Exhausted from anxiety

[Fashoom]

Do any of you have exhaustion as a symptom of your anxiety disorder? I sleep 13-14 hours / night plus need a couple naps during the day and am still exhausted all the time. I don't know how much is the meds I'm taking (Luvox, Topamax, Xanax) but I'm on low doses of all of those. I get major GI distress too and that runs me down.

[bhamlaxy]

Anxiety can totally wear you down. Same with Xanax, although I'm not sure about the others.

When your nervous system is constantly on edge, or in full blown panic, it consumes quite a bit of energy. During a panic attack, your body believes it is in imminent danger. While it certainly isn't, it behaves that way. Because it thinks it's life or death, or even if it's just on high alert, it consumes a lot of energy because survival is obviously an important bodily function.

Try and maintain a healthy diet. Caffeine can be bad for many, but I've slowly reintroduced it to my life and found it to be highly effective. I have a small cup of half-decaf, half regular coffee, and it makes a HUGE difference.

[Fashoom]

Yeah a cup of coffee can really pick up my mood, but I have stomach/GI problems and also migraines so I can't drink it, even decaf because of the acids.

I've been reading the Heal Your Anxiety Workbook and I noticed in his dietary suggestions he has whole grains and wheat bread. I had gone gluten free cos of all the GI problems, but it hasn't really helped. So maybe I'll add that stuff back in.

[dazza]

13 / 14 hours a night!!??? ... AND sleeping during the day!!????

Blimey - lucky you, lol. I'm lucky to get more than 7 hours a night.

I suggest you need to go get a "general health" checkup. This is far too much sleep imo.

[Sentao]

I used to have chronic fatigue but since I started drinking TSP of Apple Cider Vinegar everyday, my energy levels have gone back up and I do feel great. Still have to put up with a bit of anxiety every now and then but I have it under control.

[brittany09]

Oh yeah..anxiety can make you tired as hell. Are you eating enough? If not,eat more. Make sure your getting a lot of protein. Whey protein drinks are an easy way to get the protein you need. Also,taking a multivitamin always helps with energy. Xanax makes people tired,even low doses can have that effect. I'm not sure about the other 2 you mentioned. Maybe try switching to a different benzo as well? Ativan works well for me without making me tired.

[Buttercup]

I agree that anxiety is an exhausting condition! I used to sleep a lot since sleeping was the only thing I could do to escape my anxiety. I go from sleeping a lot to hardly sleeping at all though depending on wha's going on in my head. I do think it's worth going to the doc though just to have a quick check up since you are so tired. A few months ago I was sleeping as many hours as you and the doc did some blood tests which showed my white blood cell count was up- this indicated my body was fighting some sort of infection or virus. I took it easy for a couple of weeks and my WBC returned to normal and I got some energy back.
B x

[Fashoom]

Tnx for the tips everyone, will try these and see if they help.

[aquamarinearies]

Sleeping too much isn't good for you, exercise will take that all away.