Exhausted - How do I stay on track?

Sorry that this is going to be a bit long; I tend to be a bit long-winded at the best of times, but as exhausted as I am, I might ramble. Here's a little background ... I'm pre-op and had my orientation January 29th. Things were moving along so quickly and so well up until the second week in March. I had my nutrition class and first social work appointment. They sent me away with my homework and five weeks to my next set of appointments. I worked so hard and made so many changes. However, that first week, I developed severe Restless Leg Syndrome. I'd had it here and there for years but never enough to be a bother. Now, it is every single night and I'm just not sleeping.

Still, I headed into my next set of appointments feeling positive. The social worker signed off on me. The nutritionist said that I'm doing excellent work but still need to make some changes. I have to confess, that really disappointed me, but that's just because I'm hard on myself. That night I had my sleep study. I barely slept (or that's how it felt) and since then (10 days) I've stopped working so hard. Cravings come up and I end up thinking, I'm too tired to care. The only thing I've been keeping up is making sure that my calories in stay under the calories out estimate on my Fitbit. I have continued to lose some weight. I know that I have to get back on track but my brain is so foggy that it's so hard to focus.

My boss called me into his office this week to ask me how I'm doing because "as someone who's known" me for over 20 years, it's clear there is something going on. It's like someone "took the Jenn out of" me. I almost cried because that was so sweet but I explained that it was just sheer exhaustion.

I had the follow up with the sleep specialist on Wednesday and not only is my sleep apnea severe (we knew that) but I also have PLMD and it's about as severe as it could be. My legs jerk, on average, 93 times an hour. It runs hand in hand with RLS, so my exhaustion is explained but that doesn't help much. He didn't want to prescribe anything for me until I had blood work done. Thanks to my pre-op blood tests, I already knew I had no deficiencies that could explain it. Now I have to wait until May 15th to see him again and get a prescription for some drugs that should help. That's almost two weeks before I go back to the nutritionist. I just really don't want to lose the progress I've made but I have another 23 days of exhaustion ahead of me and I'm afraid for myself.

I have tried every suggestion that anyone's given me (taking magnesium, potassium, iron, drinking lots of water, taking antacids before bed, walking before bed, using Icy Hot on my legs, using a TENS machine on my legs); nothing helps. My broken ankle now hurts considerably more than it did, which doesn't help either.

Seriously, I don't know if there is any help for me but given that my brain really isn't functioning, there might be something really obvious that I'm missing. Any suggestions would be welcomed. How do I get back on track when all I care about is getting some sleep?

Hi Jelsey,

It sounds to me that you have been working really hard at making changes, getting (and staying) on track so congratulations. Now you've been thrown a curve ball.

Sometimes life just happens and even though our intentions are good, stuff gets in the way. Please don't be hard on yourself. We are always going to be thrown curves throughout this entire process and we need to be able to adjust, prioritize and refocus.

Right now, you have an issue that you need to address and it's causing you to lose focus. I get it and your clinic is going to understand too.

If it were me, I'd start with some deep breaths and acknowledge that some things are going to go on the back burner for a bit while you deal with the main issue that is causing you angst, exhaustion, worry and everything else that goes along with it.

Perhaps too, it might be an opportunity to be thankful that all of this has been discovered now rather than later. Get it dealt with, and hopefully under control, because, when surgery and recovery happens you are going to need all your strength and resolve to heal and start your new life.

Please keep us posted. I am sure that you will be able to resolve the RLS but getting there is going to take some patience. Easier said than done, I'm sure. :)

Thank you! It means so much to me to be able to come here and share whatever I'm going through and to receive support. I'm just so used to trying to go it alone, it feels so good to know I don't have to anymore.

SweetRide gave great advice - I agree 100% with her.

You need to focus, stay calm and don't get overwhelmed. Just tackle one issue at a time, follow doctors orders and you will find a solution. Keep talking to people about it so you don't feel isolated - find an online group who deals with the same issues and maybe they will have better suggestions for you. You have to have lots of patience and give each suggestion time to work - sometimes it might take weeks for something to make a difference. You can get through this. Make sure you reach out to friends and family or whoever is your support system right now.

A lot if time low iron in a tissues can cause severe RLS symptoms.

https://www.google.com/search?q=iron+deficiency+rls&oq=low+i ron+rls&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.10722j0j8&client=tablet-andro id-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3629327/

https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-d ecision-memo.aspx?NCAId=178&ver=8&NcaName=Serum+Iron+Studies +(Addition+of+Restless+Leg+Syndrome+as+a+Covered+Indication) +(1st+Recon)&bc=BEAAAAAAEAAA&&fromdb=true

Read it - print it out and take it to the doc. Most of them don't know low iron can cause RLS syndrome.

I get a horrible RLS pains when my ferritin drops below 30. My BF calls it "twitching".

I just got iron infusions. I knew I needed it. I just waited too long to get blood work. I was a mess. Constantly complaining about pain. I got iron. I started feeling better app 3 weeks after my first session.

Thank you! You may have hit on it.

I saw my PCP the first week in April. She mentioned low iron but said my test results were fine. I took her word for it (I had a hysterectomy 5 years ago so I didn't see any reason why I'd have low iron.)

When I read your post and you gave me a number, I went back to my test results to check. My ferritin is only 21. The lab report says that shows depletion of iron stores and probable deficiency. The blood tests the sleep specialist ordered are all iron related.

I am thinking I should start supplementing now rather than wait the three weeks to go back to him. I don't think there's any harm in that.

I really appreciate you giving me a new perspective.

Sorry, I have no advice, just wanted to wish you the best.

Barb

Thank you; it really helps knowing there are people who are there to listen and I'm not alone.

I'm so sorry you're going through such a rough time. I hope the doctors will be able to help. Hang in there.

this may sound strange but my dad has RLS and was told to put a bar of soap like Ivory under your mattress. Not sure of the significance but always worth a try. Good Luck!