Zero Energy/Reliant of Caffeine

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

Zero Energy/Reliant on Caffeine

It seems as though I can't get through an entire day without some form of caffeine, often multiple cups of coffee in a day. I tried cutting back and drinking decaf because it can't be healthy, but I only lasted a little while before complete exhaustion caught up and I had to go back to near constant stimulants to keep me awake. It's pretty pathetic, honestly.

I should probably mention that I go to an art school where I have class everyday, and three of my classes are 6-hour long studio classes. It's become nearly impossible for me to make it through a painting class without falling asleep in a chair somewhere, which is not only extremely inconvenient but also extremely EMBARRASSING. Between being in class all day and doing homework, I often come home and immediately pass out, treatments long forgotten. I'm trying desperately to fix my sleep schedule, buy myself more energy/time in the day, do all my treatments and get some exercise in, but to no avail. My body is adamant - it will go to sleep when it wants to, and wake up when it wants to (apparently I can sleep straight through three separate alarms blaring, and not even stir. This often results in me barely making it to me classes at three in the afternoon. Incredible, right?). The problem is, my body seems to want way more sleep than any single human being should ever get - and I mean, I understand it's good for me to get a full eight hours and everything, but I can seriously just sit down at any moment on any surface and I'm out cold. This becomes extremely inconvenient when I'm sitting down to do homework. I feel like I'm asleep 80% of the time.

I'm sort of desperate for advice here, I guess. I know I'm healthy enough to handle going to school, I just need to find healthier ways of getting and maintaining energy. The first few months I was here, I wasn't sleeping nearly as much. I've been battling with some infections since then, but this amount of exhaustion seems disproportionate. I even got rid of a MAC infection, so I think that should have bought me some energy, if anything??? I've been eating healthier, trying to avoid simple sugars and eat more protein, I tried going sans-caffeine in hopes that it was actually starting to have a reverse effect on me and I would feel better without. My lung function is great, even though I feel less able to walk long distances/up stairs etc., but I'm assuming I'm just out of shape from not doing much real exercise in a while. Sinuses are ehhhh, no monster nose bleeds or anything, but they don't feel great. Getting joint/chest/back aches and pains super easily upon exertion.

Well, there's my college experience in a nutshell, sorry it's so long. If there is any one else on here with CF who goes to college/university, is living away at school, etc., or even anyone who has any advice on how to boost energy levels in a healthy manner, I would appreciate your input very very much. Thank you!!!

 

[Melissa75]

2-3 cups of coffee a day is fine. Healthy even--open airways, lower risk of depression. Just drink water, too, to stay hydrated.

Now, if you were sugar coating it in your post, and are using additional caffeine, like in 5-hour Energy drinks, that is another story. My son's cardiologist told him/us to NEVER use those type of beverages.

Other people will hopefully respond with more insight. Personally, I just had a junky cough in college and no bronchiectasis dx or treatments, so my input is not all that useful. I will say that I had a completely screwed up sleep schedule in college. I studied and wrote papers until very late most nights and I dozed through many of my classes. If I went somewhere quiet, I almost immediately fell asleep. Looking back, the only thing I can imagine removing from my schedule is my social life. I liked to go out on Friday and Saturday nights, and maybe if I hadn't done that, I would have been able to catch up on sleep at those times. If my grades had suffered, I like to think I would have ditched the social life. But I was lucky and didn't have to test that theory.

edited to add:

If you were my kid, I would tell you/beg you to consider your treatments as one of your courses--your most important course. That you need to get an A+ (or at least a B+) in Treatments so you don't risk the whole enchilada of college.

 

[paws]

We know infections can cause fatigue, but if your sleepiness isn't something new, you may want to have a sleep study done. Also, have you had your thyroid checked?

 

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

Thank you, guys! Melissa: I do stay away from energy drinks, as they make make me feel shaky, rapid heartbeat, etc. - they just don't make me feel good at all. Even coffee in the morning with albuterol is risky. I keep hearing mixed reviews about how coffee is great for CFers and how I should avoid it, and I'm just really confused about it. I know that a lot of college students end up pulling all nighters to get work done and feeling tired throughout the day, and I was prepared for that and dealt with it pretty well at first, I think. But I did realize quickly that focusing on school means slacking off on health, and focusing on health means slacking off in school. There's really no easy way to balance it out. Forget about any sort of social life outside of class at this point! (I pretty much fall asleep any time I'm hanging out with some one, so... I feel kind of bad about that)
Paws: Hmmm, I haven't thought about doing a sleep study. People have mentioned looking into thyroid problems, though. Do you happen to know if that's something that gets checked during routine annual blood work, or if I would have to look into some other type of testing to check that? Now that I'm looking at common symptoms of thyroid problems, they do seem rather... fitting.

