Sick and Tired: Handling Fatigue from Ulcerative Colitis

byMandy Patterson Patient Expert

For those of我们患有溃疡性结肠炎(UC),疲劳可以是身体,精神,或两者的组合。依据克罗恩和结肠炎英国。And while fatigue can worsen as your UC worsens and get better as your UC improves, it can be difficult to deal with the effects. Read on to learn more about this common UC symptom and get tips to manage it.

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什么标出ses Fatigue?

克罗恩和结肠炎英国attributes fatigue with UC to inflammation, pain, nutritional deficiencies, emotional stress, medication,disturbed sleep等原因。如果您遇到疲劳,请让您的胃肠学家(GI)知道,所以他们可以订购必要的血液检查以检查您的炎症标记和营养缺陷。

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How Can Fatigue Affect You?

If you experience fatigue with your UC, you might notice that you have a hard time performing physical activity, your memory and concentration might be impacted, and you might be more emotional than normal. If you feel like your brain is foggy, you're experiencing fatigue. But not all hope is lost — use the following tips and tricks to help combat your fatigue.

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Take Breaks Often

如果你正在经历疲劳,休息可以帮助。无论您是在工作还是只是做另一个活动,距离您正在做的任何事情都可以帮助您重新聚焦和居住自己。避开你的活动,闭上眼睛专注于呼吸进出。While doing this may not refresh you back to 100 percent, it can make a difference in your focus and emotional state.

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Find Ways to Reduce Your Stress

压力plays a big role in fatigue. If you're stressed about work, school, family, or other parts of your life and you're fatigued, you might find your stress level steadily increasing.压力对疲劳产生负面影响and can make you feel more tired. In this case, look to something that can help break your stress cycle. Whether that's saying no to an activity, preplanning work or a project, or maybe taking time to meditate, findwhat works for you to help alleviate any stressors.

Talk to Your Loved Ones

Letting your loved ones knowthat you're experiencing fatigue can help in more ways than one. If you live with your partner, let them know what you're experiencing and tell them that you might need more help around the house or more moral support from them during this time. They might be able to find ways to help you relax and get some much-needed rest.

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计划放松的活动

Whether with your partner, friend, or family, planning a relaxing activity like a couple's massage, manicure/pedicure, or other spa-like treatment can work wonders on your fatigue. Or, if you prefer, plan an activity like watching a movie with a close friend. Taking time to do something relaxing and slow-paced still provides you with time to be with your friend or loved one but doesn't become too taxing for you. And your friend could probably use a relaxing activity, too!

Change Up Your Diet

Sometimes,改变你的饮食可以帮助减轻你的疲劳根据哈佛健康的说法。确保您进入足够的复杂碳水化合物 - 您的身体需要这些能量!如果你感觉迟钝,累了,碳水化合物可以为您提供更多的能量来度过您的一天。您可能还需要开始像B-12等的补充剂vitamin D。但请记住:不要先向您的医生发表讲述任何补充剂。

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和辅导员交谈

Fatigue isn't something you have to deal with by yourself. Employing a form ofcognitive behavioral therapyor discussing your fatigue with a counselor or psychiatrist can help alleviate some of the emotional symptoms of fatigue, according to Cochrane. Look into your healthcare network or see if your GI can recommend a therapist. Talking through your fatigue and figuring out coping mechanisms can help you combat your fatigue on the emotional level.

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You Don't Have to Put Up With Fatigue

重要的是要知道你不必忍受疲劳。如果您感觉完全耗尽或像你的大脑在雾中,请与您的GI交谈。与他们合作建立一个帮助消除疲劳的计划。找到适合您和身体的内容非常重要;有些人可能会发现锻炼有帮助,而其他人则发现治疗成功。疲劳是UC的一部分,可以不同地影响每个人,所以确保你采取正确的措施让你感觉更好。

Meet Our Writer
Mandy Patterson

Mandy is a patient expert and advocate for ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease. She started down the road to advocacy after receiving an ulcerative colitis diagnosis in 2013, after experiencing complications of UC since 2010. She’s a full-time technical writer and technical writing instructor for Missouri State University, where she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in professional writing. For her master’s thesis she wrote about the quality patient education materials for those diagnosed with UC, and the need for technical writers in the IBD medical field. Mandy is a Social Ambassador for theIBD HealthCentral Facebook page