicker is also crucial. I have just started to notice an upswing in my energy levels recently, I am still a long way from where I was energy wise, but considering my bodies main fuel for 40 years was alcohol and I have eleminated it totally, it is taking my body some time to figure out how to use real food as an energy source. LOL

HopeInFaith

Hope you are feeling better nuudawn!