 

[kgfrompa]

I did blood work they ckecked my Thyroid and it is fine,I am exhausted all the time If i sit I will fall asleep.The doctors tell me it might be Sticky mucus on my lungs but being exhausted is my number one problem my Fev1 is 82 so it is not that I wished they would find out why i have such exhaustion i did the sleep study and I snore some but I sleep 9 hours and when sick 10 hours and require a nap!

 

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

I feel you! I haven't done a sleep study or had my thyroid checked, but I'm nervous that if i do either, they will say everything is fine and they don't know what's wrong, etc. etc... and then I'll be back at square one, with no answers. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, though. I'm sorry you're having issues with this as well, and I hope you feel better soon

 

[mamaScarlett]

As long as your doctor says so, and as long as you compensate the dehydrating effects of it with drinking water, a few cups of coffee per day is totally fine. Good for asthma even, good for bowels, good for your mood.
if I drink 2-3 per day and I'm still tired, it probably means I need more sleep, or perhaps I'm brewing an infection.

 

[welshwitch]

I remember college. It was exhausting a lot of the time. Have you thought about incorporating some type of exercise into your day? A half hour run every other day would help a lot, I bet.

 

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

mamaScarlett: I'm glad the general consensus here seems to be that coffee is good! I have always loved it and noted it's benefits - especially first thing in the morning to open up airways, almost as good as an inhaler, imo. I just felt kind of silly relying on it so heavily I guess? To enjoy a nice cup of it rather than obsessively buying it every few hours to get stuff done. But if it helps, it helps I guess. Thanks for the input!

welshwitch: Yes, I keep trying to incorporate more exercise! My body's just not really working with me, haha. I guess one of my biggest issues is asthma, and exercise is one of my biggest triggers, so it's getting more and more difficult to find comfortable ways to exercise. I used to be a dancer! I stopped two years ago though, and have since noticed an immediate decrease in endurance. Dancing was definitely helping me out a lot. I'm trying to ease back into it slowly, i.e. doing yoga and ballet warm-ups. Energy is just seriously lacking right now. Never been good at running, but it's a goal I could try to reach!

Thanks guys

 

[RobinB29]

I felt that way a few years back and it turned out in addition to CF, I have Celiacs. A blood test can miss it though but for me a GI did an endoscopy and an endocrinologist (who was also checking my thyroid) figured it out. I didn't have typical GI celiac symptoms, I had headaches, fatigue, body/joint aches and mood swings. Getting diagnosed and going GF changed my life.

And as for caffeine....I have 3 cokes a day with no issue though I fear the CFRD monster might come for me any day.....

 

[RobinB29]

I felt that way a few years back and it turned out in addition to CF, I have Celiacs. A blood test can miss it though but for me a GI did an endoscopy and an endocrinologist (who was also checking my thyroid) figured it out. I didn't have typical GI celiac symptoms, I had headaches, fatigue, body/joint aches and mood swings. Getting diagnosed and going GF changed my life.

And as for caffeine....I have 3 cokes a day with no issue though I fear the CFRD monster might come for me any day.....

 

[LittleLab4CF]

I still don't believe this but caffeine is not a stimulant! It in fact counters our body's natural rest inducing hormones. We go to sleep when a set of hormones flood the body and they slowly clear upon waking. Culture has a lot to do with how we resist or embrace the natural cycle of these body regulators. If you live where Siesta's are followed by midnight fiesta's chances are you are healthier and less stressed. This is our natural pattern generally speaking. We wipe out the last vestiges of waking up naturally with coffee and suppress our need for that afternoon snooze.

The whole world toys with extending our wake cycle. In Taiwan and S.E. Asia the lunch hour is a ten minute speed meal and it's under the desk for a nap. In the years between 1984-2000 every year the single greatest fear amongst working people in Japan was working to death! To be sure they love their tea for the same reasons we crave coffee. Asian tea, as it is locally in Asia is unlike tea elsewhere. The caffeine analogues in fine Oolong tea or Japanese gunpowder green teas pack a whalop.

But, caffeine still is not a stimulant. I use medical mocha and donuts. Quite seriously, I have iatrogenic narcotic bowel syndrome and a Starbucks mocha and a sicky sweet old fashion donut moves me. This story has a purpose although it's true. Caffeine acts like a narcotic antagonist or a neutralizing agent and nature's sleeping draft is swept away. Too much coffee is a lot easier to understand when you realize it neutralizes sleepy commands only.

The 5hr Energy drinks are slightly less dangerous since they removed dexi from it. The fact a company was so ruthless as to embed a non drowsy antihistamine in the ingredients to begin with gets my lifetime boycott. A couple copy cat products have an isomer of dexi, no I'm not naming the product, that is just begging for trouble. This is a real stimulant with real consequences.

