How To Overcome Ms Fatigue

What Are Symptoms Of Fatigue

There are two major types of fatigue in MS. These two types of fatigue are probably separate problems related to the MS.

The first type is a general feeling of tiredness. It may feel as if one has not slept the night before. This feeling may be worse in the afternoons or after activity. People may feel that they are unable to do as many tasks without getting tired as they did before.

A second type of fatigue is muscular. In this type, there is increased weakness after repeated activity. Often, this occurs with walking. People may find that they are dragging one leg or are more unsteady.

What Causes Fatigue In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

The exact cause of MS-related fatigue is still unknown. There are several theories on the subject:

• One theory is that fatigue is related to the general activation of the immune system. Chemical messengers are called cytokines these levels are higher in patients with MS and may be higher still in patients with fatigue. One way of describing this is that you may feel like you have a virus all of the time.
• Another theory is that people with MS may have to use more parts of their brain to do the same task as someone without MS in essence, they are working harder.
• Another theory is that fatigue is related to reduced electrical transmission of signals in the brain.

Whatever the theory, we know that fatigue from MS is a very real part of the disease.

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How To Overcome Mental Fatigue According To An Expert

Do you constantly feel overwhelmed? Emotionally and mentally drained most of the time? If so, chances are you might be suffering from mental fatigue.

Mental fatigue is a condition triggered by prolonged cognitive activity. Basically, it sends your brain into overdrive, leaving you exhausted, hampering your productivity and overall cognitive function.

The most common symptoms include mental block, lack of motivation, irritability, stress eating or loss of appetite and insomnia. Mental exhaustion can affect you for both short-term or long-term.

If left unchecked, it can lead to all sorts of serious health problems, including anxiety and burnout. Research suggests that constant mental exhaustion can also impact your physical endurance.

What exactly causes mental fatigue?

Other potential causes include medication, stress and ailments such as depression, fibromyalgia and autoimmune disease. Emotionally challenging experiences like divorce or death of a loved one can also contribute to brain fatigue.

So, how can you beat mental exhaustion?

Adopting the following strategies can help ease mental fatigue:

Other than that, eat healthy, cut back on caffeine, exercise regularly and get enough zzz’s .

Lastly, here are some surefire strategies to prevent brain fatigue and improve mental clarity:

And remember, “the more you work on systems for reducing stress and excess decision-making, the more mental energy you’ll have,” adds Dr Boyes.

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Home Remedies And Lifestyle Changes

Making some lifestyle changes may help reduce your symptoms.

Limiting or eliminating your caffeine intake can help you sleep better and ease your insomnia. You should limit or avoid nicotine and alcohol too.

Try to avoid napping during the day if its hurting your ability to sleep at night.

Create a sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time every night and aim to wake up around the same time every day.

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What Causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Scientists have been researching chronic fatigue syndrome for many years, but they still dont know for sure what causes it.

Many doctors believe that the way some conditions interact within the body and mind might leave some people at risk for CFS. For example, if someone has a and is under a lot of stress, the combination of these two things might make them more likely to develop CFS.

These things are believed to interact with each other in this way, putting some people at risk for CFS:

• infections. Experts have wondered if infections like measles or Epstein-Barr virus might increase the risk for CFS. The role Epstein-Barr plays in CFS is not clear because studies have not confirmed it as a cause.
• problems with the immune system or the nervous system
• hormone imbalances

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Motor Symptoms And Ms

Difficulty with walking or a change in walking style can be one of the first MS symptoms noticeable to others, for example beginning to stumble or trip.

Nerve demyelination can cause damage to the nerves that direct the affected muscles, causing incoordination. In some people, balance may also be affected, if special areas of the brain are demyelinated, and can lead to feeling off-balanced and leaning to one side, or difficulties in perception of where the body is in space .

Balance and walking problems vary considerably from one person with MS to another and may include:

• tripping, stumbling or falling
• unsteadiness when walking or turning
• needing support from walls, furniture or other people
• a heavy feeling in the legs when stepping forward
• leg weakness when weight bearing
• difficulty placing the foot squarely on the ground
• taking slower, shorter steps
• loss of confidence when walking.

Spasticity is a symptom of MS that causes your muscles to feel stiff, heavy and difficult to move. A spasm is a sudden stiffening of a muscle which may cause a limb to kick out or jerk towards your body and can also cause pain.

Not all motor problems are caused by MS, so it is important to seek professional advice. A health professional, such as a neurologist, an MS nurse, GP or physiotherapist can work with you to determine the cause of your walking and balance problems and advise on management.

What Role Do Psychological Factors Play In Cfs

A persons response to the illness is important in determining its course. Similarly, familys, friends, physicians, and co-workers responses affect how a person copes with symptoms. For example, some people react to illness by denying that it exists and underrespond to their symptoms. This may not be in their best interest, as they are likely to overexert themselves and make their symptoms worse or set unrealistically high goals that they cannot achieve, leading to depression and/or anger.

