Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group chronic fatigue

Very well said newnormalcharity. You just wrote what I have always wanted to say.
I suffer from bouts of cfs also my Doctor assured me it was AS but I never let any condition slide under this category because one can never know. So many things can cause this. Thyroid, heart disease being major ones. Never let anyone tell u don't worry it AS. If it worries you get it checked.

I never knew I had that much fatigue because I just felt it most of the time. Now that I'm using the prednisone for flares, I can feel the difference. So for me, I know my fatigue is the start of flaring because the prednisone makes it go away; and then it is largely gone til the next flare.

But if it weren't for that, then we'd have to look for another cause. Similar to what was reported upthread, Possi came on here to say that she had been chalking up extreme fatigue to her AS (or other autoimmune disease) only to find out it was her heart. If they hadn't caught it in time....well.....just glad they did.

If it really is Chronic Fatigue, sorry that I can't help you, but wishing you luck in sorting it out. Have you noticed if drugs that help your inflammatory arthritis also help your fatigue? That could be telling. That's largely how I started to realize what symptoms were related.

Good Luck!

Lots of posturing for nothing...

Fatigue is a symptom of AS, period.

The front that came through and merged to make Frankenstorm Sandy completely shut me down with horrible pain and zapped every bit of energy I had. I literally felt like a hot air balloon with all my air let out. Then there is the tiredness that just follows you around like a bad shadow that you just have to learn to live with.

Hi All,

I complained to my doctor about my fatigue and feeling tired all the time. Luckily he did not dismiss it as part of AS although that is part of the puzzle. My doctor did a little more investigating and had me do a sleep study because I said I snored and woke up choking sometimes during the night.

I have Sleep Apnea (63 times an hour) and now have a CPAP machine and sleep MUCH better. I still have fatigue (AS I am guessing) but nowhere as bad as it was.

Having things checked out is not always a bad idea.

No one is saying that it is not a symptom. We all know too we'll it is but sometimes if it seems out of the norm it could be something different. Just blaming our AS could mean signing our death warrant. So no it is not AS period and to assume this is wrong period.

A bit of wisdom from Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Every case is treated as completely individual because the same symptoms may have different root causes in different patients; and likewise the same imbalances may manifest themselves in different symptoms in different patients.

Yes, Sue, I struggled for quite some time thinking I was really in a flare and decided to call it to the attention of my cardiologist who is a wonderful dr./person and "heard" me. No chest pain or other symptomns, just extreme fatigue.

I am so thankful.

Possi

another thought on the fatigue front... and why keeeping a journal of symptoms good.

I would have fatigue sometimes not realizing it was because of extreme pain my body just couldnt cope with when I took pain meds i felt more alert,

and on a totally weird note.... I get fatigued before a bowel movement... to the point of man i need a nap and then I do lay down and then suddenly I have to go..

So keep a symptom journal to help figure out pain.

pain definitely brings on fatigue for me, and taking pain meds regularly when I am hurting really helps avoid that kind of fatigue.

I have to agree with John on this one. The problem is that CFS and FMS are often used when there is no other explanation for symptoms. There is still so much about these two disorders that is not known, so no one really knows what causes them. But they are typically disorders of exclusion, meaning that they are used to describe cases where no other ailment has been found.

I think people underestimate just how debilitating the fatigue from AS can be. When your AS is not well controlled, your immune system is in overdrive. Your immune system is attacking itself, creating widespread inflammation. This process uses up a lot of our body's energy, causing debilitating fatigue. Most people find that when their inflammation is brought under better control, the fatigue is not quite as apparent. I know when I am at my wit's end and my rheumy puts me on a round of Prednisone, once it kicks in and I begin feeling less pain, I also begin to experience a reduction in the level of fatigue that I experience.

I guess what I am saying is that I think by saying a person has AS and CFS is somewhat redundant. Of course you will suffer from fatigue when you have a systemic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease.