Fatigue

[missys_girl]

i dont thing it was being pregnant to my attacker at all, i honestly think it was the PTSD, i was sleeping 23 hours at one point and had SEVERE tenstion headachea whenever i was awake

 

[Ursa]

I have been using Day Light therapy and it helps a lot with the fatigue.

It is a lamp that you stay under for a half hour during the morning. I am somehow inconsistent with it but I can feel a big difference when I use it.

It is kind of expesive and I am not sure if I have fatigue for not sleeping, for staying log time in flight or fight reaction or if I have some level of depression associated with the PTSD.

The lamp is used for seasonal depression. Because I feel a lot less energy during the winter I bought it last year to try.

Sorry I did not post this before... I kind of forgot about the lamp once I was not using it for a while.

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

I am so glad to see this thread - while I've always required more sleep than "average" - as I've just started dealing with my PTSD and related issues - I am absolutely exhausted (but find it difficult to fall asleep) - I actually thought maybe I had crashed and burned. I also am always cold natured and when my stress level gets really high I feel like I'm absolutely freezing. I have an electric throw blanket that helps some - but the rice blanket sounds like a great idea - I may research that a bit more.

Again, thanks for this thread - at least now I know it's a farely normal response.

 

[Blues in NYC]

Responding to this thread again with an observation I made over this weekend.

Normally for me the fatigue can be devastating. It's a plummeting form of exhaustion and I feel like I'm flailing all the way down.

This weekend I had more of a floating sense of exhaustion after a wedding one day and a bike ride to the park the next. I didn't flail. I described the sense to my wife and said it felt like when you're at University and cramming on a paper for three days straight. Then you turn that paper in. You're done. You don't quite know what to do with yourself and you don't have the energy to decide anyways. So you just sort of sit and stare and slump around but aren't too hard on yourself for it. That's how I felt this past weekend with the fatigue (which hits me partially in the body, and big time in my emotions and in my will). (Granted, it was only three hours of stimulus that left me feeling like I'd stayed up late several days in a row twisting my mind around writing a term paper!)

I hope that as I continue to learn to manage my PTSD that this is what the fatigue feels like more and more. Though it's still limiting, it is MUCH more palatable.

 

[Marlene]

I've noticed in myself here in the last couple of weeks that my increased stress and distrupted sleep are the biggest culprits in my fatiuge. They seem to feed off of each other.

That floaty and not-quite-there-feeling that Blues in NYC described is a pretty accurate one for me. I get that sort of disconnected feeling from my body. My mind is somewhere and my body didn't come along for the ride.

Lisa

 

[the racha]

Hey, Lisa. Thanks for posting, this is a great thread. Like so many others here, I too lament the loss of the energy I had before the BIG BANG, as I call it. My days usually started at 7:30am, and ended around 10 or 11pm. Work was followed by all kinds of social activities, etc. Whenever I flew home, I would be astounded that everyone there was in bed by 10pm.

I still do not believe that I have reached the full potential of my recovery, as my full-blown PTSD only began about 6 months ago. I do try to push myself, meaning expose myself to "new" situations (i.e. like going to the grocery store alone!). But when I'm at my limit (anywhere from 1-3 hours), I become extremely exhausted. This takes on a physical presence as well, as my face becomes drawn and everyone tells me I look exhausted or really tired. Once I notice how exhausted I am, if I cannot find a way to rest/relax that leads to anxiety and lately even body memories. I do not necessarily need to sleep, just chill out in a safe place.

While I am not the same person I used to be, nor can I do all of the same things I used to do, I have to say I am trying to learn to appreciate taking life a little more slowly. Sip it instead of chug it down. I walk a little slower, I talk a little slower, and I rest a lot more. It turns out that I'm not going to be a superstar with limitless energy, but I try my best to value what I have and what I do offer. I have to say, I admire you for being able to work a full-time job; I simply cannot imagine it!

Yoga & exercise help me as well, but I cannot do them when I'm suffering a setback and/or increasing my meds.

Best,
racha