October 2015 - Women Fighting Fatigue

My Search for the Perfect Solution to Fight Fatigue and Brain Fog

I’m going to tell you the first steps I took in finding a solution to my fatigue and lack of energy, as well as the accompanying lack of clarity and fogginess. The first one is so important because it’ll let you know where you are in your current state of health.

I called my doctor and told her what was happening. This is bottom line first thing to do because I needed to rule out any serious illness and I needed my doctor to lead me to what tests I would need to do that. When I told her how tired I was, how consistent my lack of energy and how freaking difficult it was to think clearly on any consistent basis, she ordered a battery of tests. It’s so important to have a heart to heart talk with your doctor. This gives her the ability to order the most important tests related to fatigue, lack of energy, and brain fog. If you don’t have a doctor, there are numerous clinics across this great nation that offer quality physical exams for free or at a very low cost. And you can also order blood tests without a doctor’s visit in various labs across the country. I recommend a doctor visit but if for whatever reason you can’t do that, at least order blood tests. You can do this easily, this link can assist you. http://www.healthonelabs.com/
I had blood work done to rule out anemia or any blood disorder. Now for some of you this sounds inconvenient and maybe a little uncomfortable. After all, most us don’t like the idea of needles, but let’s keep the big picture in mind. Our goal is to rule out any serious illness and to find a way to get rid of fatigue and lack of energy, and to create a brain that is clear and focused. So a tiny prick of a needle is way easier to deal with than say, a blood disorder left untreated.
With the blood collected my thyroid levels were checked. Chile chile chile, I can’t tell you enough about how important a thyroid test is. For many women, the culprit for fatigue and brain fog lies in low levels of thyroid hormones. So that tiny needle prick can not only rule out anemia but also low thyroid. This one test ended up saving my life, and I’m not exaggerating (more on that later). You can learn more about low thyroid hormones, also known as hypothyroidism here: http://hypothyroidmom.com/10-ways-to-overcome-fatigue-with-a-low-thyroid/
I had all my important numbers checked. In other words my doctor ordered tests for my cholesterol, blood sugar, and of course my blood pressure. It’s so important to know these numbers because they’re indicators of inflammation in your body. Research shows that disease starts with inflammation, and if these numbers are high you can pretty much be guaranteed you’ve got some inflammation going on somewhere. Andrew Weil, Founder and Director of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona says that, “It is becoming increasingly clear that inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses – including heart disease, many cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease”. So, get your numbers checked! These numbers will help tell you and your doctor where that inflammation is. In addition, for women, fatigue can be an indicator for heart disease. To learn more about women and heart disease check out this link: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-disease/art-20046167 To learn more about inflammation you can check out this link: http://secondopinion-tv.org/episode/inflammation

Calling my doctor was the best move I made because it brought to light some things I had no idea was happening in my body. For instance, turns out I had a huge tumor on my thyroid which had to be removed, immediately. Talk about throwing a wrench into my plans! This was definitely one of the culprits of my lack of energy, but it wasn’t the only one, and so my journeyed continued.

Your assignment is to do the four steps above. This will give you information you need to determine the health of your body so that you can begin to start your journey to regain the energy you deserve and the ability to think clearly once again.

To learn more about my journey and my quest to get rid of my fatigue and lack of energy, and to have more clarity and less brain fog, check out my next post at womenfightingfatigue.com.

Will I Always Be A Zombie?

I began to wonder if I would always feel like a walking zombie and if other women like me were experiencing similar issues with exhaustion and lack of focus. I’m at the stage of life where my body is starting to change and to slowly go into a new phase, which I thought might have something to do with it. But after talking to some of my friends who are younger than me, and even my nieces who are much younger than me, I began to realize there are so many women going through this battle of fighting fatigue and struggling to have brains that function at optimal levels. Either way, I was going to find out. And so I began my journey to find a solution to deal with my fatigue and lack of energy, and to begin to get my brain clear and eliminate the brain fog and to fight the constant fatigue.

On a scale of one to ten, ten representing feeling energized, enthusiastic, and clear thinking – and one being barely able to get out of bed, barely able to do what needs to be done during the day, not even able to think clearly, what number are you? How can you increase your number? Is there really a solution or must we learn to live in this state for the rest of our lives? I found out we don’t and I’ll share what I learned and am still learning with you in my future posts. Stay tuned to hear about my thyroid emergency and how this emergency not only began to change my life, but also to save it.

My Life as the Walking Dead

Only 1 in 7 Americans wake up feeling rested and rejuvenated

Do you ever experience a serious lack of energy accompanied with brain fog? I have. I woke up one day and was shocked by how tired I was.

How tired was I? I was so tired there’s no doubt in my mind I would be an awesome walk on for the Walking Dead TV series. I was a zombie. A zombie!

I had dark circles under my eyes which were so puffy I looked as if I was carrying suitcases in them.

Are you at a point where you’re just so sick of feeling tired and having a lack of focus? I know I was.

Do you frequently wonder, “Why am I so tired”? Do you believe there’s a way to feel better?

That last question was something I’ve asked myself over and over. “Is there a way to feel better”? And I came to the conclusion that there has to be.

And through my journey I’ve discovered a few things that have helped me combat fatigue and brain fog. More on that later, but now back to my story.

Not just older folks – fourteen percent of people between the age of 18 and 39 complain of poor memory

On this particular day the fatigue I felt was different. Not only did I have a disturbing lack of energy but I felt a measurable lack of clarity and focus.

It was as if my brain had cheesecloth over it – everything was in a haze. I was so tired and had such a lack of focus that I was opening the fridge door to put my just poured hot coffee in it.

I was leaving things in the microwave, forgetting that I’d even put anything in there. Two hours later I’d go to use the microwave and discover my lunch still sitting there. No wonder why I was so hungry.

Behavior like that would become my state day after day until I decided there had to be a better way to feel – there had to be a solution to my lack of energy, fatigue, lack of focus and lack of clarity – and there has gotta be a way to figure this crap out.

So anyway, on this particular day, I got myself out of bed and began my typical morning ritual. I made coffee, did a few stretches, got cleaned up and dressed.

But no matter what I did I still felt the same lethargy and fogginess. I would turn on my laptop to start work, but my brain was in such a fog that I would get barely anything done.

Americans have more sleep loss and longer work schedules than most other industrialized countries

On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most energetic, I was probably a three. I was easily distracted and continuously frustrated by fatigue, lack of energy, lack of clarity and the inability to focus.

Now I know most of us get distracted from time to time, it’s quite easy to do, especially since many of us have the world at our fingertips thanks to the internet. Yet I’m not talking about that kind of distraction.

I’m talking about my brain literally being unable to see things clearly.

Have you ever drove your car in thick fog? Or pouring rain where you can’t see anything clearly, not the paint lines on the pavement, not the street signs, and many times not even the street lights until you’re right up on them? It’s terrifying.

Well, that’s how my lack of energy and brain fog felt – terrifying. I couldn’t see anything clearly and I didn’t have the energy to see, even if I could.

Not being able to create the energy to focus completely on one thing for any length of time has been one of the most frustrating and frightening things I’ve experienced.

In some cases fatigue is a sign of an underlying disease

I’m talking about not having the physical energy and the mental clarity to create a successful day the way I knew that I could – if I could just get the freaking energy and focus!

As a result of being in this state constantly, I also began to feel depressed and began to wonder constantly, “Why am I so tired so often? Do I have a serious illness? Do I have early dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease”?

This was the beginning of my journey-my quest if you will to determine why my body and my brain were not functioning the way I needed it to. Stay tuned to learn more about my journey.

Until then, blessings!