Fatigue
Fatigue is a feeling of physical or emotional exhaustion. It goes beyond just feeling sleepy. It usually happens when you over-exert or “push” yourself too hard. You may feel weak, which can make it difficult for you to do the things you want to do. Fatigue is a common problem associated with persistent pain.
Symptoms of fatigue
Symptoms of fatigue can vary from person to person. Fatigue may last a short or long time. It may strike randomly or happen at predictable times, such as when you have an increase in pain. Some people have ongoing problems with fatigue. These get worse during periods of high pain.
When you are fatigued, you may:
feel very tired and have no energy
lose interest in your normal activities and just want to sleep, especially during the day
experience increased pain, usually because your tiredness makes it especially difficult to cope with pain
feel helpless and experience little control, which can make you less able to do your usual activities
be less able to concentrate, as fatigue can make it hard to focus on specific things or tasks that you need to do
feel irritable and easily annoyed, which may put a strain on your relationships with friends and family
feel depressed –being fatigued can lower negatively impact your mood and emotions.
Causes of fatigue
Many things can cause fatigue, such as:
joint and muscle pain
depression or low mood
stress or worrying
illness
overdoing activities
poor sleep habits
lack of physical activity
other medical problems, such as anemia
some pain medications.
Sleep medications
If you have trouble sleeping, you might be prescribed a medication to help you sleep. This type of medication can help you get over a bad spell of not sleeping well. However, you should not use it long-term. This is because these drugs can lead to tolerance, where your body needs more of the medication for it to work properly.
Some sleep medications are available over-the-counter, without a prescription. Melatonin is a hormone in the body that helps adjust your body clock (circadian rhythms) and is commonly used to treat sleep problems. However, melatonin will only work to treat circadian rhythm disorder. It is not the best option if you have insomnia. If you do take melatonin, remember that it needs to be taken several hours before bedtime. If taken directly before bed, it might actually interfere with your sleep more than it helps. Melatonin may also interfere with sex hormones, which are very important in regulating your reproductive system.
Before trying any medications, however, discuss their use with your healthcare team.