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As you likely know, pain is the main core of what is going on with fibromyalgia. That being said, there are other symptoms that are pretty regular as well. These symptoms can make it difficult for you to control your fibromyalgia effectively.
Exhaustion and fatigue are a regular part of daily life if you are dealing with fibromyalgia. But why is that the case? What happens to our bodies that make them exhausted after every bit of pain? Let’s take a closer look here in this article.
Why Is Fatigue Common in People with Fibromyalgia?
Many times, chronic fatigue syndrome goes hand in hand with fibromyalgia. But why is this the case? There are a few reasons, actually – it all depends on what symptoms you have and how under control your symptoms are. One of the main reasons that fatigue is common is because the sleep that you get isn’t very sound.
You likely know about the pain that comes with fibromyalgia, but that pain, even if it seems to be under control before bedtime, can actually make it so that you sleep very lightly. If you’re not sleeping through the night, or you aren’t falling into your REM sleep, you’re not going to feel refreshed at the end of the night and you will feel fatigued throughout the day. It’s pretty miserable.
The other reason that those with fibromyalgia fight off sleep issues is because our bodies are always in so much pain that, even when we’re awake, we’re constantly fighting it off and that becomes exhausting.
This is especially true when we’re fighting off flare-ups – our body is working incredibly hard to make sure that we can still function normally, or at least somewhat normal, so it gets worn out. The mental fatigue can also be extremely burdensome, causing it to be difficult to think (sometimes called “mind fog”) and causing all sorts of other types of issues.
Fatigue is a very real thing for many people with fibromyalgia, and as we mentioned above, it happens for all sorts of different reasons. The good news is, we don’t necessarily have to try and fight off everything on our own. There are lots of healthy ways for us to fight the fatigue that comes with fibromyalgia, and we’re going to look at that in the next section of this article.
How Can We Deal With Fatigue Related to Fibromyalgia?
The fatigue-related to fibromyalgia can really take a lot out of us, but there are a lot of things that we can actually do in order to make sure that it chills out on us somewhat. Here are some suggestions that you can use in order to make your fatigue less and/or more manageable, making it easier for you and your family to enjoy the life that you want to live.
First off, you want to make sure that you’re getting a proper amount of sleep every night. It may be difficult with the pain, but if you work to manage your pain effectively, you can make it so that your body is at least a little bit less tired than it would be in other situations.
Keep a regular sleep schedule when you can – you want to go to bed around the same time every night, and you want to wake up at the same time every day. That way, your body is used to the schedule and it gets the rest that you need. Get a full night’s sleep too – between 7 and 9 hours is good for most adults.
Another thing that you want to do is remain active. I know, it can be really difficult to be active when you are in pain, but if you aren’t as active as you want or need to be, you won’t be able to sleep as well as you could otherwise. On top of that, exercise actually gives us energy and keeps us moving, which makes it a lot easier for us to continue through our day. Even if your definition of exercise is going out and taking a walk around the block, you still want to do a little bit of something to get your body moving throughout the day.
Planning your life in such a way that you can easily deal with your symptoms can also play a huge role in helping with fatigue. The fatigue will get worse when you have a flare up, so you want to make sure that you make things work out with as few commitments as possible. On some days, taking a nap may be incredibly helpful for you, because it will help you to get rid of your fatigue and it will make you a little more comfortable with your day.
Last but not least, watch your diet. The foods you eat can affect how much pain you’re in, but they can also affect your sleep patterns. Don’t drink a lot of caffeine; don’t eat a lot of sugar, and stay away from foods that have a lot of preservatives.
These things don’t only cause flare-ups, but they also make it so you have a harder time sleeping and cause a lot of people to throw their sleep schedules more out of whack than they may already be. Other dietary changes may be necessary; consult with your specialist.
Fatigue can make life incredibly difficult, which is why it is important for us to take care of it promptly. It’s really difficult for us to make sure that our bodies can work how we need them to when we have fibromyalgia.
Taking care of your fatigue is important, so be sure to communicate with your caretakers and specialists so that you don’t experience further issues with it. By caring for your fatigue, you can also be sure that you are going to care for the rest of your body’s health, and you’re going to make it more likely that you can get through the day.
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