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Even in a flare or not, I always seem to have fatigue lingering all the time. Then when I do get a slight flare my Fatigue is unbareable. I am so tired all of the time. Currently get home from work, eat then sleep.

This will ease for maybe a week or two, then it is straight back.

Does anyone also get sever fatigue? If so, any tips on how to beat it.

A lot of the things in my Chrohns I can deal with and get by, but the fatigue I am really struggling with.


Thank you!

Reply posted for Mellohurts2.

I also had huge issues with sugars!  I noticed long before my diagnosis that if I ate sugar the day before, I'd wake up with severe irritation in both eyes and generally some inflammation in my hips as well.

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Wow I'm so glad I'm not the only one... some days the fatigue is just more tired than normal, and some days it feels like I'm going to fall down I'm so tired. I try to supplement with green tea, as it's a small enough amount of caffeine that it doesn't trigger my Crohn's but it gives me a little boost. I also found out that drinking plenty of fluids and RESTING helps a lot. I even take naps sometimes between classes when none of those work. Hope this helps :) Good luck!

Reply posted for keithjohnson305.

Have you tried functional medicine? Or going gluten free and vegan? Yeast my worst so stopped breads

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Has anyone tried a sunlamp or another kind of light? Wondering if it would help with fatigue.

Reply posted for JennieBlue23.

Have you tried keeping a food diary? I'm currently using this method to see what food I can and can't tolerate. Then I go back and look at the list of foods I can't tolerate and try and figure what they all may have in common. By using this method I realized that anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it makes my crohns flare up. This method as also allowed me realize sugar was a huge contributor to my flare ups. It's much easier to avoid the problematic foods if you dig a little deeper to see what the problematic ingredients are. I hope this helps you.

Reply posted for keithjohnson305.

What you will be able to eat will often depend on the individual. I also have Crohn's disease and I found that cutting sugar, avoiding anything with high fructose corn syrup in it and not eat fried foods help tremendously. I also avoid eating green color veggies as well. My normal meals usually consists of: grilled or baked skinless chicken breast (thin cut), slice turkey on Italian bread( I found a brand that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it), scrambled or boiled eggs. And I increase my water in take. I've found others saying potatoes (without the skin) work well for them. I plan to try out potatoes this weekend. Oh and red meats tend to make me very sick! Try different foods and keep track of what works and doesn't. It'll take sometime to get use to the new diet. But once you become consistent long enough to feel the results you'll rather the diet in exchange for a healthy and energetic day! Again, I'm still learning what I can and can tolerate. It's been almost an year since my diagnosis for crohn's. So it's fairly new for me too.

Reply posted for JennieBlue23.

Am so samething i can't eat anything cause my stomach irritate any suggestion any diet that we should be doing.

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Ugh, I feel ya!  The fatigue is intermittent and varies from absolutely crushing fatique to more tired than normal.  I have had CD for 20 years and it's always been the same.  I learned to recognize when the crushing fatigue was coming on and would really take it easy. 

Things that exacerbates it:
- Exercise - exercising can bring it on so I scaled back on the intensity and sometimes on it all together, depending.  I stick to low-impact exercise when I do exercise.

- Stress - managing stress is key and since most stress is work-related :-) I really had to examine what was reasonable for me to do.  I scaled back on my ambition -- this was not easy but I finally came to realize that quality of life was more important than my 'work identity'.  I am in Digital (relentless business!) and have a mid-level management position but decided to stop climbing the ladder at a certain point and am now wondering how to scale back even further.  This made a significant difference.

- Diet - there are just some foods that I seem to react to (I have IBS on top of the CD) and so if I have those things (e.g.. high fat, processed, carbs is a big one, alcohol) I brace for an 'episode' and fatigue is usually part of that.  

- Weather - heat and humidity absolutely slays me...to the point where I was telling the doctor that I think I have an autoimmune disease that is affected by this type of stuff (e.g., MS)!  ...I don't have MS.  :) . So, I am not too ambitious about activity when it's hot and humid.  I am CDN and LOVE the winter  as it's a reprieve for me, but I do fantasize about being in a dry and arid climate some day (never felt better than when I visited Arizona a few years ago).

