Tiredness and fatigue

I am 29 days sober . I have struggled for the last week with fatigue and I am sleeping a lot more is this normal ? Has anyone else had this at this stage ? I can’t find much online .

Thank you :smiling_face:

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Welcome @KaeUK congrats on 29 days sober!! I slept a lot the first few months so id say it was normal to me.

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Hi Friend and welcome. Do some research on PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome). Hard to say this is what’s going on for you but likely is.

Things take time to get better, but they DO get better.

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This is very normal. Your body is readjusting: you’ve removed the crutch (addiction) and your body is gradually practicing how to live without the crutch. In the beginning it is exhausting :sweat: :innocent:

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Thank you @Cjp :smiling_face: happy to be here . That’s good to hear thanks.

@Aussie_Tiger thank you :smiling_face: I will research this I’ve never heard of that before . Much appreciated .

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@Matt so glad to hear this is normal . It is very exhausting I can’t wait for this part to be over . I know it will all be worth it :smiling_face:

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Welcome to the forum Kae! As others have mentioned, it is very normal to be fatigued in early recovery. Actually… I still get effected by extreme fatigue on occasion now due to PAWS, like @Aussie_Tiger mentioned. It comes and goes for me. But the longer i stay clean and sober, the less often those phases occur.

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Thank you @Butterflymoonwoman and think I had it in my head that I’d be a ball of energy once I stopped but then reality slapped me in the face lol . I feel better when I workout and keep active so I will keep doing that even if it does take all my energy . Audiobooks and self talk have been a lifesaver the last few weeks they keep me motivated . It’s nice to have a place to reach out . Thanks again :smiling_face:

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Yes. It gets better.

29 days in I was STILL shaking with tremors. Not sleeping. Very unsettled. Very uncomfortable.

I decided that shaking and struggling still beat being drunk all the time. They went away anyway.

It gets better its worth it.

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Congrats on 29 days!! Thats freakin awesome!!

The early days, I remember being either full of energy or completely sapped.

Many Alcohol drinks contains lots of free sugars and Alcohol itself gets converted to sugars, if you’re drinking frequently, your body becomes accustomed to all that fuel, stop drinking and that abundant fuel supply goes too, resulting in crushing lows for a while.

Be sure to eat a well balanced meal, get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water, your energy will come back in time.

Keep it up and let us know how it goes!

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Thank you :smiling_face:
Yeah I have been craving sugar but I’m very strict with myself and haven’t been allowing myself to snack because I don’t want to gain weight as I may spiral if I do and fall off the wagon

I do have days where I feel I have a lot of energy but it generally wears off after a couple of hours and I end up exhausted . It doesn’t help that I work 12 hour nightshifts so my sleep pattern is not great at the best of times . I am on a run if 3 , 12 hour nightshifts at the moment and by the time I have a couple of nights off I will most likely sleep all day and all night the first day because it’s just taking its toll on me at the moment .

I drink a lot of water and only eat healthy food because I’m terrified to gain weight . (I used to have an eating disorder and I don’t want it to start up again) fingers crossed my energy returns soon .

Thank you for your reply :smiling_face:

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Although I had a lapse yesterday, I was sober for two months. The first month I had that same exhaustion, I never napped and found that I needed a daily nap after work. I was reading The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober and the author said that her doctor tested her for vitamin B levels and hers were insanely low. The research behind it is that our bodies get so depleted of vitamin B12 from alcohol and our bodies just “crash”. I’m not a medical professional, and I suggest speaking to one before you make decisions (dr. google doesn’t count :joy: ), but I can say that it was SO helpful for the unending tiredness. I got the liquid form and didn’t have any stomach upset from it, but definitely got an incredible boost of energy where I didn’t need to chug cups and cups of coffee. Hope that helps.

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