HeatherKy1

So today is day 9. And i am feeling better every day...emotionally. But just about every other day since I quit I have experienced an almost debilitating fatigue. It's not consistent. ....but literally it's almost like for every good day I have the next day I can hardly make it out of bed. Anyone else have any experience with this??

lakeofglitter

Hi Heather...welcome!
Fatigue is very common. I had horrible fatigue every single day for almost 3 months but I drank for over 3 decades.

Trust me it gets better every day. Soon you will be singing from the rooftops because of how much energy you will have.

Get plenty of sleep, eat healthy foods and drink lots of water. Take things a day at a time. You got this

HeatherKy1

Thanks for the response. I will not drink....but this total lack of energy is getting frustrating. My AV keeps whispering that I was more "productive" when I drank. Total lie I know. I just hope this lets

HeatherKy1

Oops. ..lets up soon.

lakeofglitter

For the first few months I swore someone put a tranquilizer in my water bottle lol! I would come home after work and couldn't do anything but sleep. Needless to say I had a lot of naps in early sobriety.

I understand what you mean about feeling more productive drinking. I too had those thoughts early on. I had to unlearn a lot of things and change my perspective. I realize now how unproductive I really was while drinking.

It will get better I promise! Hang in there!

Hereandnow2

Me too I felt like I was on sleeping pills 24/7. It gets better over time. For me around 30 days I was feeling a little better.

Dee74

Like the others said it will get better. Doing common sense things like eating well, a little exercise, getting as much sleep as you need etc - really helps

D

Dharma33

Yes, I'm at 4 weeks and I took a nap this afternoon! It's tough for me to fall asleep at night- honestly I think I am enjoying staying up late to read or watch a movie after the house is quiet and actually remember it the next day. I am sleeping well when I do sleep, but I still feel tired most afternoons, however I believe my energy is starting to bounce back.

I figure that over the years of abusing my body with toxins the sleep I am craving is part of the physical healing process.

Venecia

Hi, Heather,

Yes, for me, tremendous fatigue set in at about the point you're at right now. It lasted about two or three weeks and then I felt better. I kind of chalk it up as one of the many ways our body responds to the absence of alcohol -- others have reported varying reactions. Remember, though, it is so much better than feeling rotten from booze.

It really does get better.

BlueFairy

Yeah I'm 5 weeks and 5 days today and still just crash out every night as soon as what I want to watch on tv is over. It's just like head hits the pillow and gone. My job happened to change at the same time I quit-- I have to be at work at 7:30 which means getting up at 5:30 but that's only 2 days a week, one day's at 9. Even only working 3 days a week I'm still just drug out. It was getting a little better then I got a pretty bad sunburn so I was back down. I have been getting up earlier on my off days and starting to work out a little more. I haven't been able to do much more than that-- work and work out. I've been taking advantage of my recovery time reading, binge watching shows, watching movies--stuff I normally feel guilty about. I know my body is still recovering because my digestive system is still out of whack although that is also much improved. (with a lot of help) I don't know-- I think because I could never really handle alcohol well to begin with and drank every night is why I'm maybe having so much trouble. I also have continuously lost weight since I quit which probably has something to do with it.

otter

I wouldn't call it extreme fatigue but I sure slept a lot for about 3 weeks after the DTs went away. I chalked it up to my body recovering. It actually felt nice sleeping 12 hours uninterrupted for the first time since, well, forever and waking up feeling good.

As others have said, eat healthy, get some exercise and give your body the sleep it needs right now.

ttamelbon

Hey, and welcome to sobriety!

One of my scariest moments was about 1.5 weeks into sobriety. I had just taken some family photos in the park with my wife and kids, when my limbs got heavy and I could barely make it to the car without laying down in the parking lot.

Our plan was to go have lunch, but I couldn't get out of the car. We had to meet some friends of the family, but I jsut stayed in the car. I went from conscious to sleeping with no warning. Just like a light switch. I woke up surprised, and fell riht back alseep. I could have sworn I was going into the yawning void of death.

Not to scare you, but I'm nine months sober and I try to have a nap a day, sometimes two. I drank for 20 years, so your mileage may vary. I'm still not over the fatigue completely, but it absolutely has improved dramatically over time (like almost all our symptoms).

Good luck and happy napping!

JeffreyAK

I experienced this too, I think it's a common post-acute withdrawal symptom - not everyone gets this reaction, but many do. I was pretty fatigued for like 6 months, but as others point out it does get better even if it drags on for a long time.

HeatherKy1

Thanks for the replies. Makes me feel better that this is not that uncommon. I just hope this goes away soon!!! I will tough it out regardless but this is NOT my favorite aspect of quitting! Haha. What Makes It even more strange is i was walking 4-6 miles relatively consistently before I quit and now I feel like I can't even walk down the stairs!! I am going to chalk it up to my liver sucking all of my positive energy out of me trying to heal itself...lol

Thanks!!

MelindaFlowers

Yes. On and off extreme fatigue for the first few months.

Typical scenario for me:

Trouble getting to sleep but then sleep like a log for 12 hours if time allows. On weekend? I'd sleep until noon and then feel like a nap at 4:00. Your body is healing.

Tc4ever

Hi Heather
I know exactly what you're going through. "Debilitating Fatigue" I couldn't of said it better. I had that so bad and it's mind numbing to have to deal with it. I'm just over 2 months sober and mine is about 60% better. I promise it will not always be as bad as it is now. Hang in there and you are not alone in this.
TC

PurpleKnight

Hey Heather, took me a couple of weeks to feel almost not jet lagged, I was wiped every evening.

Give it time, the body needs to repair and it can't heal years of drinking in a mere week, hang in there!!

Hawkeye13

For me, I think it was detoxing that made me tired--when I was drinking towards the end my tonsils and throat swelled (other glands too) like I was pouring toxic chemicals in my body with every drink--

I slept a whole lot the first few weeks / months and my tongue was actually greenish black at the back and my throat still sore from detoxing--over time, tongue became white, then "normal" red and throat cleared up totally.

Now I feel great and sleep well but not as much.
I drink lots of herbal tea and water and eat pasture raised meat, wild seafood, and lots of veggies from the farmers market nearby.

I have a serious exercise / yoga program and I work on relaxation and spiritual things in the evenings.
I try to get in the sun and nature a few times a week hiking or just getting my hands in the dirt gardening.

All of these things have really helped me recover, as opposed to just not drinking.

The fatigue for me was in part physical, but I believe now it was also depression at "losing" my "best friend" alcohol.

I love my sober live about a million times more than my drinking life
Whuda thunk?

Sasha4

Yep I had it.

If you think about it, booze has lots of calories, sugar etc etc.

I found late afternoon a sugary drink or snack helped. A doughnut, a hot chocolate or a fresh orange juice or a milkshake.

It helped me power through it.
If you can call it 'powering through it' when I ended up going to bed at 8.20pm!

I also convinced myself for years I could not sleep without a lot of wine or vodka.
I don't the sleep the drink resulted in was good quality though.
It was passing out and coming round the next morning.

I think my body yearned good quality sleep from a few years of OTT drinking over night.
Falling asleep sober was a new experience for me. at first.
But sober mornings still rock!

Debbie329

I have the opposite problem......last time I became overtired and couldn't sleep.....for days.......totally did me in.......if you've got time to sleep.....get it in......it's restorative.