Fatigue is a common problem for people with MS. Although it affects everyone differently, there are some key steps that we can all take.
Heather is 28 years old and was diagnosed with MS three years ago. Since being diagnosed she has been an avid follower of the Overcoming MS Program. She has her own blog ‘Living with Dizzy’, which documents her adventures with MS, with the help of her trusted companion, the knitted donkey, Dizzy.
Dizzy and I are back with another little blog post. This time we’re thinking about fatigue, or more importantly, ways of helping to manage it. Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of MS, affecting around 80% of those diagnosed, and it can have a massive impact on day-to-day life.
One of the problems is that fatigue affects everyone differently, and that can make it really hard to explain to others! People with MS can be affected by fatigue both mentally and physically.
It can range from feeling tired to having a complete lack of energy, which causes your body to feel super heavy. It can also make other symptoms worse – for me this means extra dizziness.
Unfortunately fatigue isn’t something that we can completely get rid of, but there are ways of helping to manage it. Dizzy and I have compiled a little list of our top tips for helping to manage life with fatigue.
Sleep, sleep and more sleep! It’s really important to get a good night’s sleep so that this does not cause an increase in fatigue. I find it helpful to ‘switch off’ an hour before bed time, and to do something relaxing in this time, such as reading a good book.
By prioritizing tasks and activities it can help reserve energy levels for the things that we want or that are needed to be done. This is a tricky one, if you’re like me you always want to be able to do more, but it’s important not to overdo it. Making a list of the tasks you need to complete each day and deciding which are the most important can also help with this.
Life is stressful for all of us, and living with a chronic condition can make it even more stressful. We can’t avoid stress completely but we can take time out to relax. Stress can cause an increase in fatigue so having stress-free times throughout the day can help to give us a little more energy. Read more: stress and meditation
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and drinking lots of water are both important for helping with energy levels.
For me, a lot of the time even the thought of exercising is exhausting. However, it has been proven that even a small amount of regular exercise can help to fight fatigue. Sometimes it’s not always possible to do much, but even some gentle yoga or stretching can make all the difference. Watch: a two-part yoga video from Véronique Gauthier-Simmons
Heat can cause an increase in fatigue. If this affects you then it is important to try and stay cool throughout the day, especially in the summer!
Listen to how your body is feeling and if you feel tired take the time out to rest. It can be really useful to have periods throughout the day to rest and have short naps (or two-hour naps if you’re like me…). This can help you to then have more energy during the rest of the day.
Heather
Blog: dinosaursdonkeysandms.com Twitter: @dizzythedonkey
Further Reading