With chronic pain/chronic fatigue/FM for over 15 years I have tried several meds to boost energy, most of which made me nervous and jittery. Caffiene in various forms, Symmetrel (Amantadine Hydrochloride, which I have not seen mentioned), phentermine, meridia, and fen-phen. Boosting energy when you really feel bad and don't want to be doing anything is not necessaraly a good thing! Fen-phen I thought worked best, but of course that did not last. Symmetrell gave me the most energy, but it was nervous energy and I just did not feel well when I was on it.

I was having problems falling asleep after lunch at work. My doc started me on 100 mg of modinifil for a month, then 200 mg. That has definitely worked the best for me. It helps keep me awake, it helps me focus, and it does not make me nervous. It as a half life of around 18 hours, so you need to take it very early to avoid sleep problems. I know it is expensive, but it has been worth it for me. ANSKEL

Absolutely, that is the dilemma. No easy answer, yet times, when you MUST function. My D' is ok, I do take a med to equal out the thyroid, but get it checked every few months.

funny, when I first began an opioid treatment, I did get short lived burst of energy... cooking, cleaning.. hahahah.

that enthusiasm is a bit worn off now,.. but it does let me feel* that I am capable to accomplish a task.

I really need to sleep better of course, that is so common with FMS. CFS// never catch up, never refreshed.

just keep fighting!

sarahte

OK. So probably other things like lupus, lyme disease, sleep apnea, etc. have already been ruled out? And you already pratice good sleep hygene too -- no stimulants, unwind and relax at least a couple of hours before bedtime, etc.?

If so, then you are at the point of looking at sleep meds. People with FMS/CFS don't get good stage 3 and stage 4 sleep which you need for sleep to be restorative, and for such people it usually takes more than one sleep med to give proper sleep. Some sleep meds tend to make things worse because they don't promote deep stage 3 & 4 sleep -- most benzodiazipines fall into that category, although restoril may be an exception that works ok for some people. Medications that promote good sleep for most people with FMS/CFS include Ambien, Trazadone, and a herbal product called Fatigued to Fantastic Revitaling Sleep Formula (which is also very good for muscle pain, by the way). There are many other things to try as well, but some have more side effects, such as Elavil (not good if you have restless legs or certain other problems), or for various other reasons they aren't the first things to try.

.

I suffer from fatigue as well.

Ive tried Provigil (Modafinil from India) 2x and it has worked for me... quite dramatic.

Ive tried dozens of things before that... and nothing worked other than caffeine.

1 more thing.... you might want to get checked for sleep Apnea. That is one of the most common reasons for fatigue.

Also... I would strongly suggest laying off the depressants.

Your situation sounds identical to mine. At about 2:00... Id get the sleep attack. Its happened my whole life. But Modafinil has helped.

I do not know why my post showed up like that?

What I said was that I have always slept better in the morning (after 2 or 3 or later, sleeping thru the morning) and waking up mid-day.
If I sleep when my body really wants it, between 3 TO 11, I then have more energy in the afternoon and early evening to try to accomplish stuff.

Not everyone can try and find out what their body considers the "ideal" rest time, but I would recommend it if you can.

Have you been tsted for sleep apnea.I was and quit breathing 65 times while asleep.I,m not saying this is why but might be worth asking your doctor.

All it took for me was taking a look at my nutrition. I realized I was seriously lacking a lot of vitamins and minerals, magnesium being a huge important one. B vitamins are wonderful for energy, and now that I get plenty of them every day, along with all the other vitamins I need, I have more energy. Of course, also getting restful sleep helps, and using a combination of Klonopin and Trazodone does the trick for me. My energy has been great lately - better than it has been in years due to these simple changes. I'd also strongly recommend cutting out any caffeine, alcohol and nicotene, and I'd even go so far as to cutting down on sugar. I drink lots of water now, and cut way down on my sugar consumption.

One last thing - any bit of exercise you can get will increase your energy, and help you sleep better. Even if its just some gentle yoga and stretching.

I think Code it pretty much hitting the nail on the head but of course the hard part for allot of us are implementing these changes in our lives. And you named allot of things so where do you start?

I quit smoking 2 months ago, using the patch. I am going to give the patch up in two more weeks.

The vicious cycle I am in now is that I have CP with a very messed up lower back. So I am gaining weight b\c I quit smoking but find it very hard to excersise due to my back. As I gain more weight it puts more pressure on my back. I am not huge -- 6 foot 220 but it is aggravating the he11 out of me and I don't see it getting any better.

So now my lungs are better but back is worse and when back is worse, I don't sleep worth a [censored]. I am taking hydro for the back. I seem stuck in between 5-6 hours of sleep and never fele rested.

It's always something...

