How Do People Live with Chronic Pain and Fatigue?

Having enough energy to move forward can be tough when you’re dealing with chronic pain and fatigue. You likely spend most of your time just trying to get through your day, and without the energy left to do anything else, you may be frustrated as you try to plan for the future. Understanding how to cope with chronic pain and fatigue, though, can help you know what to do next.

What Is Fatigue?

Before we go any further, it’s important to know what is fatigue and what is simply being tired. Fatigue means that on a regular basis, you’re weak and lacking energy. Simply being tired after a long day of work is normal. It’s not normal, though, if you wake up exhausted even after you’ve slept for a full night or you continually find it hard to have the energy for activities you enjoy. If you find your fatigue lasts longer than a week, it may be time to consult with your doctor. 

How Fatigue And Pain are Related

Many people who live with chronic fatigue also deal with chronic pain, and there’s a reason for that. Continually fighting pain exhausts your body because pain makes it hard to rest completely. Pain can usually be a result of inflammation that takes a toll on your body or an untreated health problem. Often simply finding better ways to treat your illness and manage your pain can help to ease the fatigue you feel day after day. 

Other Fatigue Fighting Strategies

If you’re living with fatigue and exhaustion on a daily basis, it’s time to make an appointment with your doctor. The two of you can discuss your current medications (which could be causing your fatigue) and your dosage schedule. Sometimes splitting doses or taking the same medication by injection on the weekends can help to fight the fatigue. You may also want to discuss supplements with your doctor. Taking probiotics could help you deal both with the pain and your fatigue levels, as might vitamin D. Even investigating your sleep cycle can help quite a bit. 

After you talk to your doctor, you may want to try a few other things. First, don’t overdo it when you have a good day. If you feel good, keep in mind that your energy level may still be in short supply, and overdoing it will make your next bad day far worse. Knowing your limitations can help you avoid overdoing it. 

Be sure to get some exercise every day. While this can be tough if you’re dealing with chronic pain and fatigue, a little bit of exercise (maybe a short walk or a swim) could help increase your overall energy levels while keeping your joints flexible. 

Think about increasing the quality of your sleep, too. You should have a dark space in which you sleep each night that is cool and comfortable. If possible, make sure it is quiet, too, and don’t take any electronics into the room. 

Eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods may also help. Try to reduce the amount of processed foods you consume while increasing the number of fruits and vegetables you eat each day. You can even make it easy when you order your groceries online!

Chronic pain and fatigue can make it tough to live your life, but there are things you can do to move forward. To learn more about how we can help you fight chronic pain and fatigue, contact us today.