Help! Your experiences please...Day 80 tomorrow and I'm still really fatigued
 

I'm going to the doctor on Monday to get a definitive answer, but just wondering if anyone else still felt really out of whack energy-level-wise as they approached 90 days? I sleep so much and at such weird hours. And in the morning when I try to get out of bed, I sometimes feel physically incapable of it until I sleep until I'm completely rested, which is sometimes up to 12 hours total!

I would sometimes have this problem while drinking but of course I attributed it to the drinking. Then I attributed it to early sobriety... but now that I'm getting up towards 3 months it seems like it might be an underlying condition after all.

Anyway, if anyone else felt the same around this time, it would be helpful going in to my appointment knowing if this is totally abnormal or not. I'm uninsured so it's a brand new doctor and it'll be expensive, so I'm hoping to walk in the door with as much information as possible!

Hey fantail, I did feel that way for awhile. I actually still feel fatigued at times at almost 6 months. I am starting to wonder if my body simple cant handle the other toxins I still inject such as caffiene & nicotine. I don't know if you use those but maybe a good question for the doctor? Or try cutting out? Either way it's good you're going to get checked out. I'm getting a physical soon too. Sometimes I think my exhaustion is simply from mental stuff... Dealing w feelings in early sobriety can be quite tiring! Let us know how it goes.

Hey!

I've still had bouts with fatigue and energy boosts. I notice that for me, stress makes me very tired, angry, etc - have you been in situations that are stressing you out? Obviously go to your doctor to see about an "underlying medical problem", etc.

In my case, when I was out of work, fatigue was the worst. I noticed I became really tired and slept a lot. I talked to a friend (a normie) who said the same thing about his unemployed days. In my experience I needed to get into a routine and go through the motions - shake myself out of this and get the blood flowing. I can be online from anywhere, why am I not taking advantage of this? So I got up at 7am, out of the house at 8am, even when I didn't need to be. I needed to plan things, even writing something unimaginative like "go to cafe @8am" on my wall calendar worked. Being inside and in a bed or on a couch breeds fatigue in my experience. Hope you are feeling better.

Congrats on keeping this going, I'm so impressed and think you're doing awesome.

Obviously it is best to check with a doctor as you are doing.

I have been dealing with this same issue for a long time before and after sobriety.
I get fatigued all the time still too and I am 5 months sober next week. For me I think I expected to have all this extra energy because I am sober. I found out that is not the case.

I don't think drinking was the cause of my oversleeping, laying in bed, and feeling tired. I am finding out that my diet, exercise, and activities are really the cause.

As quit mentioned caffeine is a big one too. I stopped my high caffeine intake and quit drinking sugary drinks. I stopped eating fast food, fried foods, processed foods, huge meals, and added nuts, fruits, veggies, and lots of water to my diet.

It is not the most exciting lifestyle but I feel better throughout the day, have much more energy, and I sleep less which allows me to get more done. After I really stuck on my diet I started jumping right out of bed too. I used to sleep 10-12 hours a night but now I go 7. And I have more energy than ever. It is hard to stick too though, and when I start slipping I am right back to sleeping more and fatigue.

Best of luck

Thank you for bring this subject up Fantail. I too am still suffering through fatigue. It feels like the after effects of sleeping pills, although I am not taking anything. I am closing in on 90 days sober and quit coffee one week into it, so I can’t blame it on caffeine drops. I find that I keep apologizing to my family for my lack of motivation, hoping that this will pass. I know that exercise would help but honestly, I’m lacking the motivation and energy to even start. Knowing that you do exercise Fantail, I’m now questioning if that would solve the problem.

If anyone has any suggestions or words of encouragement, you have a captive audience!

Fatigue can be a sign of depression ... Especially when it's paired with lack of motivation, low energy, etc. obviously, it could be anything (even things like B12 deficiencies) - our brain chemicals are still trying to figure out what the heck this sobriety thing is, so I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be some form of depression.

Good luck at the doc ... And keep us posted, this is very interesting topic!

Glad you're seeing a doc...good choice.

People need to keep in mind that many factors can cause fatigue. Sleep issues, depression, diet, stress, lack of vitamins / minerals and many other things.

Personally, after 80 days, I really doubt its the lack of alcohol that is causing the fatigue.

Keep us posted. :)

As Fallow said, diet, exercise and activities....

It sounds so simple, but I truly believe that it makes all of the difference. And yes, working through our emotional stuff is exhausting!
And then there's PAWS. So it's normal to be tired at this point I think.

I allow myself more rest time, and I try not to get frustrated that it is taking me longer than I thought to have more energy.

All in all, at 90 days odd we're doing OK I think :)

Glad you're going to see the doc, sorry that it's so expensive :(

Love V xx

Thanks so much for all the info! I'm definitely aware that depression and unemployment are at work here too... but I experience two different forms of fatigue. One is "blahhhh why get up or go anywhere when this bed is so comfortable?" The other one is really intense. Odelle, like you said -- feeling like I've got sleeping pills in my system when I haven't taken any. So hopefully the latter one the doctor will help me sort out.

