EXTREME FATIGUE MOST OF THE TIME
Hi folks,
I had gastric bypass April 17, 2007. My lowest weight got down to 110 but in the last 18 months I went back up to 130. I am working now to bring that down to 115-118, the weight at which I felt the best. My top weight was somewhere over 260 lbs because that was when I stopped weighing myself.
I am eating an average of 1350 calories a day (never have gone much above 1500 in five years). I will be 61 years old in May. I still dump on too much sugar or fat and eating more than 1-1/2 cups of anything makes me ill. I eat a small amount of something about every 2-3 hours to get in my calories.
Two weeks ago I decided to get back into daily exercise (I had stopped when I got down to 110 because the doctor said I was losing too much weight and could not eat enough to maintain). I try to walk 30 minutes every day at 4mph (can do 2 miles on my lunch break of 30 minutes).
I am also trying to work out at the gym with dumb-bells or cable machines. I TRY to do 5-6 upper body exercises one day then 5-6 lower body exercises the next. I TRY to workout 6 days out of 7.
My problem is that exercise does nothing to "energize" me or make me feel good. I am just bone-weary all of the time.
I am drinking 64 ounces of water daily minimum so I don't feel I am dehydrated. I take a multi-vitamin, calcium citrate, B6, zinc, biotin and folic acid daily. My labs look GREAT except for something with my liver which the doctor is watching but is not really concerned with at this time. I have a slight prolapse heart murmur which has also been checked. I do suffer from insomnia and my doctor prescribed Restinol which I take four nights a week on evenings before I have to work the next day. I know the insomnia is stress-related....my husband has cancer and I am sole support for the two of us.
I feel like I am doing all I can to be healthy but just cannot understand the chronic fatigue. Any advice will be sincerely appreciated.
I had gastric bypass April 17, 2007. My lowest weight got down to 110 but in the last 18 months I went back up to 130. I am working now to bring that down to 115-118, the weight at which I felt the best. My top weight was somewhere over 260 lbs because that was when I stopped weighing myself.
I am eating an average of 1350 calories a day (never have gone much above 1500 in five years). I will be 61 years old in May. I still dump on too much sugar or fat and eating more than 1-1/2 cups of anything makes me ill. I eat a small amount of something about every 2-3 hours to get in my calories.
Two weeks ago I decided to get back into daily exercise (I had stopped when I got down to 110 because the doctor said I was losing too much weight and could not eat enough to maintain). I try to walk 30 minutes every day at 4mph (can do 2 miles on my lunch break of 30 minutes).
I am also trying to work out at the gym with dumb-bells or cable machines. I TRY to do 5-6 upper body exercises one day then 5-6 lower body exercises the next. I TRY to workout 6 days out of 7.
My problem is that exercise does nothing to "energize" me or make me feel good. I am just bone-weary all of the time.
I am drinking 64 ounces of water daily minimum so I don't feel I am dehydrated. I take a multi-vitamin, calcium citrate, B6, zinc, biotin and folic acid daily. My labs look GREAT except for something with my liver which the doctor is watching but is not really concerned with at this time. I have a slight prolapse heart murmur which has also been checked. I do suffer from insomnia and my doctor prescribed Restinol which I take four nights a week on evenings before I have to work the next day. I know the insomnia is stress-related....my husband has cancer and I am sole support for the two of us.
I feel like I am doing all I can to be healthy but just cannot understand the chronic fatigue. Any advice will be sincerely appreciated.
This too will pass, like a kidney stone but it will pass!
Have you had a full thyroid panel run recently? The incidence of autoimmune hypothyroidism increases with age. If you haven't had them run in the last year, I would have TSH, fT4, fT3, and Tab (anti-thyroid antibodies) run along with an iron panel plus ferritin. Something else to check is the adrenals given you're under stress with your husband's cancer, etc.
Carolyn (32 lbs lost Pre-op) HW: 291, SW: 259, GW: 129.5, CW: 126.4
Age: 45, Height: 5'2 1/4" , Stretch Goal: 122 
Thanks and yes, all of the above were run and are in normal ranges. My primary care physician runs full labs on me twice a year. I am his "poster child" for what weight loss surgery should look like several years out.
Love the picture of your doggy! I am a cat person myself but he or she sure is cute!
Love the picture of your doggy! I am a cat person myself but he or she sure is cute!
This too will pass, like a kidney stone but it will pass!
My "pie" chart on MyDailyPlate shows that I have about 50/50 ratio of protein to carbs with about 22% fat. I take B12 supplements daily. I don't take iron....my labs show my iron levels are good.
As far as "complex" carbs go: I try to get in some oatmeal at least once a week. I can't really do grains much because they upset my stomach. I live mostly on yogurt, cottage cheese, canned soup....a little cheese but not much because it makes me sick too if I overdo it. I try to get in raw vegetables--at least 3 servings a day and a piece of fruit every day.
A typical day goes like this:
Carbmaster yogurt and Balance protein bar for breakfast (can't eat eggs), sometimes oatmeal
Banana for mid-morning snack
Lunch: Canned soup (a whole can) or a salad with 2 oz of turkey breast and veggies
Peanut-Butter and crackers for mid-afternoon snack or another piece of fruit
3 oz of some sort of meat or fish (don't digest meat really well), more raw veggies, sometimes 1/2 cup of rice or potatoes
Frozen fruit bar for evening snack or more fruit
I get sick a lot if I try to eat anything but an appetizer sized portion of food at any one time. The only thing I can eat a LARGE portion of is Wendy's chili! LOL But sometimes even that is hard to finish.
