Energy Boosts?

[Nikolaj]

Maybe this isn't one for the kids, but say anyone oh 35 and over. Though 35 seems so young to me now, hah.
Besides coffee, vitamins, and an exercice regime...anyone got any tips for just not being so tired all the time and wanting to lay up in the bed and veg on The Ledge?
I've had my prescribed dosages (2) 20 mg. each of Adderall and still haven't managed to get into the shower at 1pm on a Sunday. I did feed the cat and take care of her litterbox, though.
Back in the 80s, I remember that getting B-12 shots and drinking wheatgrass juice were supposed to be good for longer-term energy. Are there any new health-food store remedies or tips anyone has? I think I'm gonna have to get back on a bike for 30* minutes, that always seemed to help. Feh.
*starting with 30 minutes a day for a week, working up to an hour, and then doing 90 minutes at least 3 times a week after about a month. I'd always feel better. But what is it about exercise that is so unfair- you stop for a couple months, and then it's like you never ever did it before and it's like starting all over again?!
Kvetch, kvetch, just do it, I guess.

[gldstwmn]

Have you had your thyroid checked?

[Silver Springs]

Sorry to butt in. I know I'm only 22. But I suffer from Bi-Polar and Depression and one of the major symptoms I've had to deal with is an almost complete lack of energy. Have you seen a Doctor about depression? I'm sorry if I'm way off.

[MissLadyLoki]

I don't mean to butt in either. I'm only 20 and I've felt like that i didn't wanna do anything at all due to stress. it might be chronic fatigue syndrome, but then again, I'm the farthest thing from premed you could get (I'm a business major and history minor), so don't bet on me Either way, you should talk to your doctor about this.

[Nikolaj]

THANK YOU for the replies!
I think SilverSprings has it- the clinical depression thing, which I've had forever, and know that the exercise helps best, dang it. So, back to the bike and other cardio, I enjoy it once I get used to it, it takes a cpl weeks and the machines at the gym I actually like.
Thyroid (ducking, here) I think is more of a female thing- my older sister had a major portion of her thyroid removed last year, and it was non-malignant, and didn't solve a thing anyway, and now the remaining thyroid isn't functioning properly and she's way upset. I think it's a bit of a racket that they have to remove it partially before knowing if it's non-malignant. Sorry. One of my doctors is a woman, and she, too had part of her thyroid removed, to find that the growth wasn't malignant, also. I'm no MD or surgeon, so it's just based on 2 cases I know of, but I think thyroid surgery is just a popular/profitable procedure that seems to be recommended for a woman after she is 50 (I'm a guy with 4 yrs to go before 50). I realize that it is an uninformed opinion based on 2 women that I know, and my opinion isn't worth anything. I have no other symptoms besides the sluggishness, my sister had a bunch, including weight gain, which the surgery didn't help her with.
Thanks again for your replies and I hope I offended no-one with my dippy thyroid opinion.

[jannieC]

Some of your lack of energy could be coming from your recent elimination of narcotics. This is a common occurrence. Hang in there! Exercise really is the best thing; it releases all kinds of good things into your brain and body. The trick is to get up enough motivation to get started, right? Set tiny goals for yourself to begin with. Over time, raise the bar for yourself. Good luck.

[Nikolaj]

^ Thanks, Jannie, and I know you're right. The adderall I've been on so many years, of course is a narcotic, but I know you are referring to my Percocet dependency, which I quit taking back in June. Because of my screwed-up opiate receptors, the Percocet helped greatly with my mood and really made the Adderall kick in, which, of course, isn't the normal way Percocet is supposed to work. It gave me energy. My doctor knew all of this, and it was all good until I realized that I was needing more and more of the Percocets, and knew it couldn't be good for me. Duh. Only took me 7+years. The good news is that I no longer, psychologically anyway, miss the Percs. I think my body just hasn't gotten the message, yet

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by Nikolaj

^ Thanks, Jannie, and I know you're right. The adderall I've been on so many years, of course is a narcotic, but I know you are referring to my Percocet dependency, which I quit taking back in June. Because of my screwed-up opiate receptors, the Percocet helped greatly with my mood and really made the Adderall kick in, which, of course, isn't the normal way Percocet is supposed to work. It gave me energy. My doctor knew all of this, and it was all good until I realized that I was needing more and more of the Percocets, and knew it couldn't be good for me. Duh. Only took me 7+years. The good news is that I no longer, psychologically anyway, miss the Percs. I think my body just hasn't gotten the message, yet

Because narcotics hyper stimulate the brain, it can take quite a while to feel "normal" again. You may feel bored, lethargic, unmotivated. But it will pass!

