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Ask HN: How to overcome chronic fatigue?

21 points by nathell ↗ HN
Hey HN,

I’ve been suffering from chronic fatigue since pretty much forever (certainly for the last ~20 years). I’m 38 this year.

Most days I’ll get out of bed worn and tired. I have trouble focusing / starting to do things (I need to force myself to do them, which sometimes doesn’t work out; consequently, I’m procrastinating quite a lot, which I found to exacerbate the issue – I’m feeling _less_ tired when actually working). Sometimes even thinking about doing something makes me feel tired. Things get better in the afternoon, which makes me a night owl.

There are days when I’m feeling energetic and have a natural can-do attitude, but they are few and far between, and I wasn’t able to establish variables that they correlate with. Most of the time, I manage to chug along, but it’s growing on me.

I sleep ~7h on weekdays, 10h+ on weekends. I don’t exercise much, but I enjoy walking and cycling (I cycle ~1kkm a year).

I highly doubt that I’m suffering from depression. The fatigue is perhaps the #1 detriment to my life quality. Outside of it, I have an awesome and healthy relationship, a job that I enjoy, financial safety, and I generally feel that I won the game of life.

I’d love to hear from people who have suffered from similar symptoms. Anything that has helped you? Please let me know.

As an experiment this year, I resolved to do daily morning walks. I’ll see how it goes.

24 comments

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sh4un
You are probably deficient in some vitamins and shit.

I was having the same issues, turns out a lot of these problems are caused by low b12, folic acid, vitamin D, etc.

Doctors couldn't help because they only see you for exactly 5 minutes and only 1 problem only.

Took me about 30 visits until I told them to test me for deficiencies and there it was.

I would say that a lot of these problems are caused by not getting the proper vitamins and minerals.

burntoutfire
Aren't vitamin deficits are basically a sign of malnutrition (with the exception of vitamins that the body creates itself, like vit. D)? What diet were you on before getting diagnosed?
sh4un
A really great diet. However sometimes you get a bit of a H Pylori issue and it rarely gets caught unless you have a good Dr that will send you to a gastro.

Whenever I am feeling like shit for a while my fingernails become weak and bendy that's when I know I need to consume differently.

WHA8m
There is probably a reason for your fatigue. You need to find it. You've probably guessed it beforehand: It can be physical (go see a doctor) or mental (go see a therapist). Make use of them, even though it might turn out not helpful afterwards. You said you're financially stable, so even if you're in US, you can go and see doctor and therapist.

>I generally feel that I won the game of life.

Reason a lot about that. Why do you think that is? What's important to you? Any connections with anything that you can observe?

From what you posted, you seem like a well functioning human being. Relationship, job, money, exercise, sleep, diet(?). I'm not sure a habit or another exercise would help you. Maybe try to approach this a bit more abstract and not try to fight the symptoms - that was my first thought reading this... Maybe this somewhat helps you a tiny step. I wish you very well!

nradov
Have you had a sleep study done? You might have sleep apnea or something.
tobbob
I thought this was normal. Every time I wake up I'm totally exhausted despite sleeping well. I can just about manage regular life when going to work, but if I don't have work (like over xmas) I just fail at everything, my long list of interesting productive ideas goes up in smoke, and I can find myself falling asleep in the middle of the day.

I've always put it down to acute loneliness and not having any drive due to being generally comfortable financially etc.

If I could take a pill or whatever and fix it, I'd be a very happy man.

rdlecler1
Aderrall is prescribed for narcolepsy. Perhaps there’s a spectrum.
LinuxBender
What foods do you eat throughout the day?
nathell
I’m in Poland and adhere to the local food customs. This means three meals a day: a moderate-size breakfast (typically sandwiches, sometimes cereal), large lunch around 1pm–2pm (main meal of the day – a hot dish sometimes prefixed with soup), and a modest supper around 8pm. I’m not great about eating fruits & vegs (my main intake of these is a salad that generally accompanies the lunch); I also tend to indulge in chocolate and biscuits as snacks, perhaps way more often than I should.

