ICF and National Board Certified Holistic Life & Wellness Coach
Sleep. You elusive mistress. Why must you torture and tease us so? (this is just one thought that goes through my head when lying awake in bed trying to get to sleep…. be grateful I don’t share more) Seriously, though, sleep is one of those…
This is part of my “one thing” series. Other posts in this series can be found here. If there’s one thing you should do during the pandemic, it’s to figure out your self-care routine. People are realizing the need for self-care during this uncertain time…
Fatigue is a huge issue from which many of us suffer. We’re talking beyond busy lives and being tired (aka not getting enough sleep at night). This is mind-numbing fatigue. Where you simply can’t move. Muscles don’t respond, your brain doesn’t respond. Like our little gnome friend in the image above, you just can’t even.
Been there done that, and it sucks (to put it lightly). But! I figured out 8 things along the way that really helped:
So many foods can make us fatigued – including many foods that are “healthy” for most people. Note I said *most* people. We have an auto-immune condition, so our systems are compromised. This means foods will act differently for us than for most.
I found that removing gluten and dairy was huge in helping with my fatigue. And, I discovered that white potatoes, of all things, would wipe me OUT a day after eating them. Tried this experiment twice when doing reintroductions after the elimination phase of the AIP and then said “white potatoes, I’m done!” for a good long time.
After 4 years of following the AIP and healing my gut, I now find that I can tolerate small amounts of white potatoes now and again with very little side-effects. I count this as a huge success!
Blood sugar issues abound in many of us. How often are you eating, and what time? Do you need to eat more or less? Are you eating too much sugar? Not enough carbs? All can contribute to fatigue.
And caffeine. I discovered that just don’t do well with caffeine. Even if I have it early in the morning I do not sleep well that night, which starts a whole cascade of events that lead me to become fatigued. Eliminate the caffeine for a while, be mindful about reintroducing it. Monitor how you feel. Eliminate it again, repeat. If you must have caffeine, repeat this experiment with tea, coffee, green tea. Some people may do fine with some types of caffeine and not others. Experiment, play around.
Alcohol is another no-no. It just messes with my sleep too much. If I do choose to imbibe, I know the consequences and own them.
If we choose to ignore our body’s urges to follow a natural circadian rhythm (e.g. getting up with the sun, going to bed when the sun does), our cortisol levels may become compromised and our HPA-axis (the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) becomes unbalanced and out of whack. Some folks call this “adrenal fatigue”.
When this happens (when your cortisol and other hormone levels are compromised) you may be tired. Or tired and wired. If your cortisol curve is off you may be tired during the day and awake at 3am. A 4-point saliva or urine test is recommended to see your cortisol curve over the course of the day. You can order a saliva test yourself for about $120 or so.
Of course, in this day and age, we work at all hours and stare at computer/TV screens well into the night – those screens and “blue light” delay the production of melatonin that sends us off to sleepy-land. Ask yourself: Are you going to bed at the same time? Are you avoiding computers/screens before bedtime? Our bodies are not designed for these stressors, and, over time, they can really mess wth our circadian rhythms.
Stress, exercise, mindfulness. What does your day look like? How about stress levels? What are you doing to balance any stress in your life (meditation, mindfulness practices, yoga, play time without the need to “win”, etc) Are you getting sunlight and exercise every day (even if it’s just a walk around the block a couple of times a day)? However: if we push too hard with the exercise, this can “tank your adrenals” and overstress your body. Exercise is a stressor. Stress can be positive or negative. Listen to your body.
Thyroid hormones: Are you taking thyroid replacement hormone? Are your Free T3 and Free T4 *optimal* (not just “in range” or “normal”)? Getting that Free T3 into the top part of your lab’s range may help immensely with fatigue.
Vitamin D: Yes, D is a hormone. Get both tests if you can – DO25 and D1,25. See note below about magnesium if you choose to supplement with Vitamin D. Note that vitamin K2 helps with the absorption of D.
Also note that many supplements contain soy or other ingredients we may react to, so read those labels.
Also be aware that some of us have genetic mutations that may have expressed themselves (for example, the VDR gene) which may make it harder our bodies to utilize that D.
Ok, I’m just gonna say it: If I had ONE supplement to take with me on a desert island, it would be magnesium.
5x your body weight in milligrams or until loose stools happen is a decent place to start (start slow and monitor your stools – if they get too loose, back off the magnesium). Mag Malate is great for helping w/ energy, I also like Threonate. There are many kinds, experiment to see what your body does best with.
Also: If you are taking copious amounts of Vit D, up your mag intake. Vitamin D can suck your mag stores dry – they did for me, leaving me dead to the world.
Magnesium is fairly difficult to overdose on (the excess is excreted in our waste, see above about loose stools!), but, get an RBC magnesium test to be sure of your levels.
At a minimum, Iron, Ferritin, TIBC, %saturation labs are needed for a full picture. Iron deficiency can lead to fatigue, but if you have inflammation, taking iron supplements is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
If you are iron deficient, eating iron-rich foods, is strongly encouraged (liver is a great source of iron). Get that inflammation down first before supplementing with iron.
Get tested to see if you are deficient in this vitamin – supplement if needed with the correct type of B12 (genetics play an important role here, not all of us can take the same kind of B vitamins!).
Candida, parasites, infections, Lyme disease, additional autoimmune disorders, heavy metal or mold toxicity, and other issues can all leave us drained and fatigued. These are all things to check out if removing inflammatory foods, changing your lifestyle, getting your hormones and vitamins/minerals optimal are not working.
I worked on ALL of the above to get to a place where the fatigue was gone. There was no magic pill, just getting things (diet, sleep habits, hormones, vitamins/mineral deficiencies, candida, heavy metal issues) taken care of and/or into balance.
I kept a journal, monitored my symptoms, and saw what worked, and what didn’t. It took several months, and to this day I am still fine-tuning it. But now I have an excellent baseline and now know if something is off – and WHAT is off – and can tend to it.
In good health,
Sandy
In light of all that’s been going on in this world, I would like to offer you, dear reader, some coaching.
I will listen deeply, offer empathy, and help you make sense of what’s going on in the world right now. It does not have to be about nutrition or autoimmune issues. We can talk about anything that’s on your mind.
We can talk about anything that’s on your mind:
To book your Complimentary “Meet & Greet” Session and Assessment, click here.
Be well, everyone, and I look forward to meeting you.
Sandy
Sandy Swanson is a Certified Functional Health Coach who received her training from Chris Kresser’s ADAPT Health Coach training course (A-CFHC) and is also a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). You can learn more about her here and more about what coaching is here.