Again...any advice is sincerely appreciated!
As far as "complex" carbs go: I try to get in some oatmeal at least once a week. I can't really do grains much because they upset my stomach. I live mostly on yogurt, cottage cheese, canned soup....a little cheese but not much because it makes me sick too if I overdo it. I try to get in raw vegetables--at least 3 servings a day and a piece of fruit every day.
A typical day goes like this:
Carbmaster yogurt and Balance protein bar for breakfast (can't eat eggs), sometimes oatmeal
Banana for mid-morning snack
Lunch: Canned soup (a whole can) or a salad with 2 oz of turkey breast and veggies
Peanut-Butter and crackers for mid-afternoon snack or another piece of fruit
3 oz of some sort of meat or fish (don't digest meat really well), more raw veggies, sometimes 1/2 cup of rice or potatoes
Frozen fruit bar for evening snack or more fruit
I get sick a lot if I try to eat anything but an appetizer sized portion of food at any one time. The only thing I can eat a LARGE portion of is Wendy's chili! LOL But sometimes even that is hard to finish.
Again...any advice is sincerely appreciated!
This too will pass, like a kidney stone but it will pass!
I can't add anything to what anyone else has said re nutrition, but I noticed you mentioned insomnia. This may sound crazy and not at all doable, but if it's a real problem and it would make sense that this is why you are so tired, I found out by accident during a two day power outage that not having electic light on when it got dark gave me the best most refreshing two days of sleep I ever had. ****il the power came on)
If you could turn the power off for a couple of nights just to see if it made a difference. Granted even if it works it may seem extreme. But if it had a big enough impact it might be worth doing at least for a couple of nights a week.
I remember being forced to go to bed early because there are only so many board games by oil lamp you can do and I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep. (it was around 9pm) but I tell you the lack of electric light must have affected the serotinin in my brain or something because I dropped off in no time and woke feeling unbelievably refreshed.
I remembered thinking, that this was how people used to live and this explained how they were able to get up at the crack and do what they do. They just didn't have to deal with out electonics that totally interfere with our natural rythms.
If you could turn the power off for a couple of nights just to see if it made a difference. Granted even if it works it may seem extreme. But if it had a big enough impact it might be worth doing at least for a couple of nights a week.
I remember being forced to go to bed early because there are only so many board games by oil lamp you can do and I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep. (it was around 9pm) but I tell you the lack of electric light must have affected the serotinin in my brain or something because I dropped off in no time and woke feeling unbelievably refreshed.
I remembered thinking, that this was how people used to live and this explained how they were able to get up at the crack and do what they do. They just didn't have to deal with out electonics that totally interfere with our natural rythms.
HW: 218, SW: 204, CW: 139 GW: 112-119
That is certainly interesting. I, for one, don't allow TV, phone, or electronics of any kind in the bedroom...which is also why I go to bed by myself and my husband frequently falls asleep in his chair watching TV!
Of course I still hear the TV and have trouble turning off my brain.,..hence the sleeping pills.
Thanks again for the input....if I weren't married, I might actually be able to give it a try!
Of course I still hear the TV and have trouble turning off my brain.,..hence the sleeping pills.
Thanks again for the input....if I weren't married, I might actually be able to give it a try!
This too will pass, like a kidney stone but it will pass!
I am by no means an expert, but I was going through something similar when I really picked up the intensity and frequency of my workouts. What worked for me was adding more protein, more complex carbs and upping my calories. I simply needed more, good fuel in my body. I found the easiest way to do this was to supplement with protein shakes. I was already drinking one a day, and I just added another, and added in fruits and veggies. I hope your issue gets resovled soon, the exercise (especially the weight training) is SO good for you in the long run, but it really does stink to be so tired all the time.
Sarah
Sarah
Thanks Sarah.
I took it easy over the weekend and then felt guilty for doing so but laundry, grocery shopping, one good workout and walk in 3 days wore me out.
Protein shakes taste lousy mixed with water which is why I have done bars instead even though they don't pack the protein punch that the drinks do. I am lactose intolerant and most say to mix with milk. I am afraid to up the calories while trying to lose the ten pounds that I gained back in the last six months. Trying to stay right at 1350 calories daily and work out no less that 4 times a week with daily walks (which of course got side-tracked today because I had an appointment).
Sigh...sometimes it seems there is never enough time to do everything I need to do for job, family, charity, home, etc. and still have ENERGY to do something good for me.
I took it easy over the weekend and then felt guilty for doing so but laundry, grocery shopping, one good workout and walk in 3 days wore me out.
Protein shakes taste lousy mixed with water which is why I have done bars instead even though they don't pack the protein punch that the drinks do. I am lactose intolerant and most say to mix with milk. I am afraid to up the calories while trying to lose the ten pounds that I gained back in the last six months. Trying to stay right at 1350 calories daily and work out no less that 4 times a week with daily walks (which of course got side-tracked today because I had an appointment).
Sigh...sometimes it seems there is never enough time to do everything I need to do for job, family, charity, home, etc. and still have ENERGY to do something good for me.
This too will pass, like a kidney stone but it will pass!
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