My body is very tolerant to what I eat. My BMI is in the low-normal range and had been very stable since I stopped growing.

sbolt
Do you track your sleep using a wearable devise such as an Oura ring, Fitbit or Apple Watch? I was suffering from very similar fatigue issues last year and found that although I was spending sufficient time in bed I was not achieving good sleep quality. I managed to address these problems and I've never felt better. Happy to share what worked for me if that is of interest to you.
sprkwd
It is of interest to me.
sbolt
Here's a summary:

- I wear an oura ring which has made me aware of the negative impact things like alcohol and sporadic schedules have on sleep quality.

- I don't bring my phone into my room. This removes all distractions, and means I get out of bed as soon as I woke up instead of endlessly scrolling. If I wake up in the middle of the night I am not tempted to go on HN or reddit.

- I invested heavily in my bed. I got an eight sleep which is temperature controlled. I love a cool bed and eight makes this happen all night every night. I also bought nice bedding and sheets for the first time in my life.

- I take a magnesium suppliment (the science is not very strong on this but I've found it helps).

- Finally I have a wind down hour before bed, I start with a shower, do some stretching and then some reading, this calms my mind before bedtime

sprkwd
Brilliant. Thank you.
gnz11
Have you been checked for any auto-immune conditions? Have you ever been checked for Celiac or gluten intolerance/other food allergies? These kinds of conditions can bring about chronic fatigue. Unfortunately they can be difficult to narrow down sometimes since they are so unique to the individual.
opless
I was diagnosed with CFS, and it turned out to be coeliac disease.

I still occasionally run out of spoons, but historically I can often track it down to an accidental contamination event.

drakonka
I've been experiencing this as well, but for me it seems to be largely seasonal (very long dark days in winter around here). I find that forcing myself to get up early and get started with the day results in more energy throughout, but in the darkest months that's difficult. I think taking vitamin D helps me personally, but have never gotten a proper blood test to know if I was deficient.

Exercise always helps, but with gyms being closed during COVID I haven't been lifting, which is usually my exercise of choice. In the cold months it is so easy not to step foot outside for days at a time.

I hope you will update us with daily morning walks. I have a strong suspicion that would help me as well: if I just had the energy and willpower to get out of a warm bed on a very cold day and do it.

rajacombinator
Do you feel worse after sleeping generally? Two causes I know of this 1) sleep apnea, 2) grinding/clenching/TMJ issues. The second one was a huge problem for me over the past 10+ years, manifesting vaguely as “fatigue” similar to what you describe. I finally found a solution about 1.5 years ago that has allowed me to reclaim about 25% of my waking hours that I was losing to this condition. I’m not 100% where I’d like to be but it’s been a huge game changer. I recommend taking this very seriously and pursuing answers on a weekly basis until you find something that works. And realize that chronic pain can manifest as chronic fatigue.
biomech
What was the solution you found for your grinding / TMJ issues ?
schwartzworld
Have you ever been checked for sleep disorders like apnea? Waking up tired after a full night of sleep is a very common experience for apnea sufferers as you basically never fully fall asleep. Common signs include snoring or waking up to pee at night, although the only real test is a sleep study.
wreath
Check your testosterone levels if you are a male
nathell
OP here – thank you to everyone who replied in this thread. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Please keep the answers coming.
bfoks
Listen if this resonate with you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVUoMeJGQ7M This man actually saved my life explaining how perceived danger can create multiple types of symptoms like chronic pain and fatigue.

Greetings from Poland.

qnsi
I would normally dismiss Sarno, reading about TMS on wikipedia and seeing it is not mainstream science.

But I first heard about him before, seeing this tweet [0] on my timeline, about a RTC showing that his methods are more effective than mainstream medicine.

Greetings from Poland.

[0]https://twitter.com/mdonnino/status/1443178460634046468?s=21