Hello Everyone,
I just want to ask you MAV’ers if you feel extreme fatigue with this illness??? Since I got sick over a year ago I’ve been feeling tired and weak. I have to sleep at least 8 hrs and after 5 hr of being up, I get extreme fatigue and need to lie down again …
I just came off Effexor 6 days ago so I’m not sure if that is adding to the problem…
I want my energy back…
Thanks for reading.
Emma :?
YES!
I wouldn’t say I’m tired all the time but more tired than usual and some days (for no obvious reason) absolutely shattered.
I’m not sure if that’s a symptom or because the poor old brain is taxed to its limit trying to deal with the MAV or a combination of both.
Victoria
Victoria, I am always tired, feel like I could sleep 24 hours a day. I am also stuggling with insomnia. What a combination. Fatigue may or may not be a result of MAV. Many people are tired all the time and don’t have this disease. Did you come off Effexor slowly or cold turkey? If the fatigue is something new, just since stopping the ex, that could definitely have something to do with this.
Book
I get the extreme fatigue, especially after doing something physical, or shopping. I start sweating, everything aches and I get more dizzy. The next day I can feel like I am going down with a virus, sore throat, achy, fluey. Dr. said I may have CFS as well, who knows, dont know whether it is part of the MAV or not.
Best Wishes
Christine
Yes. Keep in mind that if you start or stop a med, fatigue is likely to go with it. As for it being a symptom of MAV, I think that is likely as well, but it may depend on two factors: what meds you are taking and what you have done that day. I remember somewhere reading how one gets fatigued because the brain is working so hard to compensate with over-action/stimulation. In other words, your brain is struggling with your balance, visuals, thought processes, etc. I find that if I exert myself too much or do a lot of work that requires thought (say teaching a class), I am exhausted by the end of the day. Normally neither of these things would have caused great fatigue in me.
no matter how much I sleep I am always EXHAUSTED!! It isn’t just tired; it is overwhelming fatigue. This is my worst symptom after the dizziness.
Same with me - Fatigue is a symptom of MAV for me. It is overwhelming. As I get better though, the fatigue is also improving.
Hi there
Extreme fatigue for me too…and it’s got worse as my migraines have got worse in my late 30s. I try push myself to do what I used to do, but now find it impossible.
When you sleep do you sleep well though?
Kindest
Hi Emma,
yes yes yes… 
Something I’ve learned is every Mav’er is different.
We have spinners, rockers, brain foggers, and people with incredible pain daily.
Before Mav.
I was a very agile, busy, happy professional singer 5 or more days a week, I would lug gear, set up (bending to tape gaffa to the floor in a auditorium) then dance and sing my butt off for 5 hours and that was just the singing, not the setting up and lugging.
All with mav.
My hubby 8 years older than myself couldn’t understand why at 30 I was always much more tired than he was.
When Mav hit
I was in shape and happy, I loved spending time with people.
My Mav made me so tiered I’d sometimes sleep hours per day, just to get to the next gig.
It took its toll, oh yeh.
3 years ago, I was still working and happy at 48 kilos, had a good bod, I was really active,
Mav tiredness did do me in.
I feel like I’ve slept my life away, I had no choice it knocked me out…
I’m now feeling so good, you will too very soon.
Some Mav’ers here still seem to find a way of exercising, go figure?
I’m happy to say, that there’s an end to this maddening tiredness and dizziness,
I was on the medi-go round for a short while, but there IS an end to it, 
You too will find you’re med and return to a normal life.
I know how this mav can crush our creative spirit, trust me you’ll have it back very soon.
Big hugs Emma.
Hi Jen and everyone,
I’m so happy I have this forum to go to when I need support. It’s good to know I’m not alone with feeling extreme fatigue all the time…
Last week was bad for me casue I stopped Effexor got on and off BCP, and now I have a horrible migraine. I was out of town with my boyfriend to see his parents and boy being in a car for 8 hr was hell. It’s not so much being in the car that I don’t like, its when I get out it’s bad. I’m rocking like I’m in an earth qake…It’s awful as you know.
I cried all week and just feeling hopeless with this illness, thinking I never get my life back.
Just like you Jen I use to work a 10 hr day and then go rehears with my band for 4 hours and then study or whatever I had to do.
I also exercised a lot sometimes 3 hr a day(worked as a fitness instructor). I always had tons of energy, but not now…I feel like I’m 80 but I’m only 28…
I understand that you can get better from this, but it’s the road there as you all now is hard. I’m feeling really depressed all the time and my boyfriend can’t stand it…
Dr. Hain told me it’s safe to start Paxil tomorrow Wednesday, so I’m hoping that will work.
I wish we all can get better soon, and I hope someting good can come out of this. Thank you Jen for cheering me up 
Emma
I take lots of catnaps.
Emma - I can relate to what you said 100%. I find myself crying all the time. I know it is not helping the situation, but I feel so very down. I, too, feel ok in a car, but when I get out my dizziness is even worse than usual. I have felt dizzy for 2 years now, but each time I take a step and feel the dizziness (which is always) I just want to scream. I wish you tons of luck on Paxil. we’ll get there.
Fatigue has been an issue since the onset.
Once I was well enough start exercising consistently, I improved a lot. Need that daily jolt.
— Begin quote from “MAVLisa”
no matter how much I sleep I am always EXHAUSTED!! It isn’t just tired; it is overwhelming fatigue. This is my worst symptom after the dizziness.
— End quote
This describes me exactly during a 7 month episode last year. Amitryptiline would help me sleep well, but gosh, I’d feel so exhausted every day all the time! Climbing half a flight of stairs was so hard. It’s getting back like that this time too :(.
Reading this made me feel much better. I’ve been wondering what’s going on as I need to sleep so much more than everyone else in my life. I didn’t know if it was my meds or my attitude, not I’m pretty sure it’s my MAV. My head gets so tired of being up and alert!
I feel terrible that I can’t keep up with other people and sometimes I try to push myself through the tiredness because I want to do everything. Then I end up sleeping for what feels like forever. I think I am more bothered by the fact that other people don’t need as much sleep than I am about myself. I’m sure if the rest of the world was napping I would be quite happy sleeping a little more.
So it’s good to know you’re all out there sleeping too!
Mollie.
How are you feeling now in 2018?
I have been very fatigued as well. Not every day, but some days. It could be related to the medication I take (Pizotifen), but my dosage is relatively low (1.5 mg per day). Sometimes I just MUST have a nap, other days I feel fine.
Yesterday, for example, was such a day. I woke up, had breakfast and felt so tired that I went back to bed. I slept for about 1 hour. Then I had lunch and struggled with fatigue until 3.30 pm. Suddenly, it felt like someone had turned on a switch and all my energy came back. I used it to clean the lower part of my house, picked some mulberries for my neighbour and mowed the lawn. I still felt energetic by the time I went to bed.
It is strange because it is so unpredictable.