So I have a question for you all. Its about the fatigue, the symptom that most people have a hard time understanding without bringing up the word 'lazy'. Lately my fatigue has gotten really bad. I mean I've had it since I was 11, it was my first real symptom. All the sudden I couldn't play tag and would just sit on a bench during recess completely exhausted from apparently nothing. This past year it seems to have gotten worse and especially this past month. I've been basically bed ridden. I get a sick feeling in my stomach whenever I even think about moving from the couch to all the way up stairs to my room. I've had some good days but then I am just completely wasted the next day. Also my 'fibro fog' has gotten really bad and I can barley remember things (I feel sorry for my family, hearing the same story or joke over and over when I think I'm telling it for the first time.) And I catch myself just sitting there so confused I forgot everything I was supposed to do that day and I just hit this brick wall with my thoughts. It takes a while before I can even get on one train of thought long enough to do anything. So here are the questions:
Has anyone else fatigue or Fibro Fog (or both) just gotten suddenly worse?
and
I've done some research and found that some doctors have been prescribing Adderall to help with the fatigue, confusion, and memory issues. Has anyone else tried this? My therapist thinks I either have ADD or my Fibro has just gone crazy lately so I'm probably going to end up taking it either way. I just wanted to know how it affected anyone else.
I have noticed my fatigue gets worse around my cycle, a lot of my symptoms do, I have had a bad week with having to take Friday off because my fog was so bad I wasn’t safe to drive. I have heard that tempature changes can set you into a flare. I am newly diagnosised but I too had fatigue issues when I was very young. Hope your fog gets better soon for you.
Hannah,
Welcome to the group 
Great question. When I’m tired, after work I tend to go into a trance… I get foggy and confused, and so sometimes I don’t know what I’m saying or doing… I was on a increased amount of cymbalta 60 to 90 and I got severe fog and some really bad mental side affects, so dr put it back down to 60, which is better. I’m also on lyrica, and although it helps with pain, sometimes I feel heavy headed…but racey mind. Hard to explain.
Anyways there are lots of other discussions too about fibro fog on the boards, and they may help too.
Oh ya… I also use lots of alarm reminders, and post it’s to keep me on track with the things I need to do.
I hope this helps, hang in there…
Joy
Yes, I have these symptoms of overwhelming fatigue and fibro fog and it seems as though I am losing some of my knowledge, but I have attributed it to the fact that I have been suffering from something that was not diagnosed for 15 months now. It seems to have dragged me down and sucked the life out of me. My body is needing more rest and more sleep so I do what my body tells me to do ........more rest and more sleep. I hope that over time I will get better. How long? I don't know.
Hi Hannah,I'm glad you asked this question.
There are recent discussions on Fibro Fog and the fatigue. I'm where you are. I hear others talking about going to work and how hard it is. I can't imagine working in this condition. you describes what your days look like and I can relate.I was diagnosed with CFS before I got the Fibro diagnosis. I had read that theres been some success with using Adderall for fatigue and the fog.
I was prescribed Ritalin for chronic fatigue about a week and a half ago.I was waiting to post this as I wanted to have some results to share so here it is:
Started 5mgs twice a day. 1 in the morning and 1 at noon
Increase to 10mgs twice a day.
The 1st day,I was a zombie. Second day feeling better. I was so excited during the first week because I actually felt alive. I finally had the motivation to do things,cleaning,running errands ect.and I could think more clearly. By day 7(time to increase),I had overdone it. my pain got really bad at night and I knew that it was because I pushed too hard because I was feeling better. So I crashed for a couple days.
Then I increased to 10mg and I realized that it was too much. I felt really weird. I noticed the side effects were too much for me. Heart racing,my mouth felt like the Saharah dessert,Totally lost my appetite and there was a few times during conversations that it felt surreal. So i dropped back down to 5mgs and I don't take the second dose most days. The side effects are less and it still gives me that "get up and go" that helps me a lot. I didn't take it at all last Sunday and I ended up feeling hugely depressed and exhausted.
These adhd medications are stimulants and should be used with caution. One of my fibro friends here warned me about overdoing it. I haven't given up on it yet,but I'm sticking with the low dose for now. I have battled with major depression for most of my adult life and it's very resistant to treatment. Doctors sometimes use Methylphenidate (Adderall,Ritalin...) for stubborn depression and so far it's taken the edge off for me. I also am wondering if Adderall might not have as many side effects. I read reviews and some people said they noticed a difference between the generic and the Adderall. The reason my doctor chose Ritalin and not Adderell for me was simply cost.
So The jury's still out on this one but I'm not giving up on it yet.
