Vitamins, supplements, and eating?

Avatar for dmm11730
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-06-2003
Vitamins, supplements, and eating?
3
Sat, 06-05-2004 - 10:05pm
Rhonda posted back to me before how we feel like we are in a funk. We know what we need to do, we want to do it but for lack of a better term we are just to lazy to do it. I find myself always exhusted, tiered, sleepy. I am by no means a lazy person, I have always carried a huge load around here. From being a SAHM, babysitting, raising the kids, scouts, PTA, running a cake business and selling candles, returning to school and now working part time. Its not like I sat and did nothing, so this pace is slightly more then I am used to be but its nothing compared to what I hear someone like Susan does on a daily basis. I admit most of the house stuff still falls on my shoulders. However its not like I run a marathon like Cussette does. Why am I so exhusted most of the time? Even after a good nights rest. I went to the doctor when I turned 40 and had a physical done. Sweet doctor said I looked great and was completely amazed I was 40 (just love this guy)! But I explained my constant tieredness, and after running several blood tests everything came back normal. He said its more then likely just normal, everyday stress and agrivations. Nothing to worry about, loose some weight might help (still weigh about the same now as I did then), get some more exercise, eat healthy and I should be fine. I take a multi vitamin everyday as well as my calcium chews. I eat fairly healthy a majority of the time but what am I doing wrong? Rhonda talked about Iron. When Aunt Flo shows she is horrible, and stong and I loose alot of blood. But my Iron level is normal, per the blood tests. What ideas can you guys give me? I would love to know what some of you take on a daily basis.

Deb

Debbie

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2001
Sun, 06-06-2004 - 7:54am
Right now I'm trying to take calcium, magnesium and B2.I'm taking those mainly to se if they help with my migraines.Also trying to take a multi.I'm terrible about taking supplements becaue I forget plus alot of times they bother my stomach.I'm also trying to make sure I drink lots of water becaue I think that does make a difference.Trying very hard to remember that what I put into my body makes a big difference in how I feel.

Miss P




 

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-08-2001
Sun, 06-06-2004 - 8:50am
Deb-not sure I have the answer for you and lately probably the last person to give advise. I do go through spells where the fatigue is unbearable. I just take a multi vitamin and a calcium pill daily. I'm at a little different stage than you since I'm now post-menopausal but always found that right before Flo's arrival I would go through a definite stage of needing more sleep and just feeling really tired. I found over times that even though that was the hardest time to exercise and eat right that's when I needed to do it the most. It did take awhile of getting into an exercise pattern that it helped with the fatigue. The things that I eat do make a differerence. I've found the 3 meals with 2 healthy snacks during the day which always included a bit of protein really helped me stay on course. I have a terrible sweet tooth and have tried my best to try to avoid sugar when I can. That's not to say I don't indulge it simply for the fact I really don't believe in total deprivation tends to make me binge. I do find when I go overboard though I do feel a difference in how I feel. I like the early AM exercise only for the fact that it helps me get the day going. I know it doesn't work for everyone and quite frankly I haven't been able to rise and meet the call all week. I'm hoping for a change for the better in that department this week. But no matter when and whatever you do exercise it takes awhile before you realize how much it's making you feel better and that it's becoming a habit and that you do miss it when you don't exercise. Water also plays a key role. I always see a difference in how I feel when I haven't had enough water. I'm more prone to headaches on those days and another prime example of something that has been lacking this week. Having the burden of the household responsibilites and working in of itself is enough to exhaust you-I certainly know that for a fact. I've also been tested for all the common causes of fatigue and nothing has shown up. In my case the bp medication could be a contributing factor, but, as I was told, it can just be a fact of life that we're very busy woman with lots of responsibilites in a stage of our lives where hormones combined with the everyday stress and strain on life can take it's toll and where we may have to battle a little harder to keep ourselves fit and healthy. Not sure that this helped or answered your questions.

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
Sun, 06-06-2004 - 9:10am
One big thing that people overlook on sleeping is the sleep deficit most of us run. One or two good nights of sleep doesn't make up for 5 nights where we don't get enough sleep. I've read somewhere that a sleep deficit has to be made up in it's entirety: if 8 hours is what you need, and you only get 7 hours a night M-F, you're running behind 5 hours; if you get two nights of 8-1/2 hours' sleep, you've only made up an hour and are still 4 in the hole. That's why participants in sleep experiments often sleep for 9-10 hours at a time until their bodies make up for the deficit, then settle in to what their bodies require. (I can go on 7 hours of sleep for a while, but I need closer to 8-1/2 hours of sleep to get an adequate amount, often getting 9 when I'm running a deficit.) Getting the right amount of sleep is easier said than done, especially with a family, job, and regular things we must do to keep halfway organized. The Cus gets between 7-1/2 to 8 hours a night during the work week, but usually 9 on the weekends plus an hour's nap during the weekend days.

Sometimes, even when everything is right, we just don't get quality sleep. The other night I had what one of The Cus's former college roommate called a "ham sandwich" night (or was it a baloney sandwich?): Roommate once had a dream where he was holding a ham sandwich, and no matter which way he tried to sleep, couldn't get comfortable because he was "holding" that sandwich. He'd wake up whenever he thought he was dropping it. With me it was a "mosquito" night - I kept dreaming there was a mosquito in the room. The first time I woke up because it had "bitten" me, and then I kept waking up to pull the sheets back over my arms so it wouldn't get me again. Of course, I never even got bitten because there was no mosquito at all.

A former coworker of mine swears by St. John's Wort for energy. Another one is Ginseng, which I bought for a different reason (can't remember what) but noticed that it supposedly boosts your energy. I recommend thoroughly researching any supplements, for most of them have not been tested for interaction with one another or with other medications and supplements. Just like other substances, they could counteract one another or halt the effectiveness of medications (like antibiotics cancel out birth control pills and often spawn yeast infections). I seem to remember St. Johns Wort was in a bit of a controversy about a year or two ago, but can't recall what it centered around and how many (or how few) people it affected.

I've also heard of iron and certain vitamin B's to help. My adopted grandpa used to get B-12 shots. What made it preferable over other B's, I don't know. Maybe a B-complex vitamin would do some good? I know there are guides available.












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