[Ghost_Tracker]

Stevie would be the first to tell you to not do cocaine.

Speaking in that light, my personal opinion is that one of the best paths to having more energy is to sleep well at night, rise early in the morning, eat three solid, square, healthy meals a day, get plenty of exercise, and avoid coffee and sugar like the plague.

Have a nice day now! I'm going to go down a pot of coffee and pull an all-nighter...


Oh! - Little afterthought - seriously - have you tried taking a nap in the afternoon? And maybe also one in the early evening, if you can? Some companies are actually encouraging an afternoon nap now; productivity actually rises because they feel better. Word of caution though: try to not let the evening nap turn into a five hour snooze-fest, because then you may have trouble sleeping and it could mess up your sleep/wake cycle, making you feel worse over the long-run. Another "practice what I preach" thing, I admit.

[iamnotafraid]

Dude I hope you get better. I understand what you're going through more
than you know. For me pills have rarely ever helped. But everyone's different.

As far as vitamins go, B-12 is the only thing that's ever given me energy.
And it has what could be called a positive side effect. But I dare not post
it here for the sake of being ridiculed.

[holidayroad]

I think you are giving too much of yourself to everyone else. I was guilty of the same thing for many years. It's hard to find the energy to put back in your life while you are doing so much for your family. I'm sure you have your reasons for doing so, but it isn't helping you. It may feel selfish, but you may have to tell your dad "Look, I can help to a point, but I have a life to live, too." Is there any way that you (or maybe you and other family members) could afford to hire part time help to help your parents around the house? You are taking on too much for one person to handle. I hope you don't think I'm out of line for giving you this advice.

[Nikolaj]

Thanks holidayroad. Yes, we set up the Visiting Nurse Association, and with that comes the 'home health aide worker', she's God Sent and comes 3 times a week. Thanks, and after all I wrote, I'd never say anyone overstepped anything. It's helpful. Thank You also to iamnotafraid. How are you feeling?
But I really do need to go above and delete that post, it's just too much information- I should have copied and pasted it rather than put it on the Net, and placed it in this private folder here on the laptop where I keep such problems I'm not working out, which is what I'll do now. Thank you both very much.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by Nikolaj

^ Thanks, Jannie, and I know you're right. The adderall I've been on so many years, of course is a narcotic, but I know you are referring to my Percocet dependency, which I quit taking back in June. Because of my screwed-up opiate receptors, the Percocet helped greatly with my mood and really made the Adderall kick in, which, of course, isn't the normal way Percocet is supposed to work. It gave me energy. My doctor knew all of this, and it was all good until I realized that I was needing more and more of the Percocets, and knew it couldn't be good for me. Duh. Only took me 7+years. The good news is that I no longer, psychologically anyway, miss the Percs. I think my body just hasn't gotten the message, yet

Just my humble opinion here but no doc in his right mind should have prescribed you percocet for 7 years.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Just my humble opinion here but no doc in his right mind should have prescribed you percocet for 7 years.

[Nikolaj]

^
^^

It was the only thing that worked, we'd tried everything- Prozac, Zoloft, Cymbalta and other anti-depressants I can't even recall, there were so many.
This doctor is a woman, an MD and a psychiatrist. She told me the percs worked because I had a form of depression ('clinical, chronic mild grade' that she said I'd had since childhood) that resisted usual anti-depressants, and that she knew of cases where opiates did seem to help people. It wasn't a cure, she said there is none, but it might help.
Mixed with the Adderall, it worked miracles for me. I was to take a 20 mg adderall upon awaking, a 10 mgPercocet 2 hours later, a second 20 mg Adderall about 5 hours after the first, then the second percocet before bed. After some years, though, no more 'miracle' and the Percocet became a problem. I needed two of them by 5pm, and then more. Some patients can take it up to 5 times a day, so I wasn't in that range, but like gldstwmn said, I stayed on it too many years.
If I asked my doctor to, I could go back on it tomorrow if I chose to, but it no longer made me less depressed and I was getting (?) hooked, if I wasn't already, and it was making things worse. It's such a thin line between 'dependency' and 'abuse' and as you may imagine, my judgement was impaired. Bye bye, opiates! I sure didn't "feel good" at all, after all those years.
I liked the graphic, Hejira, I'm not touchy today, and you said it all with no words! Made me smile.
The options I have for replacing the opiates are way scary, I tried one of the drugs and had convulsions from it. $300 for nothing, I took it for 2 days. Too strong, it's for former needle users, and I've never once shot up. So, I just do a little Xanax, which I don't like, and had been placed on 6 months before I quit the Percocet, at her recommendation, when she knew I was ready to stop the Percs.