Chronic fatigue

I struggled to get back to any kind of fitness since having half my colon removed a year ago and was finally diagnosed with Crohn's disease earlier this year.  I'm not on any medication at the moment as everything the docs tried made me ill but am coping quite well by being very careful with my diet. 

I managed my longest run yesterday - 6 miles - but it was really really hard and took me 90 mins.  I was shattered for the rest of the day and am still shattered today.  I have my deferred place for VLM next year and really want to do it but am findinf the fatigue so difficult.

Has anyone got any thoughts on how to keep running with chronic fatigue.

ps Thanks KK for the NACC advice - very useful especially the 'can't wait' card!

You're welcome

Take care of yourself.

Just wanted to say Good Luck !

I would have thought fuelling was particularly important for you given the shortened digestive tract so quality foods at shorter intervals? Would you also be more prone to dehydration?  If so running with a drink? 

We all feel tired when we build up mileage and you may just be suffering from pushing yourself so take care !

No real help, except- what about trying one of the 3 day per week schedules, rather than trying to run every day?

Good luck.

Thanks folks -  What I didn't make clear was that I suffer with chronic fatigue because with Crohn's you don't absorb nutrients from your food very well, so despite eating a pretty ultra healthy diet I am often shattered whether I run or not.

I seem to be able to go for a run then be shattered for a few days - or just go about my normal life being really tired, I don't seem able to do both.  I used to be able to go for a run then do a normal days work but it's one or the other now and both wipe me out.   I still sometimes have days where I can hardly get out of bed but when I do have some energy I try to get a run in

I wondered if anyone else had experienced trying to run whilst suffering from chronic fatigue (as opposed to just being knackered due to long runs)

Not quite the same, but had anaemia (caused by undiagnosed coeliac disease), so similar problem in lack of absorption of nutrients. 

I used to eat little and often and tried to increase my intake of iron by making fresh vegetable/fruit juice.

HI Sunluvva,

Well done for the 6 miles. I know just how you feel as i am going through similar thing. My doctor has given me a diagnosis of probable CFS/ME, although she can't give a definite diagnosis until I have been suffering these symptoms for 4 months continuously and has ruled out lots of other things. At present i have been suffering for 2 months since catching a virus.

I can't find the energy for a run and if I did it would make me ill after but I did manage to cycle for 25 minutes on the flat on Saturday. I was exhausted when I finished and felt bad for a few hours after but not too bad Sunday then Sunday evening I felt awfull. I still feel pretty rotten today but I am hanging on to the thought that at least I did the ride, which is more than I have managed to do for weeks, and I enjoyed it so much. I am losing my phyisicall fitness quickly which is demoralising but I am determined not to give up and give in. 

I hope you continue to be able to run/exercise and get your old life back. good  luck.

Sun luvvva

 Let's get this into perspective here - you have had major surgery 12 months ago , plus you have chronic fatigue into the mix.

I think you are doing fantastically well - try not to beat  yourself up over what you have not achieved - focus on  the good stuff.

Have you thought about cross training - cycling etc should improve your general fitness level and might not be quite so exhausting.

Well done on your progress so far .  

Thanks Dartmoor runner, I know but I so want to do London next year - so far this week is not turning out to be a good week so far so I am forced to rest - I can't do anything else. 

Larry, it's so frustrating isn't it adn when you feel that you have enough energy to do some exercise it just completely exhausts you for days.  It's so difficult to describe true fatigue to someone who hasn't experienced it, simply getting some more rest dosen't help at all - and worst of all is not being able to sleep properly at night because you haven't been active in the day.  Good luck to you too, hope you get some fitness back soon too.

Sunluvva, my two off-spring don't sleep well, so they take Melatonin.  They have it on prescription, but I don't know if you can get it OTC.  One is on full-blown stuff after which he can get to sleep in about 30 - 40 mins, the other is on slow-release.  He takes it at dinner, then is able to sleep a few hours later.

If you can't get it, you could try sleep CDs, we have tried a number of different ones and the most successful are (don't laugh) the Paul McKenna - it's very much down to what works for each person on an individual lesson, but it's a bit along the lines of self-hynosis.  They work in a different way and irrespective of body's own levels of fatigue, so that might help you sleep because I'm sure the more tired that you are and the less sleep that you get, don't exactly help!

(( ))

Melatonin is not a drug (as such), it's something that occurs naturally in our bodies to promote sleep.  My oldest has gluten and lactose intolerance so has similar problems with meds but melatonin is a natural product which can be taken safely.