ADD and fatigue...

[Hoshi]

I've heard a lot of people here mention that they have fatigue and sleepiness.

Since I was 12 or so, I've had a lot of fatigue and sleepiness. At first, we thought it was just part of the teenage years. But by 15, I never felt rested. Turns out I had sleep apnea - tonsils removed and put on a bipap. It showed that I was sleeping through the night, but I noticed no improvement and would still feel exhausted.

I'm now 20, and I don't remember what it feels like to not be both physically tired and sleepy. At 17, a sleep study showed my sleep apnea was gone. I was re-tested a few weeks ago, and it showed again that there was no sleep apnea present. But my fatigue and sleepiness is worse than ever.

ADD meds help, but it's still there...

Is this something typical of ADD? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? There has never been any test results that indicated any other problem - even after many blood tests and a neurological exam a few years ago. I hate being so tired. I'm 20...my friends have all this energy...and I'm dragging! I feel like an old lady!!

[sharon1175]

I'm not an expert, but I will share my thoughts regarding my own experience.

I too suffer from fatigue a lot, and believe that it is somewhat related to my ADD. One of the biggest frustrations I have with my ADD is I become overwhelmed easily, especially when faced with large projects. I start thinking of everything all at once and struggle to focus on the steps needed to complete said project.

(Check lists come in handy for this)

I become overwhelmed, and I tend to react physically by becoming sleepy. I want to go to sleep to avoid the spinning thoughts and subsequent stress. I'm an escapist in that I tend to avoid problems rather than face them. I strongly believe my fatigue is my attempt to escape what overwhelms me.

Kind of like depression, which I also think can be related.

I have not asked my doctor about it to get an expert opinion, but I do know that the more overwhelmed I'm feeling, the more I need a nap.

I took a 3 day weekend to go camping. Since I don't often part with my laptop, I was feeling stressed about all of the work I was not getting done. Not that I am generally very productive anyway, but the stress was enough to make me sleepy and crabby and I had a difficult time enjoying my days off!

Now I'm back at work... but not really working. It's a never ending struggle.

[jsab]

I used to feel the same way. Something I found out about myself was that I am anemic. I began taking one 65mg iron pill a day and that helped a lot with the fatigue that seemed to occur for no apparent reason. I noticed you said you had a blood test done and that should tell whether you have the same problem or not. My doctor noticed this in my blood test, but he did not notice it or consider it before the test. This was found out when I was 22 years old. Made a big difference. Hope this may help you.

[Ethereal]

I experience fatigue a lot these days, in fact, for the last 3-4 years I've lacked energy.

I wonder if it has something to do with my extreme physical hyperactivity during my childhood/teenage years, which I grew out of in my early twenties- have I "burned myself out"?

[NekoGirl]

My fatigue fluctuates, but when it's bad it's pretty bad- enough to make daily life really, really suck, mainly because the feeling of lack of control over my body/situation. I hate feeling powerless like that.

I don't think that it's ADD related, personally.

Have you had your thyroid fully tested? This includes not only TSH, but testing of T4/T3 levels and others?

Depression, allergies, and infections can make you really drag, too. You can also google chronic fatigue syndrome, lots of information out there.

[Hoshi]

I have hypothyroid, but it's treated with meds and at last check, my thyroid hormones were fine with medication. I've never had allergies and I doubt it's depression, since it's been non-stop for 8, going on 9 years. I dunno...

[NekoGirl]

It's possible you could have low grade depression- it can go on for years, non-stop. There's been some posts on dysthymia lately- the more I read, the more I find out about how physical depression can be.

[ccrawford1988]

I am the same, I am always mentally fatigued. This causes me to get confused easily, fall asleep, lack energy.

I tried diet, caffeine, sugar, vitamins, nothing helped.

As soon as I started taking atomoxetine, it faded away! I think it had something to do with damage methylphenidate done to me as a kid...

[DobieDebbi]

I think fatigue can be a by-product of ADD. Things can manifest themselves so differently for everybody, but if you try keeping a journal you may be able to pinpoint what brings the fatigue on. There may be several things happening to contribute to how you feel. What I found out about myself...when things got to a point where I was feelinig overwhelmed at work, I found that I could not pull myself out of it. This is when I finally went to talk to a therapist. She eventually suggested that I see a psychiatrist to be tested for ADD. He had me go to my doctor and have several tests run to rule out other physical problems. It is a process you need to go through to see what is causing the fatigue. For me, the tiredness was associated with the ADD. It took me about a year, but I got myself out of the fog by doing some things...I requested a transfer to a new office with less responsibilities, tried to go to bed earlier every night, exercised every other day for an hour, and started to make time to do things that made me happy. For me it was playing in a community band and volunteering at an animal shelter. Get in a position to have less responsibilities (remove as much stress as possible), EXERCISE (removes stress also, lets your mind relax, prepares your body to sleep), do something joyful (energizes you...hobby, not work) AND be around positive people. Hope this helps...good luck!

[WanderingGirl]

I would say yes, there is a chance you "burned yourself out", read on adrenal fatigue.

Allergies are a big one too, sometimes it is something like gluten which is in many foods.

