When I was a sophomore in high school, I endured the first of many episodes of depression. I don't remember if there was a true trigger, but I remember teachers approaching me with concern over my suddenly introverted behavior. I also don't remember my mother ever mentioning that she noticed a behavioral change, but I do remember her taking note of the fact that I seemed to be suddenly exhausted. Taking me to the doctor's, I again can't remember being diagnosed with depression (though in hindsight this is painfully obvious), but I do remember being diagnosed with prolonged extreme fatigue (though not prolonged enough to be considered chronic), and vitamin B shots were to be forthcoming. Also forthcoming would be a life long battle with prolonged cases of extreme fatigue.
When one suffers a true affliction of the immune system (gets sick), a degree of fatigue is often an unwelcome companion. With severe or prolonged illness, it is not unusual for fatigue to hang around a little longer then the invader. When my son had H1N1 a few years back, he was an incredibly sick boy for 5 days. The fatigue that accompanied this wicked flu hung on for 3 weeks. Considering what this virus put my son's body through, this was not unexpected. Thankfully, my boys do not often get sick, but when they do, they REALLY do.
Thankfully, I do not often get truly sick, either. Yes, I wage constant war against seasonal allergies and sinus inflammation, but I have a generally strong immune system to ward off the real bugs. My doctor knows that if he sees me as the patient instead of the chauffeur I'm probably dying.
Yet, 3 years ago, I picked up the worst case of bronchitis ever. For 3 weeks I sounded like I was coughing up a lung ~ which, by the way, is not a very relaxing sound in a massage room. Then, much to my kids' delight, I progressed into 3 weeks of laryngitis. Through it all, I was, without a doubt, exhausted.
Three weeks of an inability to breathe equated to 3 weeks of severe lack of physical activity. Three weeks of feeling like crap also equated to 3 weeks of eating comfort food. And I managed to gain a few pounds. But, I had every intention of getting back to the working out as soon as my energy level kicked back up. Unfortunately, that took 3 months.
Yes, for 3 months after recovering from the bronchitis bug, I suffered from a debilitating fatigue. It took every ounce of will power just to get out of bed in the mornings. After getting everyone out the door in the mornings, if I was fortunate enough to have the day off from work, I would lie on the couch and sleep until lunch. Then I would putter around the house a little, maybe clean a room, then lie back down until the kids came home from school. More puttering, followed by more lying down, would precede me ending up in bed for the night.
Work days were a sort of torture during this time. A physically intense job is even more challenging when one has no strength to put into it. By the grace of God, I would fumble through my mornings, sleep through lunch (and any other opening in my schedule), trip through my afternoon, and somehow manage to not fall asleep while driving home, only to crash into bed when I got there.
Vitamin B was my savior. Taking a high potency B complex twice a day for a couple of weeks finally kicked my rear back into gear. However, almost 4 month of inactivity had me sitting about 15lbs heavier. Insult to injury, for sure.
This winter, I have had the misfortune to catch 2 really nasty colds. This is highly unusual for me, but then, the teenager that hasn't been sick in 3 years also caught the flu, so I am guessing the bugs are a little more persistent this season. I tend to avoid working out when I can't breathe, so I took breaks from my schedule while I was sick. After the first cold, the weather turned for the ugly and running outside was rough in 30 degree temps on the heels of kicking a cold bug. Needless to say, I had to ease back in to an extent. The second cold has drained me a little more, and I seem to be back into an extreme fatigue pattern. Lucky me.
Before I got sick this time, I was back to my normal running schedule (4 days a week) and mileage (up to 5 per run) with upper body toning 3 days a week, lower body toning 2, and core training 6. Yeah, not so much now. Lately I've been lucky to get in 3 runs a week with the longest being only 3 miles. Workouts that I would do on my off days because they were so easy are now kicking my ass and my toning workouts are leaving my muscles fatigued for hours. Even yoga is exhausting.
Frustrating does not begin to describe these little episodes. And yet, the silver lining is that I have overcome before, and I will emerge victorious again. But as I get a little older, the road back seems to be getting a little longer. Thankfully, God and vitamin B will be holding my hands along the way.