LL

 

[JakeS]

you are definatly drinking way to much caffeine, and suffering from rebound effects, it sounds like on a daily basis. I too have been through collage, I know the grind, it is tough. My advice is, drink that first cup or two in the morning, but maybe consider switching to tea or mate, so you can get a bigger serving, with same amount of caffine. While caffine is great to wake up the brain it reeks havoc if overconsumed, your body needing more and more, just to keep up...so start your day off with it to get you up and running, but then try to drink water, coconut water, Gatorade, or some sort of electrolyte drink, that works for you. This will give your body real energy, help with metabolizing food more properly, and help hydrate your body. The caffine dehydrates. The other suggestion I have is try to go sugar free, as sugar also has a bust and boom cycle. You get a rush and then you crash. Try stevia, it is by far the safest and healthiest sugar replacement. Good luck.

 

[Epona]

A few things.
1) It is a good idea to get your thyroid checked. This is a low-hanging fruit. If it's abnormal there is a short-term quick fix (but needs to be accompanied by longer term lifestyle changes to get at the root of the cause in the first place). If it is "normal" (conventional docs do not test all of the possibilities of thyroid abnormality, so it could actually be abnormal even if the tests say it's not), then addressing bigger lifestyle issues will help.
2) Caffeine is not ok, sorry. I strongly disagree with those who say it is. Biochemically, it messes up our entire circadian rhythms (cortisol/melatonin/sleep cycles) and leads to dependency and biochemical addiction. It can also lead to mood swings and other mental imbalances. It is not a safe chemical, especially for anyone with energy issues. Luckily I never developed a dependency so I never had to ween myself off or go through withdrawal states. You might have to do this while on a school break or something, because otherwise it sounds like you won't be able to function. But if you do not break your biochemical dependency on caffeine, you will have to drink more and more coffee and it will work less and less effectively until it doesn't work at all. That's how chemical dependencies work: the brain downregulates receptors when there is a glut of the chemical, so you end up having to slam yourself with more chemical to get the same result. It also really stresses out your adrenal glands and impedes their ability to regulate hormones. Withdrawl symptoms don't last that long, but because your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is likely shot due to stress, caffeine, and CF in general, your energy will likely not return until you've helped your HPA-axis rebalance. But at least you won't be wasting money on coffee at that point. And it goes without saying that energy drinks and cokes are toxic substances and should never ever be ingested by anyone, healthy or not. They are truly dangerous. I don't know how they're legal.
3) It's a good idea to your iron levels tested. You could be anemic, which is not uncommon in CF and can lead to reduced oxygen supply in the organs leading to fatigue and a host of other problems. If you are anemic like me, taking a chelated iron supplement may help. Also, I take CoQ10, which helps the mitochondria produce energy more efficiently. I've noticed a big difference in my energy level since taking it (100 mg/day).
4) Diet. Diet is HUGE. I used to have severe fatigue a few years ago where somedays I felt like I couldn't get up the stairs. I did not have to sleep a lot (though getting out of bed felt like the biggest exertion of will power I ever had to make), but I had intense brain fog (I thought I was going senile at age 23) and no energy at all. This had a lot to do with my intake of carbs - it was way too high. A high carb diet leads to blood sugar spikes and crashes which lead to chronic fatigue. Plus, peaks and troughs of blood sugar cause cortisol dysregulation, a stress hormone that controls your reaction to stress, your energy levels, and your level of inflammation. When I cut back on my carbs and removed gluten, dairy, and sugar from my diet, things slowly got better. My lungs function is about 20% lower than it was when I had the severe fatigue, but I am much more fit and can do so much more! I'm as fit and active as I was when my FEV1 was 30+% higher! Replacing the carbs with fat, especially medium-chain triglycerides from coconut oil or dairy fat (if you tolerate it) provides readily available energy without spiking blood sugar at all. I get at least 65% of my calories from fat (saturated mostly - coconut, bacon fat - plus a lot of almond butter and tahini). I could say a lot more about how diet affects everything, especially energy levels, but you could just visit my website to read more: www.cfnaturalhealth.weebly.com
3) Stress. Stress (i.e. having an intense school schedule plus dealing with CF and all other aspects of life) causes cortisol disregulation and can lead to chronic fatigue. Finding some way to minimize your mental stress (meditation, sitting quietly in a forest, taking a warm epsom salt bath, making art, quiet hang outs with friends, etc.) may help you slowly rebalance your cortisol levels. For more info on HPA-axis disregulation, here is a great little podcast by the RDs at chriskresser.com: http://chriskresser.com/ask-the-rd-adrenal-fatigue-2
4) Whether you're hypothyroid or not, and whether you're anemic or not, cortisol disregulation could still be a factor, since they all affect each other. A safe herbal protocol for helping adrenal fatigue is a tincture of licorice, ashwaganda, and rhodiola. Licorice and ashwaganda are very effective at helping the body deal with stress and rebalance disregulated stress hormones, and rhodiola is a stimulating, invigorating herbs without the addictive effects of caffeine. Talk to an herbalist or naturopath about them.

I hope some of this is helpful. Be well.