I am so used to managing my condition and am much less stubborn than I used to be about having to do it.  I was in denial for a good decade and part of me thinks that that mindset actually served me well in some ways.  I really just soldiered through -- easier to do for me than others as my CD is stricturizing chrohn's and moderate.  The fatigue, more than any other symptom, is what made it hard to deny and made me finally take stock and wise up a bit.  

I started Remicade 1 year ago and was hoping it would help with the fatigue -- I think it's made a bit of a difference but not as significant a difference as I'd like.  Not sure that heavy-hitting med is worth the risk, we will see if it helps the inflammation that will work to avoid strictures and further surgery.

Have you ever tried mediation with serious training (e.g., MBSR program)?  It is phenomenal and really helped me to be aware of my body and manage all of the symptoms, fatigue included.

I wish you luck in finding what saves you.  

Reply posted for JamesW118.

I feel the same way constantly, I tried taking vitamins but it only irritated my stomach more. Working out doesn't help either... if anything that's asking for pain. I struggle doing everyday things because this has become unmanageable. I can't seem to find one food that doesn't irritate me
... any suggestions?? 

Reply posted for JamesW118.

My partner is battling with this at the moment she’s had uc for a number of years, I’ve been seeing how to help with the constant fatigue and we’re going to try regular exercise which is suppose to help.

vitamins in the morning due to having this disease her absorption of vitamins and minerals is not good even with the best vitamin foods so a supplement should help especially when loosing blood.

stress an play a factor in flare ups too so yoga or stress relief apps could help (uc friendly yoga) 

hope his helps anyone.

Reply posted for JamesW118.

I drink a lot of Yerba Mate, like a pot a day. This has been the most helpful thing for my UC in terms of keeping my intestines in reasonably good order but many people use it as an energy drink, might be worth a try. If you find it to be gross (some do, some don't) it's worth trying a different brand. Also, if you brew it too strong it can upset your stomach, so just brew a little weaker if it does. I brew in a coffee maker, usually 2 scoops of Mate for a full pot. Good luck.

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Have you tried adding-in nutritional drinks to your intake?

I’m currently in a flare for about the last 3-4 months, and for the last month have been having approximately half my usual intake of meals, and two nutritional drinks each day (6 scoops each time, so a 900gm tin lasts just over a week). I’ve found it’s helped significantly with my energy levels, though my other symptoms (ie frequent diarrhoea and pain) are still a work in progress (recent changes in meds will hopefully help).
There are a few different brands of the nutritional drinks, and they seem to vary between countries. I’m in Australia and went to a pharmacy, compared the different brands based on ingredients and nutritional content, and got the one which sounded best for me.
...I’ve had Crohns for almost 20yrs now and kicking myself that I’ve never tried this until now, as I’ve found it has really helped. 
It also seems to help with keeping my weight stable.  When im in a flare I can lose a lot of weight (and of course I get more tired as a result) and it seems to have helped keep it mostly stable (still a slight loss, but it likely would have been more otherwise)

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Do you sleep thru the night   If not, you might want to look in to getting some Ambien

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Fatigue is the worst symptom! Have you had any replies about what works?

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Fatigue is the worst symptom! Have you had any replies about what works?

Reply posted for JamesW118.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of fatigue too! I just got diagnosed in late August and only started treatment two weeks ago, but my fatigue doesn’t go away easily. I’m always tired and I miss a lot of things because of it. I feel really guilty because of it but have to constantly remind myself that I need to give myself grace. Do you think it’s because of treatment or just Crohn’s disease in general? 

Reply posted for JamesW118.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of fatigue too! I just got diagnosed in late August and only started treatment two weeks ago, but my fatigue doesn’t go away easily. I’m always tired and I miss a lot of things because of it. I feel really guilty because of it but have to constantly remind myself that I need to give myself grace. Do you think it’s because of treatment or just Crohn’s disease in general? 

Reply posted for JamesW118.

Oh my goodness! I have the SAME thing! This makes me feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one. Sorry you are so tired though. 

Reply posted for JamesW118.

I have the same thing...I am tired ALL the time. My disease is pretty well managed as far as inflammation goes and all my bloodwork comes back normal. I don't know why this would be but it is definitely one of my major complaints with my Crohn's.