On the other hand, other people may respond to symptoms with fear and pessimism and unnecessarily limit their activities. Further problems can result from this sort of response, such as a loss of muscle tone and therefore of strength. Behavior therapists can help a person learn to cope effectively and flexibly with symptoms.

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What Causes Ms And Ms Fatigue

Its unclear why someone develops multiple sclerosis . Its not linked to any specific health practice, and its unclear whether it is avoidable. So far, research reveals that a mix of hereditary and environmental variables contribute to the cause.

MS fatigue is among the most unpleasant symptoms of the disease. MS fatigue may be distressing, and it can interfere with job and family life, mental and physical health, and social and recreational activities for some people. Fatigue can be a major symptom of the active inflammatory disorder, or it can be a secondary sign of other medical disorders.

So what exactly causes this fatigue? Cytokines are a large group of tiny proteins that play a key role in cell signalling. The central nervous system interacts with inflammatory cytokines, neurons, and cells. Cell signals in these sensory neurons can cause fatigue and discomfort. However, a changed neuroendocrine system may be able to control inflammation and excessive stimulation.

Review Your Current Medications

It may surprise you that the very medications you are taking for your MS symptoms may be contributing to your fatigue. Some include:

• Anticholinergic medications used to treat urinary incontinence
• Muscle relaxants used to treat spasticity
• Medications for treating tremor

Some disease-modifying MS medications can add to stress, which begets fatigue, as well.

Other medications that are commonly associated with fatigue include antihistamines for treating allergies and antihypertensives for treating high blood pressure. These medications are not used more often in MS than they are otherwise, but they can add to your already existing fatigue if you take them.

Speak with your healthcare provider about whether your medication could be adding to your fatigue or feeling of fogginess. Your practitioner may suggest switching your medications or changing the time of dosing.

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Take Breaks And Pace Yourself

Pacing yourself and taking breaks during the day can help you stay healthy, says Wentink.

When Im drained and continue to push, I think Im putting myself at risk for getting sick, he says. When I feel fatigued, I take it as a sign that I need to step back and take a break.”

Symptoms tend to get worse when severe fatigue sets in, says Wentink. I try to slow down before that happens because I dont want to bring on a relapse, he adds.

Actions For This Page

• Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that can affect the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
• Common symptoms include fatigue, bladder and bowel problems, sexual problems, pain, cognitive and mood changes such as depression, muscular changes and visual changes.
• See your doctor for investigation and diagnosis of symptoms, since some symptoms can be caused by other illnesses.
• Whilst there is not yet a cure for MS, researchers are making promising progress and discoveries about the treatment and management of MS every day.

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Complementary And Alternative Therapies For Multiple Sclerosis

Some people with MS find that complementary therapies help them feel better.

Many complementary treatments and therapies claim to ease symptoms, although scientific evidence is often not clear about how effective they are.

Many people think that complementary treatments have no harmful effects. But people can occasionally experience problems, and it’s not a good idea to use them as an alternative to medicines prescribed by your doctor.

If you’re considering using an alternative treatment alongside your prescribed medicines, it’s important to let your doctor know your plans.

Allow Yourself To Rest

While being productive matters, resting when you need to is more important.

Efficiency, not intensity, is the goal. Knowing how to deal with chronic fatigue mostly centers on being gracious with yourself and honoring what your body needs!

A spin on the classic Pomodoro Technique for productivity is a good idea. Switch it up to do what works best for your body!

When a full day of work is too much, focus on just 20 minutes of productivity. By making those 20 minutes truly productive and then resting, youll probably accomplish even more than you would have in pushing through for 3 hours.

After 20 minutes of work, check in with yourself. If you need to rest, set a timer for an hour and rest. Once the hour is up, try to work again for another 20 minutes. If you can still only accomplish 20 minutes, thats fine! Or, if you can accomplish an hour, thats even better.

Resting guilt-free prevents burnout and keeps your work consistent.

On that same note, dont forget to reward yourself!

Whether you have worked for 20 minutes, hours, or not at all, rewarding yourself makes rest feel like a celebration and not something to be ashamed of.

Be gentle to yourself! Youre dealing with something overwhelming, and showing up to make an effort is something to be proud of.

When youre wondering how to deal with chronic fatigue and be productive, these tips are absolutely essential!

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Tips To Conserve Energy

Use Adaptive Aids.Reachers, dressing aids, and other adaptive equipment can significantly help conserve energy when dressing, bathing, and performing other household and personal activities. Many of these items may be obtained through MSAAs Equipment Distribution Program . Please visit mymsaa.org or call 532-7667 for more information.