This this new year, my fatigue has gotten way worse. I have a hard time doing anything. I wake up more tired then when I went to bed. I have recently started taking a bunch of B vitamins; I haven't noticed a huge change yet, but I am still holding out hope!
Tina, you have shared here some very good ways to deal with fibro fog. As you said fatigue is something you just go along with. However, as you have written important things in your planner, you can refer to it to keep you on track for those bad days when it's hard to remember anything.
If we don't have some ways like you shared then we will sink into despair on our bad days.
Thank you Tina for sharing your good ideas.
Sweetlittleb, when you say that you wake up in the morning more tired than when you went to bed this is normal for us with fibromyalgia. It is due to the sleep disorder that goes with fibro. This sleep disorder does not allow you to get to the deep restorative level of sleep(REM) so we wake up tired all the time!
When I was diagnosed with sleep apnea the doctor said there are a lot of people with fibromyalgia diagnosed with sleep apnea who also have the disorder that goes with fibro. It was his hope that the CPAP (sleep machine) that we must use every night would also address the other sleep disorder. Well, I have had my CPAP machine for about 7 years now and I can say that it has NOT helped with the other sleep disorder!
I am new and glad to new to the group. I deal with much fatigue and chronic pain. However, my brain fog is so bad that it is unbearable! I can’t imagine working under such conditions! My husband told me the other day that he will have to help me remember stuff when he is dead! I am so torn, I have even lost the ability to do basic things, such as spelling and math! Also have trouble with eyes crossing (seeing double) and blurry eyesight. I am so hurt by this illness, it has robbed my life!!!
Monica, you need to see a doctor about these things. We are not doctors or medical professionals so we are not able to diagnose or help you with these things. We also deal with this things. They are part of fibromyalgia.
Hi Hannah,
I think I may have commented on another of your posts today, but I wanted to say that yes, this happened to me. As it turns out, I have Fibro, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. You may be experiencing this as well. In my case, I started out with a lot of pain and learned to adjust my lifestyle to it. I was determined to manage the symptoms though and started doing Bikram Yoga. It was amazing! Having muscle strength and decreased pain, it was great. But, the CFS became debilitating and I am now in the process of filing for disability.
You may be experiencing the onset or flare of CFS symptoms. You may receive benefits from Peppermint Oil for the fatigue and fibro fog: http://dancingintherain-always.blogspot.com/2013/11/peppermint-oil-for-migraine-stomach.html
I'm also trying to share my new blog regarding Fibro, CFS, and Costo with others who may find support from the pages: dancingintherain-always.blogspot.com
Hoping you find this a restful day,
DancingInTheRain.Always
I talked to my doctor about CFS but he dismissed it without much thought. How do you get diagnosed with CFS?
Hannah, that's a good question, How do you get diagnosed with CFS? I haven't asked my doctor about it, but I bet his response would be the same.......dismissive. Quite some time ago I heard someone say, "Fibro is firstly pain while CFS is firstly fatigue, but that if your doctor was not aware that they were not the same he/she would just pass it off as being part of the same thing........fibro.
Here again Hannah, it depends on how really knowledgeable your doctor is. I "say" that I have CFS as well as fibro because I believe that I do........but I haven't had a doctor diagnose me with it. I don't know if it's that critical to find another doctor. I don't want to have to drive to the city two hours away to find another doctor. I think what I would do is find one or more good articles about this and make copies to take to your doctor the next time you go and see how he reacts. I don't know that there is anything to really address fatigue. I am taking quite a lot of meds as it is so I'm not anxious to add another one, BUT if there was something to address fatigue I would want it because I am so wiped out most of the time that I get very little done each day. But I ignored my body for many years before I finally found a doctor in my local Clinic who diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia at age 44. Even with the diagnosis I pushed on as a single mom raising two kids, teaching full time, playing the organ every Sunday, taking university courses until I finally hit the wall(figuratively) at age 55 and I could no longer forge on ignoring my body. So, now I am paying the price for my personal neglect and now it's a full time job taking care of myself. I am concluding more and more that the important thing is to listen to your body and do what it tells you.
How does your doctor talk about Fibromyalgia? Is he helpful and understanding? Does he work with you and support alternative therapies? If not, chances are he won't address CFS. My recommendations:
1. Research Rheumatologists in your area and find one who works with CFS
2. Make a list of all your symptoms (Making sure you also list all your symptoms that match with CFS)
3. Do your own research on CFS Symptoms and see if it looks like what you are experiencing. I have some website resources on my blog under Refresher Resources: http://dancingintherain-always.blogspot.com/p/fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html
4. I hope this helps!