MS-Related Fatigue
MS-Related Fatigue is a major component of MS. MS-related fatigue is debilitating. Fatigue interferes with daily life. 75% to 95% of people with MS experience fatigue. MS fatigue occurs daily and worsens as the day progresses and is greatly heightened by heat. It cause changes in strength, mobility, and function because it often interferes with physical activity.
Fatigue in multiple sclerosis is unique in that it interferes with all aspects of daily living. All people have felt fatigue as a normal consequence of physical or mental exertion and emotional stress. This type of fatigue is restored completely with rest and / or sleep. Not so with MS-related fatigue. Fatigue is the most common symptom or complaint of those people with MS.
MS-related fatigue is defined as a lack of physical and / or mental energy that is perceived by the individual or caregiver to interfere with usual or desired activities.
Ms-related fatigue is so overwhelming that it prevents those of us affected with it from carrying on with our desired lifestyle. We have the desire to do more, but are totally and frustratingly unable to. I experienced mental fatigue daily, as well as almost constant physical fatigue.
I had so many great plans for what I would like to do but I was unable to maintain the level of cognitive ability and physical activity that I had in the past. I had and have few visible physical limitations or disabilities. But, I know that I am not the same person that I was before I had MS. I did not have the energy that I so desperately wanted to have. I was unable to perform all of the daily tasks to the degree that I had before MS. It was very discouraging and frustrating. Family and friends thought I should be able to do what everyone else my age did, but I absolutely couldn’t.
I had some good days where I would think, “This is what it is like to be normal, oh wow! I want this all the time.”
I must tell you that after using Copaxone I have much more energy. I still have fatigue, but not to same degree as before. Nor do I have all the energy as I would like to have, but I do have more than before.
Research indicates that fatigue develops independently of many other aspects of MS. It can affect individuals with any type of MS.
With the fast paced busyness of our society, just about everybody have suffered from fatigue now and then. It’s that tired feeling most people get after a long days work.
MS-related fatigue is different. It interferes with physical and mental functioning as well as daily activities. It made worse by heat. It is not relieved by rest or sleep.
There are three types of MS related fatigue.
1. Lassitude - overwhelming tiredness.
2. Muscle fatigue – it seems like someone has injected lead into your limbs, making them too heavy to move.
3. Mental fatigue – even the simplest mental tasks are hard to do, because you are simply too tired to do them.
There are things that can be done to help lessen MS related fatigue.
1.) Sleep well – lack of sleep can make fatigue worse, or even cause fatigue.
2.) Avoid heat – People with MS often get more tired with heat.
3.) Pace yourself – don’t try to do more than you physically do.
4.) Keep a diary – Keep a fatigue diary. You can use the MS fatigue scale posted the other day or you can keep your own diary. This can be shared with your medical practitioner.
Before having MS I had had 3 part-time jobs. I was manager of 36 houses for a property management firm, I had a Day Care in my home, and I was also the co-ordinator for an Enrichment Program for the senior citizens in the area. I was a volunteer member of numerous organizations. Soon I didn’t have a life after work. I came home, made supper, ate, and I was in bed by 8 PM or before. Work became my life. I gave up many volunteer work commitments.
The winter before my diagnosis I had to give up the Day Care in my home, in the spring before my diagnosis I had to resign as manager for the property management firm. I had to withdraw from the rest of my volunteer duties. The only job I had was the one-day-a-week, working with my much loved senior citizens.
My Symptoms
My worst and most consuming symptom, the one that seemed to rule my life was fatigue. The fatigue sapped the quality of my life, it overwhelmed, it consumed, it encompassed my whole life. Fatigue dictated what I did or did not do. Fatigue limited my energy and my endurance. Simply shopping for groceries was an exhausting task. Resting did not restore my energy level. Fatigue never left me.
Heat really affected my MS symptoms. Heat intensified all of my symptoms. Summers became unbearable. Previously I had loved the heat of summers, sunbathing, and long hot baths. MS made me hide in my basement during the heat of summer days. I could only go outside when the weather had cooled at night time. Heat created an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion within me.
I soon learned to prioritize my activities. I had to realize that people were more important than a clean house. I have had to hire some one to do my house cleaning on occasion. I have naps when I need them, not at a later time.
MS-Related Fatigue
MS-Related Fatigue is a major component of MS. MS-related fatigue is debilitating. Fatigue interferes with daily life. 75% to 95% of people with MS experience fatigue. MS fatigue occurs daily and worsens as the day progresses and is greatly heightened by heat. It cause changes in strength, mobility, and function because it often interferes with physical activity.
Fatigue in multiple sclerosis is unique in that it interferes with all aspects of daily living. All people have felt fatigue as a normal consequence of physical or mental exertion and emotional stress. This type of fatigue is restored completely with rest and / or sleep. Not so with MS-related fatigue. Fatigue is the most common symptom or complaint of those people with MS.
MS-related fatigue is defined as a lack of physical and / or mental energy that is perceived by the individual or caregiver to interfere with usual or desired activities.
Ms-related fatigue is so overwhelming that it prevents those of us affected with it from carrying on with our desired lifestyle. We have the desire to do more, but are totally and frustratingly unable to. I experienced mental fatigue daily, as well as almost constant physical fatigue.
I had so many great plans for what I would like to do but I was unable to maintain the level of cognitive ability and physical activity that I had in the past. I had and have few visible physical limitations or disabilities. But, I know that I am not the same person that I was before I had MS. I did not have the energy that I so desperately wanted to have. I was unable to perform all of the daily tasks to the degree that I had before MS. It was very discouraging and frustrating. Family and friends thought I should be able to do what everyone else my age did, but I absolutely couldn’t.
I had some good days where I would think, “This is what it is like to be normal, oh wow! I want this all the time.”
I must tell you that after using Copaxone I have much more energy. I still have fatigue, but not to same degree as before. Nor do I have all the energy as I would like to have, but I do have more than before.
Research indicates that fatigue develops independently of many other aspects of MS. It can affect individuals with any type of MS.