Gastroparesis Frogs 'Pain, Nausea, Fatigue'

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http://melissagpfight.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/gastroparesis-pain-nausea-fatigue-frogs-2/

Gastroparesis 'Pain, Nausea & Fatigue' Frogs

"Hanging On For The Fight Of Our Life". This is dedicated to all those that suffer from a chronic illness.

Photo is property of Melissa (GP Fight) McElfresh as of it's creation date of July 1, 2013.

Fatigue - Is More Than "GP Brain Fog"

FOLLOWING IS A COPY OF MY BLOG 

From WordPress

http://melissagpfight.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/fatigue-is-more-than-gp-brain-fog/

What is Fatigue?
“Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress, medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.”   As stated by The Medical Dictionary.

Symptoms of Fatigue?

Fatigue signs and symptoms may be of a physical, mental or emotional nature. Below is a list of some more possible signs and symptoms:

• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Aching or sore muscles
• Painful lymph nodes
• Apathy, lack of motivation
• Chronic (long-term) tiredness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dizziness
• Hallucinations
• Hand-to-eye coordination may be impaired
• Headache
• Impaired judgment
• Indecisiveness
• Irritability
• Loss of appetite
• Moodiness
• Poorer immune system function
• Short-term memory impairment – there may be problems organizing thoughts and finding the right words to say (brain fog)
• Sleepiness, drowsiness
• Slower-than-normal reflexes
• Some vision problems, such as blurriness

The above was copied from this link.   I never knew that fatigue had so many possible symptoms.  I was naive and only thought about being tired, lack of motivation and headaches. 

Top 9 Medications Causing Fatigue:

• High Blood Pressure
• Cholesterol control
• Proton pump inhibitors  (to treat GERD -Acid Reflux)
• Tranquilizers
• Allergy treatment
• Antidepressants
• Schizophrenia treatment
• Antibiotics
• Water Pills (Diuretics)

Be sure to talk to your doctor with any new medication they may give you, as well as you pharmacist.  Third I would read the informational sheet that comes with medications.  If it does not, then http://www.webmd.com is a wonderful resource.   The above info was taken from from this link.

 

Medical Conditions That Cause Fatigue:

• Anemia
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes
• Hypothyroidism
• Infection
• Kidney disease
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Depression and anxiety
• Fibromyalgia

Your doctor may run tests to determine what is causing your fatigue, so that they can target the treatment.     This list was taken from “Harvard Health Publications” as it contained all of the medical conditions that I found via various other sites, but in one nice drop down list.

What Else Causes fatigue?

• Lack of sleep
• Sleep Apnea
• Poor nutrition
• Anemia
• Depression
• Hypothyrodism
• Too much caffeine
• Urinary Track Infection (UTI)
• Diabetes
• Dehydration
• Heart Desease
• Food allergies (undiagnosed)
• Fibromyalgia

More info found here.

How To Treat Fatigue?

First, you need to find out what is the cause.  Only then can you adequately treat fatigue.   The cause could be something simple as dehydration and the fix is to drink more water.  Or it could be your medication and you need to talk to your doctor on what steps to take to help you.  Following are two widely known ‘treatment’ options in the cancer realm:

• Yoga
• Ginseng

Always ask your health care provider before you try a new supplement.  Some of them can cause a bad reaction or lower the effectiveness of any medication you may be on, especially Ginseng (along with a few others).

END

Amitriptylin and Me

Yesterday I as ill from symptoms related to gastroparesis that decided to become worse than my 'normal' days.   All of us that suffer from a chronic illness know our 'normal' day is not that of a 'regular' person.  We have to tolerate so much more on a typical day.

For some reason mine decided to continue to get worse last night until I head my head in the toilet.  I know I always flare around the 20th of each month, so now (6th) was very odd.  Nothing changed in my life or what I was eating, even the environment (inside and out) seemed the same.  One day I would love to know what my other triggers are!  That's where my journal comes in handy, if I write enough in it (like a detective)!  Link is here if you want to find out more:  http://melissagpfight.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/chronic-illness-journal-blog-1-of-2/

My husband had the next day off and I wanted to be well, so I could enjoy the little time we do get to have together.   Since the nausea was not going away and I didn't want to be up all night I did the only thing I could.... take 5mg of Amitriptylin.   This is the ONLY prescription drug that worked for me for and I could handle the side effects, if I only took it once during a flare.  The problem for me is it makes me sleepy.  Let me rephrase that!  I took it at 9pm and didn't wake up until 11am and still wanted to sleep.   Like I said my husband was home and I wanted to spend time with him.  Generally I would go back to bed and be awake when he got home at 6pm.  That is 21+ hours of constant sleep because of 5mg of Amitriptylin.   I can not order anything smaller.  I tried cutting mine further, but it wasn't effective.

So I was up, sort of.  Groggy with a huge headache and very thirsty.  Yes, I get cotton mouth with the small dose and a margarine.   But I didn't have my head in the toilet all night.   I had hoped that maybe this time my body would react better with the med.  Guess not.

I made it to the kitchen to get something to drink and watch a little tv.  That turned into a nap.  I made a smoothie so I could get some protein in me (egg powder protein... link here:  http://melissagpfight.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/the-importance-of-protein-powder-ideas-for-smoothies/) and decided to go to the store with my husband so I could get some soup and Gatorade.  I felt like I could make myself do it and I did -for the most part.  He drove as I was way too dizzy to do so.  Closed my eyes a few times and wished I had not gone.  But the store was just a few blocks away and we only needed a few things.  However, the dizzy part is a killer when you are walking down isles with different shapes and colors!  I leaned into him and stopped walking.  He knew what was happening and finished the shopping quickly.  

It is hard for me to just 'rest', (I know it is the best thing for me) when my time with my husband is precious to me and I want to 'be normal'.   Which is highly overated!!  LOL

Back home I had some chicken noodle soup and more to drink.  The dizzy spell is under control, now to work on the headache and off to another nap! 

For me, it is a toss up if I really want to take the Amitriptylin or not.  My GI Dr thinks it is good to have on hand, even though it makes me sleep for so long.  I would never want to forget that I took one, or I could end up in a coma!  Scary drug for me.  I make sure that if I ever take anything my husband knows what it is and when I took it.  Never can be too safe.