Another one is sleep apnea where you aren't getting enough consistent oxygen while you sleep, causing you to wake (but you wouldn't be aware of waking up). It's quite common and obviously the sufferers are feeling fatigued in the day due to being woken up dozens or sometimes hundreds of times a night.

Also most people need more vitamin D3. Which you can buy for like $5. And B vitamins help many people. Those are two of the easiest things to try and see although D takes a month or few months to really help.

[WanderingGirl]

I also liked what Debbi said, and am impressed with the changes she made.

Personally I think my anxious and OCDish things burn a lot of energy and that is one reason I have less energy. And "tension" from a PTSD type of thing.

[blue52]

Hey Hoshi

I am in an identical situation to you

I'm 22 and fatigued 24/7. I take ritalin which helps perk me up a little, but the underlying fatigue and lethargy still effects me.

Interestingly I too have sleep apnea and use a CPAP which has helped so much.

I am also hypothyroid which is under control with my thyroid meds and recent tests show my levels are normal. Also had iron and glucose checked - all normal.

Unfortunately the fatigue still persists and so does the ADHD symptoms. Some doctors I have been to say I have adhd while others say I dont so I don't know.

I've tried many supplements but nothing has helped.
Even exercise which they say is suppose to give you energy does the complete opposite to me, I pass out straight after.

My doc and i are busy discussing the possibility of combining Provigil which is used for fatigue and sleep apnea with either ritalin or concerta. I have been on all three separately with minor success so hopefully combining them will help.

Good luck with your search for answers
best regards

[firstdesserts]

I was born tired and worn out. I've been sluggish all my life along with inattentive. I've had sleep apnea all my life too.

Fatigue, lethargy, etc among others are symptoms of lack of sleep as well as hypothyroidism and low testosterone levels. I have all three. I have suspected these three things are related to my slothfulness for many years until finding out that my thyroid and testosterone levels are low (as in like a 100 year old). Just a thought you might run by your docs (be prepared for resistance like I got).

[carissa_lee]

i am always fatigued. always. even when i reach my "peak" on the adderall (i take ir so i get the little rollercoaster effect throughout the day). someone i know with adhd is also on adderall ir. what she takes in an entire day, i take in one dose... and i take that dose 3x a day. my peaks are nothing. the most i feel is chatty. i'll be talkative and my mind is ready to concentrate and buckle down on whatever i need to, which is nice for a change (the concentration, not necessarily the chattiness). but if that "buckling down" requires any type of physical exertion... walking far distances, whatever... i'm so not down for it.

i don't know what people's thoughts are on this, but i've started looking into having an intense vitamin b deficiency, just due to my physical fatigue not being improved by what i've been told is a relatively higher dose of stimulants. my mind gets ready to go, which is great... my body wont keep up. because of that disconnect, i've started feeling like there may be another cause of solely the physical fatigue. i found vitamin b deficiency and the symptoms i've found on various sites online seem to fit with other physical symptoms i've had. i still think i have adhd, but i think there is a large possibility it's worsened by a vitamin b deficiency.

i haven't really looked through the boards to see if anyone's posted information specifically regarding a vitamin b deficiency or not. i plan to get tested soon for it, though.

i was iron anemic at one point, which i thought was the cause of my fatigue. started on iron supplements, after the typical 2-3 months they say it can take, i did start to feel better. but i ended up finding out my iron deficiency was due to "female issues"... got on birth control to fix that cause of my iron deficiency and to stop my body from regularly depleting itself of it, and i no longer have an iron deficiency. i get tested regularly for it, but my levels are much better than they used to be. and since i'm no longer considered iron deficient, and the fatigue still remains, i've been looking up alternative causes to the physical fatigue. since caffeine and stimulant medications don't seem to affect me much, my diet isn't filled with much vitamin b, aaand the other rather random physical side effects a vitamin b deficiency can cause that seem to apply to me, i think it's altogether possible i have one.

reading up on it, it sounds like a lot of people could have one, also. have you ever been tested for a vitamin b deficiency? from just what information i've gathered online, it's not regularly tested for, physicians typically miss the usual signs of a vitamin b deficiency and will diagnose their patients with a million other disorders (physical and mental), and completely miss something "simple" like a vitamin b deficiency. if you consider speaking with your doctor about being tested for it... read up on the proper testing for vitamin b deficiency. there's a few tests that have to be done to conclusively diagnose it, and it seems many doctors will only do one that will only provide results 40% of the time, or something.



if you find another answer to your fatigue, though, i'd be happy to hear what ends up working for you!

[The Absent Mind]

i still think i have adhd, but i think there is a large possibility it's worsened by a vitamin b deficiency.

Have you tried a B supplement? They are pretty benign because they are water soluble, meaning that the body won't store them up to toxic levels or anything so you can take thousands more percentage points than the recommended value.

They shouldn't mess with the adderall either, as long as it isn't a 'multi-vitamin' that has something other than the 'b' vitamins in it, (like the acidic 'C' vitamin for instance).

I take a strong B vitamin supplement and fish oil and haven't noticed any negative reaction from it. (with vyvanse, lexapro, trazodone, protonix, diphenhydramine, and the occasional benzo as needed).