I’ve had a few friends reach out over the last few weeks and ask what I’ve been doing for my chronic fatigue.
I am no doctor and no expert! What I’m sharing are things that have personally helped me. I can’t promise it will help you. Our bodies are each unique and different and have different needs.
My main symptoms of chronic fatigue is vertigo, exhaustion, and pain that feels like the flu (body aches) if I've over pushed myself.
My journey with chronic fatigue started in 2016 after a car accident. It hit hard and fast! Took me a full 6 months just to be able to get out of bed for more then 1 day at a time and not shake.
After a few bad doctors, I switch to 100% natural medicine. That helped to a degree but I still suffered. If I over pushed myself physically at all I would be laid out in bed for a couple of days. If I let the stress get too high I was laid out. If I tried to exercise, I was laid out.
The depression from frustration and not being able to do things the way I was used to was extremely hard.
Then in 2020 I saw a fantastic doctor who helped me see it was chronic fatigue and sent me to an internist to help.
2022 has been my best and most controlled year (as controlled as they can be with chronic fatigue).
The trick for me was a mix of western and eastern medicines together!
- Find a Good Doctor
- Go find a good doctor who specializes in chronic fatigue and is willing to listen to your specific symptoms. If you’re like me, your symptoms will be a little out of the box. I straight up ask my doctors to be willing to think out of the box. If they respond positively to that request I work with them. If they roll their eyes at me, I end the visit and go find another doctor. Be willing to doctor shop until you find the right doctor for you!
- I see an Internist
- Get a Therapist
- If you can work it in your budget, get a good therapist. If you can have multiple do it! I have worked with different therapists in the past 6 years.
- Ideas of different therapist:
- Licensed therapist
- Psychologists
- Massage Therapy
- Chiropractic Care
- Acupuncture
- All have helped me in different ways, but my favorite therapist is actually a massage therapist who is willing to help me be better in tune with my body. She has taught me how to ask God to help me hear my body’s needs. Be willing to try out different therapist and see who you respond to best. Who do you want to go see again after a couple of weeks?Who do you want to ask for help when you are feeling worn down? Find who is the best therapist for you! As part of my different therapies, I also add in acupuncture. That's a huge added bonus!
- Sleep!!!
- Sleep is your best friend! But be ware if you give into too much sleep it is also a curse. I have found that 9-9.5 hrs a night is my ideal number of hours. I go to bed at 10:30 pm and wake up between 7:30 and 8 am. I don’t always crawl out of bed but I wake up. If I have to wake up earlier, I’m strict with myself on going to bed earlier. People laugh at me on Wednesday nights when I go to bed at 9 pm, but I know I want to be able to function the next morning waking up at 5:30 am.
- Do you know what your ideal hours of sleep is?
- Struggling with sleep:
- When I struggle getting to sleep I have 2 different things
- Brainwaves App - start it about 30 mins before going to bed. I listen while I get ready for bed and then fall asleep to it. Even when I wake up to take off my headphones I can fall right back asleep.
- 1/2 a melatonin tablet (but I only take this on Wed nights when I’m trying to go to bed earlier than normal). I have found a whole tablet makes it too hard to wake up in the morning. And be careful to take everyday as melatonin can increase depression (Sorry don’t have the source on that. Just something I read when Kinnley started struggling with her depression and I linked her daily melatonin to it)
- Good supplements
- Work with your doctor/therapist to know what is and are the best supplements for you
- List of my supplements:
- Collagen
- B-Oxidant
- C-Comp
- Viro-Ex
- Adrenix (my favorite adrenal support supplement)
- Di-gessta
- Omega 3
- Vitamin D
- Copper Balance
- Don't just take supplements to take supplements. It's taken me years and my list is always changing. I learned how to muscle test each supplement to know what is right for me that specific day.
- Natural caffeine
- On days I just need an extra boost or the days that I am exercising I take a recovery drink that has natural caffeine, vitamin b’s, turmeric, and more
- Morning - Brain Focus (by beach body)
- 1 - 2 pm Pick me up - Fit Aid Drink
- Increase Electrolytes and Water intake
- Drink plenty of water. I can’t let myself get dehydrated. If I do it takes twice as long to recover then most people and it normals ends with me having to be in bed for a few days. With that water intake make sure to balance your electrolytes. A few years back I bought a Kangen water machine and that has made a huge difference for me in hydration and inflammation. I only drink 9.5 water. When I’m traveling I look for 9.5 water bottles to help keep me hydrated.
- Exercise
- Exercise on your good days, but keep it super light. I’ve always been super active and so this has been the hardest thing for me. 1/2 a mile is all I can walk on a good day at a medium speed. If I do much more than that, the dizziness sets in and I’m out for the rest of the day. I have found when I’m on vacation and I don’t have the stress of the business I can do a little more exercise. This year is the first year I’ve been able to start handling both a little bit of exercising and the running the business.
- Lately I've started running in the pool and swimming laps. I normally can do a little more in the pool as it isn't as hard on my joints.
- Increase your spirituality!
- For me that has been increasing my time in the temple. As my spirit has been healing and increasing, my physical body has also been healing. It’s amazing how much I’ve improved in the last 8 months I’ve been working at the temple weekly.
- Patience in your half speed!!
- Be patience with yourself! through this journey! Find what works for you and be open to changes. As you have good days, set limits not to over do it. I know it feels amazing to be able to clean to the house, cook dinner or do a little more exercise but it all comes with a cost. Make sure to to listen to your body.
- Know your body’s symptoms when it is telling you to stop and be willing to stop!
- Believe you are AMAZING!!
- As I’ve changed my attitude and stopped putting myself down for all the things I couldn’t do I began to do a little more. I accepted my limits and new I could do great things even with those limits!
- God can take even what you believe to be small and insignificant and make it into something great!
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