Shop from Home.Rather than using valuable energy walking around stores, use catalogs or order items online. In addition to avoiding the crowds and exhaustion from walking through stores or malls, ordering clothes allows you to try them on at your leisure when your energy level is highest. Many grocery stores also offer online ordering with either free delivery or a minimal charge for delivery.

Take Fewer Steps.Try to take care of as many things as possible in one room to eliminate extra trips.

Consider Telecommuting.A great way to conserve energy is to reduce the amount of time spent traveling to and from work. Ask your employer about working part of the week from home.

Dont Get Overheated.This can cause fatigue. Wear your cooling vest or other cooling apparel and try to go outside either early in the morning or later in the evening, when temperatures are at their coolest.

The following medications, among others, are prescribed for depression. These have been found to help lessen fatigue in certain individuals. Antidepressants may need to be taken for several weeks before seeing an effect.

Consider Injections Instead Of Pills

Sometimes the same drug can affect you in different ways depending on the method in which it is administered, Dr. Cohen says. Take methotrexate, for instance with pills you may have to use more medication to get the therapeutic dose because it has to pass through the entire gastrointestinal tract, she explains. Using an intramuscular injection often allows us to use less medication as it goes directly to your bloodstream. This may help lessen side effects such as fatigue for some patients. Read more common questions about methotrexate.

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How Do You Overcome Ms Fatigue

10 ways to manage MS fatigue

Organise Your Living And Work Spaces

You might find there are practical changes that can be made to the places you work and live. Maybe re-organising desks or cupboards, or adjusting the temperature or lighting to suit you better.

Sometimes, the simplest of changes can make the workplace or home more energy efficient for you.

An occupational therapist can help you assess the spaces you use at work and at home – and may suggest adaptations or equipment that could help. For more information about the support that occupational therapists can offer, and how to find one, download or order our leaflet Occupational therapy and MS.

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If You Think It’s All About How Much You Sleep You Need To Read On

What does it mean to feel energetic?

Watching children play, adults marvel at their energy. Can’t we feel energetic as well? The answer is yes, although as we age, it is normal to experience less vigor. This fatigue is not entirely due to the physical process of aging. Stress increases as we agewe may have big mortgages, car payments, increasing responsibility at work, ill parents, medical conditions, or children to raise. And we often play lessthose who are younger are often better at prioritizing socializing, trying new things and having fun, while we can become bogged down in responsibility and forget to do the things that fill us up.

Adults also tend to decrease their activities as they get olderand less activity is associated with greater fatigue. It can mean poorer physical conditioning, too, which means that less activity is needed to produce muscle strain. Fatigue is functional it can help protect us against overexertion. However, our bodies are also sensitive to too little activity. So although fatigue is often associated with not wanting to do anything, paradoxically, sometimes we need to increase activity to shake off the cobwebs.Too often we take the cues of fatigue as a sign that we must do less.

What can we do to feel less fatigued?

Any Kind Of Exercise Could Help

It seems to go against common sense to exert yourself if you experience fatigue. But there is strong evidence that exercise helps keep your body working at its best and can improve strength, fitness and mood.

Its possible to do too much exercise, so balance the exercise with rest. And keep cool while you exercise, especially if heat makes your fatigue worse.

You might want to plan your exercise and avoid long sessions to prevent overheating. Some people find water-based exercise helpful for maintaining a steady temperature.

Cooling vests may also help. A physiotherapist can help you devise a suitable exercise programme.

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How Is Cfs Treated

Theres currently no specific cure for CFS.

Each person has different symptoms and therefore may require different types of treatment to manage the disorder and relieve their symptoms.

Work with your team of healthcare providers to create the best treatment plan for you. They can go over the possible benefits and side effects of the therapies with you.

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What Else Can I Do To Manage These Symptoms

It can be useful to learn to recognise the early signs of fatigue and how it affects you. Likewise, talking with family, friends and/or colleagues may help them understand any limitations. Identifying any contributing factors to your MS fatigue, can help you develop a tailored management plan with your healthcare professional. Recent research is strongly supporting the role of exercise in managing fatigue. Even though it may seem counterproductive to exercise when feeling so tired, it can be a very effective management tool for many, and of course has other benefits towards health and wellbeing.

Fatigue management strategies include:

• Maintain a well-balanced diet to increase energy levels.
• Stay active low or no activity can increase fatigue, and regularly used muscles help to provide energy to accomplish tasks.
• Monitor sleep patterns and address any issues.
• Manage other contributing MS mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety or stress.
• Rest and take time to relax to decrease muscle tension and ease stress.
• Vary heavy with lighter tasks for example, if you have more fatigue in the afternoon, do harder jobs in the morning. Or prioritise those jobs which need to be done before others.
• Manage any heat sensitivity. Even the smallest increase in temperature can increase a persons fatigue. Like MS fatigue and the need to rest and recover, your body needs to cool down if affected by heat and humidity. Read more about heat sensitivity and MS here.

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