How to Beat Fatigue
Recharge! Fatigue is a mysterious and persistent foe. But you can beat it and feel more energetic than ever.
Posted 5/8/07
Everyone gets tired. That is how the body signals it needs to rest and recharge. Overwork yourself physically and you feel it in your muscles or joints. Overwork yourself mentally and you may need to take a break. But when your need for rest seems excessive and becomes disruptive – thwarting your productivity, making everyday tasks daunting, robbing you of enjoyment and interaction with others – what once may have seemed normal-but-frequent tiredness has become the symptom called fatigue.
If fatigue were a living being, it would be a spoiled brat, demanding your constant attention and refusing to be ignored. And it should not be ignored: Fatigue can mean something sinister is lurking.
Fatigue’s nagging works: The symptom accounts for 10 million doctor office visits each year – many of which are by people with arthritis-related conditions. Up to 98 percent of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report fatigue, as do 50 percent or more of those with lupus or Sjögren’s syndrome. The percentage grows higher when obesity, depression or conditions like fibromyalgia, congestive heart failure, lung problems or chronic headaches are present, too.
Because so many people with so many different medical problems experience fatigue, doctors have a tough time sorting out causes. Here we take a look at what could be behind your zapped energy and help you learn how to get it back.
The Challenge of Fatigue
Fatigue is hard to describe and harder to diagnose. If you find yourself with no energy, even after a full night’s rest, it may be fatigue. But understanding fatigue requires more than understanding the body’s normal need for rest.
Martha Grant, 53, of Berkeley, Calif., knows fatigue all too well. Except for a brief respite in her early 20s, she’s struggled with it since her diagnosis with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) at age 11. “Most people feel well as the norm and then get the flu for a few days. For me, living with fatigue is like having the flu every single day,” she says.
In a study of how people with RA perceive fatigue, Sarah Hewlett, PhD, senior lecturer in Rheumatology Health Professions at the University of Bristol in England found patients described fatigue as “severe weariness and dramatic and overwhelming exhaustion attributed to inflammation, working the joints harder and getting unrefreshing sleep.” Patients with various chronic diseases experience fatigue as an occasional come-and-go symptom, but many RA patients experience long-lasting fatigue, says Ken Pischel, MD, head of the rheumatology division at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif. Their bouts of fatigue sometimes seem unwarranted because they usually aren’t preceded by excess activity and may even occur when their joints are feeling good.
