🔑How I Deal with MS Fatigue in 7 Ways
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SUMMARY
Jen DeTracey shares what she does about MS fatigue and what you can do too. This includes seven ways that she manages fatigue for multiple sclerosis.
🔑How I Deal with MS Fatigue in 7 Ways
I'm going to share what I do about MS fatigue and what you can do too with seven ways that I manage fatigue.
Here's why we MSers burn energy faster. This information comes from Dr. Timothy West. It comes down to inflammation with the demyelination in the brain. This is when the MS in the brain attacks the coating on the wires (myelin). It chips or breaks the myelin sheath.
As a result we burn more energy to do the same tasks that people that don't have MS. The fact is that 80% of people living with MS have some sort of fatigue.
Even when we're resting burn more energy, more sugar than those that don't live with MS. Very interesting stuff.
Let's dive into the seven ways that I manage energy.
#1 Diet
I'm going to touch on diet briefly. I noticed, I was gluten intolerant many years ago. When I eat wheat or anything that has gluten in it, I feel more fatigued. This is may not happen for you but if it does, you'll want to consider what I do.
It is recommended that people living with MS do not eat gluten, but maybe you have absolutely no aversion and it's not fatigue factor for you. I also choose to limit the frequency and amount of sugar in my diet. Occasionally, I treat myself to a gluten free treat and sometimes I drink Gatorade, which has sugar in it to give me more energy and to boost my electrolytes.
Generally speaking, no dairy, no sugar and no gluten the food categories I avoid. In another video and blog post, I'll share how to choose the best MS Diet for you. The key is if you have food sensitivities to take these items out of your diet right away. Start paying attention to what has a negative impact on you and your body when you eat it.
It's may be causing more fatigue than you realize. I wake up with fatigue. I go to bed with fatigue. Managing fatigue is super important to me.
#2 Exercise
You might think exercise has a negative impact on fatigue. But actually research studies show that is not true for people living with MS. If you're really fatigued,
it actually doesn't make you feel worse.
See this video in which I share several studies. [Click Here]
Maybe you heat up and you don't feel good for a short period of time, but even getting out walking can make a difference. In my blog about being able to sleep when it's hot outside, I talk about the importance of having exercise, including sunset walks. I'll include that link [Here].
#3 Breath
Yes, you are breathing. Yes, you are alive. Yet how can you improve your breath so that you bring more oxygen into the body and reap the benefits. When you breathe out, you release the waste, both carbon dioxide and oxygen.
Your organs benefit, particularly your heart and your lungs. We don't tend to breathe at full capacity through our lungs. In fact, only about 50%. Doing breathing exercises has been very good for me and increases my energy. I do respiratory gymnastics or otherwise known as healing breath. Dr. Schmitsman taught me this.
See course where I teach the initial heal breath practice as part of The MS Stress Release Process™. [Click Here]
He is a Tai Chi master. I do respiratory gymnastics in the morning at the start my day. I also meditate. So getting your lungs moving, getting that breath happening is like exercising. When you do cardo exercises like swimming, cycling or walking fast, you get heart beating faster and your breathing is more active.
This helps create energy in your body.
#4 Rest and Naps
For me, napping is vital. I do this every afternoon. If I don't have time to take a nap, I get horizontal and have a quick rest break.
I close my eyes and do relaxation breathing. It's amazing how even laying down for 5, 10, 15 minutes can make a big difference in how I function for the rest of my day. It rests my brain and calm my mind. I shut off the lights to remove as much stimuli as possible.
If you can be intentionally about resting, you are giving yourself the gift of a break or a pause.
I mentioned earlier, you burn more sugar in our brain when you live with MS. However resting is still important. I know that when I don't rest, I get cranky and feel moody.
Can you relate to that?
The fatigue just feels bigger, especially when your mood is off. Then your window of tolerance becomes smaller and that can create problems with connecting with others and your ability to communication effectively.
