1. < Sleep Health

extreme daytime fatique—-is there a cure?

Posted by Gene Ames, Jr. @gamesjr, Mar 3, 2019

As a relatively healthy 85 year old male, a geologist and wildcatter and a writer of historical oil field fiction with many wildcats to drill, and many goals left to achieve on my bucket list I need help in overcoming the excessive daytime fatique. I have experienced with worsening fatique over the last several years. I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to overcome this. . I have lived with asymptomatic AFIB for about 6 years, treated with Equuis anti coagulant, and my high blood pressure is normalized with Losartan 100 mg and Lasix. Since I came down with AFIB I discovered I had obstructive sleep apnea and went on CPAP, then when I stayed at 12-14 Sleep Apnea I was moved to BIPIAP 4 months ago and now hooray the apnea is a normal 3. But my daytime fatigue and lack of energy continues to worsen. I have taken two 200 mg Modafinal daily for a couple of years and Modafinal gave me lots of energy originally, but that energy has dissapated today into worse excessive tiredness and lack of energy. Should I go thru the Mayo Clinic at Rochester?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

johnhans | @johnhans | Mar 3, 2019

How long has it been since you got down to the events per night? Since you have been a while getting down to that you need a long time to get back the sleep you lost.
Also at our age there are other things that can happen. Going to the doctor to check on it might be a good idea. We are not doctors so cannot diagnose, but only tell you our experiences. I do know it took a long time to catch up on my sleep after getting my events down.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Mar 3, 2019

@gamesjr Hello Gene, and welcome. It's great that you want to be proactive about your health and that you are managing your sleep apnea. There are so many reasons for fatigue, and you might want to start with your primary physician to check heart and lung function, blood sugar and thyroid function. If your thyroid hormone levels are low, it causes lots of fatigue and effects your entire body, and I am familiar with that myself. You probably have a cardiologist, and it might not be a bad idea to communicate this to your specialists as well. I would also ask if you may be taking supplements that could contribute to fatigue such as melatonin? That can cause a "jet lag" effect because it induces sleep and can take a long time to wear off. I have an elderly mom (who also takes Eliquis), and I've learned some of her tricks, so I'll also ask if you are drinking enough water. That will cause fatigue if you are dehydrated and it puts a strain on your body. You should discuss this with your prescribing physician and your pharmacist and ask what your fluid intake should be each day. Lasix is used to pull water out of your body and would lower blood pressure, and it could cause dehydration if you are not balancing what your body needs with fluid intake. That's why you should discuss this with your doctor. Here's a link about Lasix. https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-3776-8043/lasix-oral/furosemide-oral/details

REPLY
1 reply
Gene Ames, Jr. | @gamesjr | Mar 3, 2019
In reply to @jenniferhunter "@gamesjr Hello Gene, and welcome. It's great that you want to be proactive about your health..." + (show)
@jenniferhunter

@gamesjr Hello Gene, and welcome. It's great that you want to be proactive about your health and that you are managing your sleep apnea. There are so many reasons for fatigue, and you might want to start with your primary physician to check heart and lung function, blood sugar and thyroid function. If your thyroid hormone levels are low, it causes lots of fatigue and effects your entire body, and I am familiar with that myself. You probably have a cardiologist, and it might not be a bad idea to communicate this to your specialists as well. I would also ask if you may be taking supplements that could contribute to fatigue such as melatonin? That can cause a "jet lag" effect because it induces sleep and can take a long time to wear off. I have an elderly mom (who also takes Eliquis), and I've learned some of her tricks, so I'll also ask if you are drinking enough water. That will cause fatigue if you are dehydrated and it puts a strain on your body. You should discuss this with your prescribing physician and your pharmacist and ask what your fluid intake should be each day. Lasix is used to pull water out of your body and would lower blood pressure, and it could cause dehydration if you are not balancing what your body needs with fluid intake. That's why you should discuss this with your doctor. Here's a link about Lasix. https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-3776-8043/lasix-oral/furosemide-oral/details

Jump to this post

thanks Jennifer for the good thoughts. I will be going over all this with my PCP /Cardiologist. I dont take melatonin but occasionally for sleep I take 1 mg or 2 mg of Lunesta, but doubt if often enough to cause my fatique. Thanks for the info on the Lasix and the fluid I needto double check on the dehydration possibility, Thanks,

REPLY
Gene Ames, Jr. | @gamesjr | Mar 3, 2019
In reply to @johnhans "How long has it been since you got down to the events per night? Since you..." + (show)
@johnhans

How long has it been since you got down to the events per night? Since you have been a while getting down to that you need a long time to get back the sleep you lost.
Also at our age there are other things that can happen. Going to the doctor to check on it might be a good idea. We are not doctors so cannot diagnose, but only tell you our experiences. I do know it took a long time to catch up on my sleep after getting my events down.

