Please help how can I stay on task/focused and combat everyday fatique

[susancollins]

I am having a hard time with my energy levels. I need to take a nap everyday around 2, but I just don't have the time. I am also having a hard time staying focused and getting things done lately. I find myself jumping from one thing to another. I am easily distracted I will go in a room and forget what I was going to do or get. I was wondering if anyone had any good vitamin recommendations, or anything I can do to help me get out of this funk.

[holdoll]

GNC sells a great multivitamin for women - but... I think I'd head for the doc and get a round of blood workup. Especially have your thyroid looked at. Don't let them do the simple thyroid test. It rarely shows much. Have them do the in depth one.

 

Are you sleeping well at night?

[Rosie_0801]

This is probably not a very useful response, but it's the only thing that has worked for me.

 

Accept that you can't.

 

 

Make sure you are drinking enough water and eating properly, but no amount of vitamins will cure a lack of sleep. Try an iron supplement, Spatone is a very good one that won't give you a bellyache, but maybe you'll just have to wait this phase of life out.

 

:grouphug:

Rosie

[momof3sofar]

This is probably not a very useful response, but it's the only thing that has worked for me.

 

Accept that you can't.

 

 

Make sure you are drinking enough water and eating properly, but no amount of vitamins will cure a lack of sleep. Try an iron supplement, Spatone is a very good one that won't give you a bellyache, but maybe you'll just have to wait this phase of life out.

 

:grouphug:

Rosie

:iagree:

 

You can also try vitamin B6, B12 and Vitamin D but the best advice after accepting you can't is get a full work up from a doctor. Constant fatigue can be a symptom of many things.

[jenL]

Are you sleeping enough at night? You may have to determine what your body really needs after a couple of tries, and then work with that. Also, do you exercise? I found that I have been doing MUCH better since I began regular exercise. Make sure you are drinking enough water and eating enough fruits, veggies, and proteins.

 

I agree with Rosie... maybe it's time to accept that you can't right now. It could be time to simplify your life. I know... easier said than done! :)

[cougarmom4]

Especially have your thyroid looked at. Don't let them do the simple thyroid test. It rarely shows much. Have them do the in depth one.

 

 

 

Don't mean to hijack or anything...but I recently went to the doc and asked him to check my thyroid because I felt like that might be my problem, too...he said it looked fine. So what you're saying here is that there is a different test that might show something that might have been missed on the first? Am I understanding this right?

[Peela]

This is probably not a very useful response, but it's the only thing that has worked for me.

 

Accept that you can't.

 

 

Make sure you are drinking enough water and eating properly, but no amount of vitamins will cure a lack of sleep. Try an iron supplement, Spatone is a very good one that won't give you a bellyache, but maybe you'll just have to wait this phase of life out.

 

:grouphug:

Rosie

 

:iagree:

What you are describing is normal for me. I just adjust my life to it. I take naps, I take spirulina for iron and various other things at times, I am taking gingko for memory..maybe this is just your new normal. My husband's short term memory went years before mine and I used to get really annoyed about it and feel it was virtually deliberate...then mine started going! Its not so bad- gingko seems to help.

I can go from one side of my tiny kitchen to the other and forget why by the time I get there. I can stand in front of the open fridge or pantry and go completely blank as to why I am standing there, what I am looking for.

I would fit more into my day if I didnt nap....but life is not just about being productive, so I enjoy my naps, because if I miss them too often, the rest of my day I am just dragging myself through.

[Tutor]

Awhile ago someone on this board recommended the book When Your Body Gets the Blues. I found its recommendations very helpful to help me through exactly what you're describing. The basic gist is: 20 minutes of sun, 20 minutes of exercise, and a B-complex/ D vitamin (I think there were a couple other vitamins/ minerals in there, but I can't remember what they are off hand) daily. Doing those things combined with learning when my body was just trying to say "when" and stopping when I needed to made a huge difference.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I recommend this book by Dr. James Wilson "Adrenal Fatigue" http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/ It discusses tests for thyroid and other things in the book because they can all be related.

[Heidi7Sue]

Lack of sleep can cause trouble with focusing and getting things done. I have been easily distracted all my life, but it is definitely worse when I'm sleep-deprived.

 

Flaxseed oil is also supposed to help, but I don't know if it does.

[hmdavis02]

I'm there, but don't have much to add. The excercise, B vitamins, D vitamins, and a packet of Emergen-C a day help, but nothing really gets rid of it for me either, including sleep! Sorry I can't help much, but I can empathize. ;-)

[charmama4]

This is probably not a very useful response, but it's the only thing that has worked for me.

 

Accept that you can't.

 

 

 

:grouphug:

Rosie

 

I wish someone told me this 14 years ago, when kid #1 showed up. Thanks for the reminder though. :001_smile:

[charmama4]

GNC sells a great multivitamin for women - but... I think I'd head for the doc and get a round of blood workup. Especially have your thyroid looked at. Don't let them do the simple thyroid test. It rarely shows much. Have them do the in depth one.

 

Are you sleeping well at night?

 

:iagree:

 

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 6mo after I gave birth to first dc. I was drained, no energy and for some reason my hair was falling out!

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

:bigear:

 

This is my life. Also, my mind blanks mid sentence quite frequently .. occasionally substituting random words in place of what should have come next and I may or may not ever recover what I was originally intending to say.

 

I had come to think this was just what it was like to be the mother of young children but if there is a vitamin that would keep me from passing slap out if I sit still for a moment in the afternoons and make me act and sound intelligent again I would definitely try it out. :D

[CactusPair]

Fatigue, interrupted sleep patterns, and the inability to concentrate and remember can be signs of depression. You don't have to be crying all the time and feeling sad to have depression, which can be a serotonin issue(ask me how I know:001_smile:). Celexa helped me with all the issues you described a few years back (no longer on it and doing fine).

 

Also, and very importantly, regular exercise--especially if it's fun-- can help combat all of the above. Exercise can give you more energy. The tricky part is finding the energy to motivate yourself!

 

Do you have an exercise routine? Water aerobics or walking are great for many things that ail us. A light weight-lifting program can give be rejeuvenating and empowering. How about yoga?

 

Has your dr. checked your thyroid function? How about your iron level?

 

A lot of things can be contributing to your troubles. How's your diet?

 

One last note: I think naps are great and *very* worth taking time for. Naps are a priority for me and help me get other things accomplished and be a better mommy and teacher (and wife, and dog caretaker and person, in general).

[holdoll]

So what you're saying here is that there is a different test that might show something that might have been missed on the first? Am I understanding this right?

 

Yes, there is a more "in-depth" test. I went to my primary who tested my thyroid and said it was fine. Changed doctors due to change of insurance, told new doc my symptoms (which were getting worse) and she said it sounds like your thyroid. I told her I had already been tested and she said, we'll do a more in-depth test. Lo and behold, she was right.

[Rosie_0801]

Flaxseed oil is also supposed to help, but I don't know if it does.

 

Flax oil contains omega-3 which is good for brain function, but the oil from the shops is always rancid and tastes really nasty so I recommend getting your omega-3 elsewhere!

 

:)

Rosie