Resting and napping can be amazing yet simple tool. I nap for anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. Unless I have nothing else planned for the day and I really didn't have a very good sleep the night before.
#5 Vitamin B
Some people get vitamin B shots. Some people take a tablet or capsule. I take a homeopathic vitamin B complex from Dr. Schmitsman. It definitely gives me a little bit extra pep during the mornings.
#6 Caffeine
Rarely drink beverages with caffeine because I take daily homeopathics and caffeine weakens their benefits. But when I really need a pick me up I'll drink green tea.
Maybe you do caffeine daily. It's best to drink caffeine by 11 am in the morning. Otherwise it may be difficult to sleep at night. I really notice this when I drink tea later in the day. Sometimes I'll eat chocolate that is 80 to 90% dark vegan gluten-free with very low levels of sugar 2 to 8 g . This when I really need to boost in energy to get me through the day.
#7 Sleep
You know that no matter how much sleep you get, if you have a constant experience with fatigue like myself, it's still going to be with you.
To what degree can you cope better when you have great nights sleep. I've done a video and blog on when it's hot and you have difficulty with the heat and it makes it difficult to sleep. There are many different things that you can do in those situations. So I'll put a link [Here].
For me, if I can have a good night's sleep, I'm definitely in a better mood. I'm more able to get out of bed in the morning and ready to go to start my day.
The key is getting to bed at earlier than you likely are doing right now. You definitely don't want to be scrolling on your phone before you go to bed. The blue light on computers and phones tells the brain to wake up, not go to sleep. Having a regular bedtime is ideal because it signals the brain and body to get really for sleep.
I can say that my bedtime regularity isn't perfect. But I ensure that I ideally get to bed before I'm flat out exhausted. Because if I'm too tired, it's almost impossible for me to fall asleep at night.
Maybe you have a sleeping aid that you take. Maybe that helps you so you don't have to get up to use the bathroom as often. Which means you're not getting up as many times in the night. I hear you. I get up several times a night to use the bathroom.
Occasionally, if I have a big day, the next day and it's super important that I need to guarantee a good night's sleep then I will take a low dose of Ativan to help me.
That's part my emergency kit. I'm not taking it Monday to Friday or all weekend. Rather about once a week to give me a little extra support.
The key for me is to avoid becoming addicted to Ativan. When I have a vertigo relapse, I have taken it more often and then it become less effective. When this happens, I stop for several weeks or longer to give my body a chance to recalibrate.
BONUS Content
Even though the fatigue is constant in my life, I do find that when I'm doing all of these actions that I'm describing to you above, that I'm able to just manage my mental and emotional health better while navigating fatigue.
It's not just energy management I'm addressing. It's also managing how you can cope throughout your day.
Notice when you're absorbed in a task or doing something fun that you really enjoy, in this snap shot in time does the fatigue temporarily melt away?
You might feel more fatigued later, when you're immersed in what you're doing, isn't it amazing how you get these breaks from focusing on the fatigue?
I find that when I'm coaching clients or teaching or creating video or blog like this even when I'm saddled with fatigue, I can suddenly feel energized because I'm engaged in a meaningful activity. I find to be very beneficial.
As a recap, diet exercise, breath work, naps and rest, vitamin B, caffeine, and focus on getting to bed at a good time and not scrolling on your phone before you go to sleep are key to managing fatigue.
Lastly, going back to Dr. Timothy West. He is a program specialist on MS at the Cleveland Clinic. I learned so much about the different ways that people with MS can really suffer from fatigue and why.
Here's a link his informative talk.
Jen DeTracey is the founder of Women Thriving with MS and a certified coach. Women Thriving with MS is an online community for women living with MS. You can join the private Women Thriving with MS Facebook group it's free and YouTube channel. Jen offers online courses, a membership and coaching.
Jen's been living with multiple sclerosis for over 11 years. She went through this process of surviving with MS to striving MS to thriving MS. She is a guide, coach and teacher who helps you move forward on your journey from surviving to thriving with MS.
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