Jump to this post

Thanks for your help. But, can you explain what you mean when you say: “how long has it been since you got down to the events per night”? Are you referring to the sleep apnea events per hour? when I was on the CPP machine , I never got below 12 per hour, but in a few months on the BiPap machine I am down to a normal 2-3 events per hour. but still tired all day long.

REPLY
1 reply
johnhans | @johnhans | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @gamesjr "Thanks for your help. But, can you explain what you mean when you say: “how long..." + (show)
@gamesjr

Thanks for your help. But, can you explain what you mean when you say: “how long has it been since you got down to the events per night”? Are you referring to the sleep apnea events per hour? when I was on the CPP machine , I never got below 12 per hour, but in a few months on the BiPap machine I am down to a normal 2-3 events per hour. but still tired all day long.

Jump to this post

@gamesjr I was referring to the bipap level. Thank you for responding and asking for clarification. It is always good to make sure we are all on the same page.

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1 reply
Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Mar 5, 2019

Hi, @gamesjr - just wanted to let you know I moved this discussion to the Sleep Health group, where I thought you'd find more members who might be interested in this sleep-related topic and have some input for you as you deal with excessive tiredness and lack of energy. @sandytoes14 @johnbishop may have some thoughts for you.

REPLY
1 reply
Gene Ames, Jr. | @gamesjr | Mar 5, 2019
In reply to @lisalucier "Hi, @gamesjr - just wanted to let you know I moved this discussion to the Sleep..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hi, @gamesjr - just wanted to let you know I moved this discussion to the Sleep Health group, where I thought you'd find more members who might be interested in this sleep-related topic and have some input for you as you deal with excessive tiredness and lack of energy. @sandytoes14 @johnbishop may have some thoughts for you.

Jump to this post

thank you Lisa. And, can you tell me how I navigate to find the Sleep Health Group? Thanks

REPLY
1 reply
Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @gamesjr "thank you Lisa. And, can you tell me how I navigate to find the Sleep Health..." + (show)
@gamesjr

thank you Lisa. And, can you tell me how I navigate to find the Sleep Health Group? Thanks

Jump to this post

Hi, @gamesjr - if you click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, it will take you to the whole discussion you started, "Extreme daytime fatigue—-is there a cure?" on the Connect site. This discussion is now part of the Sleep Health group, as I've recategorized it. At the top left of that page with the extreme daytime fatigue conversation, you will see Groups > Sleep Health. If you click on Sleep Health, you will see all the discussions in that group.

I also think that @cece55 @rgill @dawn_giacabazi may have some thoughts for you on the excessive daytime fatigue that seems to be worsening. They may also have some input on going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to seek some answers for what you are experiencing.

Glad you will be going over all of this with your PCP/cardiologist.

How has this week gone so far with the sleepiness in the daytime?

REPLY
1 reply
Gene Ames, Jr. | @gamesjr | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @lisalucier "Hi, @gamesjr - if you click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, it will take..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hi, @gamesjr - if you click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, it will take you to the whole discussion you started, "Extreme daytime fatigue—-is there a cure?" on the Connect site. This discussion is now part of the Sleep Health group, as I've recategorized it. At the top left of that page with the extreme daytime fatigue conversation, you will see Groups > Sleep Health. If you click on Sleep Health, you will see all the discussions in that group.

I also think that @cece55 @rgill @dawn_giacabazi may have some thoughts for you on the excessive daytime fatigue that seems to be worsening. They may also have some input on going to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to seek some answers for what you are experiencing.

Glad you will be going over all of this with your PCP/cardiologist.

How has this week gone so far with the sleepiness in the daytime?

Jump to this post

thanks Lisa. So far daytime sleepiness and lack of energy continues and remains too bad to be normal old age reacting. I will check out your suggested links to seek other answers. Thanks again

REPLY
Gene Ames, Jr. | @gamesjr | Mar 6, 2019
In reply to @johnhans "@gamesjr I was referring to the bipap level. Thank you for responding and asking for clarification...." + (show)
@johnhans

@gamesjr I was referring to the bipap level. Thank you for responding and asking for clarification. It is always good to make sure we are all on the same page.

Jump to this post

i do not know what “bi-pap level” means. I will ask my sleep doc nect visit in 4 mos

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