Dealing with Energy Drops

It took me awhile to realize this but when I’m feeling at my worst the best thing I can do is get up and walk or move. I feel so much better and try to build a lot of walks and movement into my day. Pushing through those times has helped me.
Wishing you the best!
Miriam

I have the same ups and downs from day to day. Sometimes to the extreme. Some days a great deal of fatigue and other days not. Some days breathing feels very restricted and going up any incline or even just walking is difficult and other days it can be quite a bit better. I think I may have some sort of auto immune issue going on besides Bronchiectasis.

zscline,
your question is so valid. I was going to post exactly the same . After my last viral infection in July I feel awfully tired, or rather constant fatigue to the point my day is a mix of functioning and resting because I have no energy to move at all. I talked to my family doctor and had a blood test done and also vitd3, magnesium, and vit b12 levels were checked. vit b12 is low so may be its the reason. Last year I had vit b12 shots once a month and it helped. So ask for blood work for the vit levels. Some meds deplete vit d3 or others and I am still taking MAC antibiotics. I could be that as well. But i wondered if other people even without taking antibiotics experience that.

I was telling my daughter this same thing earlier this week. Most of the time, I’m pretty energetic, especially for an old lady with a chronic illness, but there are days when I’m simply tired and only want to sit around. In early July, I had a week like that and even napped two days after walks-unheard of for me. I had no fever, no increase in sputum, and don’t have a known chronic infection. I did adjust my nightly antihistamine, but I’m not sure it helped.

I have wondered if it’s the chronic inflammation from sinuses or the bronchiectasis. Chronic inflammation has been linked to fatigue in other chronic illnesses and probably waxes/wanes(?).

To all us BE patients above.
What I have come to believe in all things "it is often more than one thing that caused the feeling, the event etc." The times when we feel a drop in the energy level it could be due to all the possibilities I have searched for when it happens to me. My thoughts go to, the weather, the nights sleep I did or did not get, did I overdo it the day before, have I kept up with my D3 and other supplements needed (B12, zinc etc.), do I need more protein, did I drink enough liquids, did I stay out in the hot sun too long etc. etc. I also think for, myself, the constant need to clear and remove the sticky mucus from my throat nearly all day long also adds to the possibility of a sudden sunken energy level. It takes a lot to keep our airways clear and from damaging our lungs further....which all affects our 'get up and go." So hard to fully tell why there is a drop in the energy level....Wish the body talked back to me however I know it is up to me to know my own body and keep up with it....to be my own/best representative for myself.! Not any of this is easy and perfection with it all is not humanly possible. We just strive to do our best and try to keep ourselves positive each step of the way. So I just keep talking to myself day in and day out. Barbara

My energy declines when I am 1) hungry 2) tired 3) stressed or 4) sick. It's terrible when those 4 things happen at the same time! Identifying the why I feel like I do helps so I can remedy. Like @mr1123 I find movement helps with fatigue as long as I have enough food. Sometimes movement can help overcome tiredness and stress. As the PT people like to say motion is lotion! (for the lungs too)

For stress and tension, I LOVE the UCLA Mindful app. It's free.

I'm reading all of these great answers and thinking "Wow! This describes me..."

For those of you still on antibiotics, when I was there I alternated between 20 minutes activity, 20 minutes rest and stopped trying to be useful after 4 pm. It gradually got better after they were stopped.

I have been trying to figure out my recurrent bouts of fatigue all summer, and it's not so simple because I get to add asthma, arthritis, chronic inflammation... I'll be seeing a new cardiologist next week for a full cardio workup as well because I have two risky family histories and had some "borderline" issues just before Covid that haven't been monitored.

Here are some things I know -
1) houseguests, other than a few dear friends who pitch in, wear me out. Being hostess for several days means it takes me equally long to recuperate. Funny, but my 5 & 8 yo grandsons don't have the same effect because they are very respectful of my energy, will help me with chores and entertain themselves when I ask for "quiet time."
2) I NEED a day off between very active days, and if I fail to take it I "crash" hard for 3-4 days.
3) Surgery - even very minor procedures like cataracts, wipe me out for about 48 hours.
4) I need to eat a good AM meal and a high protein lunch or I am wiped out by 4 pm. Having lungs and muscles that are constantly trying to mend themselves really ups the requirement, and as we age we use it less efficiently. My pain rehab dietician says at 120 lb, I need 70 mg of protein spread through the day.

Now I just need to convince my brain to listen to my body.