I was a pack a day smoker. I drank 8-10 cans of Coke a day. I didn't exercise, not even stretch. I ate a poor diet. I'm living proof that these things CAN and WILL make a difference in your life. I used to depend on tons of pills to do different things for me, now all I take are my psych. pills and Trazodone for sleep. Start by cutting back on everything. Switch your soda to water, even sparkling water if you want, like I drink. Stretch a little bit, even 5 minutes a day can help you build up your tolerance. I used to always stretch after a good hot shower. Find ways to make/get food that is good for you, but is also tasty and filling so you arent missing your old diet. Find a support system for quitting smoking, like quitplan.com, a support group in your area or through your insurance. You might even be able to get free tools like gum or patches through some of these services. Get vitamins any way you can. I drink emergen-c as well as take a multivitamin, and I make sure to eat plenty of foods with magnesium in them. It has been shown that a lot of illness stems from a lack of magnesium, and with supplements, you only get something like 15% of your daily value. Start slowly with incorporating new foods like veggies into your diet. I started with broccoli since I like it. I eventually went to roasted veggies and now I just love them. I just take a bunch of veggies like green beans, zucchini, carrots, squash, onions, peppers and whatever else I like, cut them up and throw them together in a pan with some olive oil and thyme. Roast them in the oven at 350. YUM! Have this with a small piece of protein like lean chicken or turkey, and some brown rice. Little changes like this make a HUGE difference over time

Believe me, getting all of those chemicals out of your system is hard. I understand that part. But you WILL feel soooo much better after you do it. Relying on so many drugs to do so many things just isn't the answer with Fibro - it's a lifestyle change that needs to be made to maintain this illness and live the best you can with it.

I hope I don't sound too preachy. I just want to tell people what has worked for me and help others. Feel free to PM me, anyone, if you want to talk about it further.

diet is soooooooo important! try this, this is what i eat:

breakfast - cup of outmael with milk, 1 poached egg, 1 cub of fresh fruit (mangos, melon, strawberries)

lunch: 1 cup of no-fat yogurt (wild berry flavor) handful of baby carrots, handul of almonds. a greek sald maybe.

dinner: half of a chicken breast (fried), or, a hamburger pattie with cheese, or a pork chop, half a cup of wild rice, and a greek salad.

thats it! and, buy a 1.5 litre of spring water, pour some out and add the juice of two lemons. drink that throughout the day.

I SWEAR TO GOD. IF YOU STAY ON THIS DIET FOR A MONTH WITHOUT SLIPPING, YOU WILL FELL 100% BETTER. SERIOUSLY.

the key to this diet is the breakfast, when you eat a balanced breakfast your metabolism works properly and you dont crave greasy food for a 'pick me up' later in the day.

also, it is important not to drink booze on this diet.

and, this diet for one person costs three hundred and fifty dolars a month, in canadian dolars. so, it is cheaper to eat this way than to eat fast food. i'm serious, try this out and get an hour of exercise a day and you will feel like a million bucks.

and when you eat this way, you will always feel full. keep some nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews) maybe some bannana chips and some baby carrots to snack on between meals, and you will never feel hungry and have tons of energy.

I think my main problem with having no energy is that I spend all my energy being anxious... Especially in social situations (Draining!) and here I go again with the "if only"s... Just a random comment. But sublingual b12 seems to help, at least a little. And succumbing every now and again to the occasional red bull. Just so tired of never reaching a real diagnosis or solution... Well I wish everyone luck

You know what- I just realized I was posting in a fibromyalgia forum... I feel like an [censored]- I have no idea what that feels like but I know it's a lot worse than what I have going on, so my input is worthless. I apologize if I sounded arrogant. -lynnem

I live in SC and there is a place up the street from me called the Vitamin Shop I do believe they have a website you can order from. I take the Guarana Energizer pills and L-Carnitine as I am a nurse and I work 12 and sometimes 14 hour days. It gives me a lot of energy and the pills are really cheap. Less than 40 bucks for both together and you get 100 tabs. Now the Guarana has 900mg of Guarana in it but each pill also contains 22% Caffeine which is the same as about 2 cups of coffee so it shouldn't give you the gitters or shakes like yellow jackets or stacker 3 does. Taking these two meds together does give you a lot of energy. I take 1 at 5am when I get up and then I dont have to take another until noon when I have lunch and that gets me through the afternoon and into the evening and it wears off in time to go to sleep. Hope that helps some of you guys that like the herbal stuff more than the prescription meds.

Ritalin and modalert does the job great. No need to use herbs that havent been studied.

Ludes_Vet,

I so look forward to your post (even though this is an older post that I just read). You are a wealth of knowledge!

Thanks for your input on this board.

Jahulobo

MrRoot no offense but checks your facts before you make a comment. Guarana does work for a LOT of people and I have link below to prove it. It has been studied a LOT. Also I would rather be taking something natural that 1. Isn't going to show up on suprise drug test a work costing me my job in a bad economy, 2. Isn't going to cause me to form an addiction or dependence on the drug, 3. A drug that is illegal to posses without a prescrition, and 4. I would rather take a natural drug than a drug with a ton of horrible side effects that does damamge to my body. Wouldn't you. Check out the link below it's from drugs.com which is a reputable source:

http://www.drugs.com/cdi/guarana.html

So many ppl are sold on man-made solutions it blinds them.

x2 not try Modalert,but will give it a chance heard good things about

Right one guys there are so many safe, cheap, and good alternatives to get energy so you don't even have to bother with the hassle of a doctor or finding a reliable source. Let the Earth help you out

Dr Oz recommends D-Ribose.

But it was not specifically for those w/fibro. I bought some but then got nervous about how it would interact w/my other meds so I have not tried it.

I don't have fibro and always end up posting stuff in this forum by error.

you could consider trying Kratom for energy. The Thai strains are very energetic and Kratom also has pain relieving properties.

Yeah that is one thing to be cautious about when dealing with herbal drugs is how they will interact or react with the prescription meds you may be taking. Thats why they all say consult your doc on the back.

Sublingual B12 or B12 shots are a good way to get energy -- at least for me.

Also you will find that B12 NONE yeast derived, (although a little more expensive due to the process used to manufacture), has been found to be much more effective......