Fallow, great point about the diet. It's funny, it's like since I stopped drinking I expect to be able to eat whatever on earth I want and be fine. I guess that thinking comes from not being able to eat much when addicted, so being really proud of myself if I got anything down. But I know I need to work on that so I went grocery shopping this morning and loaded up on fruit and veg.

I'll let you all know what I find out at the doc! It's worth the cost to put my mind at ease... feeling this severely out of whack and not knowing why is really getting to me.

This seems to be relatively normal in early recovery. The body and mind have taken quite a battering and are not on the best shape. I have experienced this in two distinctly different ways.

The first was when I was about 20, had just come out of treatment, and tried to stay sober on my own. I lasted 3 months and for the last half of this I ended up bedridden. Lost all motivation. The nurse, in his report, described my living conditions as absolute squalor. I guess I had accpeted that alcohol was my problem, but when I removed the alcohol I got worse instead of better. So I went back to alcohol.

The second time I was getting sober with help. There were lots of ups and downs, many tense moments, mood swings, and I used up lots of energy dwelling on the past and worrying about the future. No doubt some of this was withdrawal, but much was warped thinking and emotional growth. It probably took a couple of years to settle down as my new way of life became my normal way of living.

One of the highlights of that time was the day I reached a year without taking a day of work.

The difference between the two was that in the first I was working on the basis that my problem was external, caused by some outside factor.
In the second I came to realise that my problem was internal, how I reacted to and dealt with life, hence the reason for a new way of life. The old one did not work.

How long did you drink? I drank for many years, so by 3 months, it was just the healing of my body and brain and I did get really tired. I had to nap then.

It does get better!

Give time time. Heal well!

I don't know if it's normal, but with your doctor's ok, if you aren't already, start some light aerobic exercise, just a treadmill. Smoking and sugar can affect energy levels. Eat healthy meals. Get outside and around people.

Recently I went through several months of seasonal affective disorder. It is pretty much gone with the better weather and sunshine.

So many factors can come in to play, any other health problems, lack of physical activity, diet...

For many people after the first few weeks or months are more energetic and fit.

A lot of areas to look at...but easy does it.

Ugh. Health care in the US is such a crock. I did get some labs done so hopefully those will reveal something. Basically though the guy was just obsessed with this idea that he's uncovered a specific personality type that is creative, over-stimulated, and tends toward addiction. OK, all well and good, guilty as charged. But basically he took 45 minutes trying to impress me with how well he knew my type, gave me labs at my insistence, and gave me Ambien and some vitamin supplements. Don't even want to TALK about how much that cost.

Well, I guess for now I'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully I can get on insurance sometime soon and get a proper physical.

While I agree that seeing a doctor is important, I also feel that the importance of all the things mentioned here already is not stressed enough by the medical community (well, the western medical community). Drinking enough water, eating well, cutting out processed foods and sugar, cutting out (or down) caffeine, not smoking, and exercising regularly...doing these things consistently can make a huge difference. Again, I believe these things are not stressed enough. I have also come to wholeheartedly embrace an eastern/western approach to health. Acupuncture, massage, and meditation are also things that can address your problems with fatigue.

You might also want to look at what you do before going to sleep. Sometimes too much stimulation (computer, tv, etc) right before bed or eating late can cause your sleep to not be as restorative, resulting in fatigue. Also, not sure of your gender or age, but for me, fatigue has also been hormone related.

Your doctor's suggestions should be followed, of course, but I also look very closely at drugs prescribed (like Ambien). Personally, I do not take anything without extended consultation first and then only if absolutely medically necessary. I have jumped from the frying pan into the fire more than once.

I agree with others though, give it some more time as well. Best to you. Hope you feel better soon. xo

Yeah, agreed. I won't be taking the Ambien most likely... it's ironic since I would drink to pass out, but sleep meds scare me!

I do exercise daily, both cardio and yoga; don't drink caffeine; eat pretty well, mostly salads and sandwiches; keep water with me like I'll be fined if I don't; take a daily vitamin regimen. I do smoke still... :/

I'm sure in time it'll peter out, I just would've appreciated more of an open approach from this doc. A couple of days ago I literally fell asleep sitting upright, holding my clothing to get dressed in the morning. Hopefully it's just part of the process but I would've like to feel that he was investigating other causes.

I've got an acupuncture appointment on Wednesday, hopefully that is more successful!

I was thinking about you today , wondering how it went so thanks for letting us know. I am not a dr but I think it's good you got the labs because that will at least show if anything is off. I would love to kick nicotine. I think it's really affecting me physically or maybe Im noticing it now because Im sober. Sounds like you're doing everything you can to get to the bottom of this so kudos to you :)