i had takedown almost 2 years ago. damn, has it really been that long? anyways...

i find myself absolutely EXHAUSTED throughout the day. like to the point where i cant function. im constantly dozing off and have no energy whatsoever. i will literally have 12 hours of sleep at night and im still exhausted all day.

i got checked for iron deficiency and im not anemic. im also not dehydrated. i went to an internal medicine specialist today for some blood work and he will be checking my b12 count. he also mentioned some other medications that could help with the problem.

im very wary of taking medication as after the entire ordeal with UC and those awful drugs im just fearful of side effects. but this fatigue is consuming my life and preventing me from my full potential in school and work.

is the fatigue mental perhaps? am i lazy? i work out regularly and eat fairly healthy? would you all recommend the medication?

I've also had the same problem and I've been to the doctors a couple of times and had everything checked. They couldn't find a reason for it so they wanted to put me on anti-depressants. Ummm, no. I realize that's the answer for everything these days but, no. I did start exercising more and saw drastic improvements but you say you already exercise.
I too, get tons of sleep and I'm still tired in the day and could sleep most of the day.
I've just chalked it up to the fact that I'm missing a lot of my digestive track and it may be difficult to get energy and nutrients from my food.
I would be interested in your findings as I'm in the same boat. If I didn't have two jobs forcing me out I'd probably stay in bed most of the time.

Don't think it is mental and although I don't know you, I don't think you are lazy. Lazy people don't work out on a regular basis.

Hopefully your B12 tests indicate something that you can readily correct. You also may still have an above normal level of inflammation present in your body. Chronic inflammation can cause regular fatigue. There are some blood tests for this too (e.g. Sed Rate, C-Reactive Protein) if you already have not been tested. Otherwise, I think Olive's statement that perhaps your body is not getting all the required nutrients due to your modified digestive system might warrant some merit. I hope that they figure it out soon.

I felt the same way. I had a B12 deficiency. The numbers were not off majorly and I am not anemic. However, having started the monthly injections I can't tell you how much better I feel.
As for depression I think that is a very real issue for many of us after years of not feeling well, surgeries, pain....
I understand the hesitancy but it might not hurt to look at that as a possibility. I always think medication for depression AND counseling should go together. Pills can't fix everything, but sometimes the human spirit has a little more then it can handle. Just my 2 cents worth. I hope you get some answers.

olive oil -

i will find out about my results on friday and report back here. there are days when i will literally get 12-14 hours of sleep at night and then STILL be able to sleep the entire day and not feel like doing anything. its ridiculous.

i lift weights 5 days a week and play basketball regularly. i eat a healthy diet too.

i really hope they can figure this out because this is very dehabilitating. i want to get a part time job during school but with my fatigue issues i wont have energy to study or go to class. hell, its summer and im sitting at home and have no energy.

Are you sure you're not overtraining with the weights? 5 weights sessions a week is generally thought a bit too much for natural lifters. If your doctors can't attribute any other reason, I'd try laying of the weights for a few weeks then going back to 2 or 3 workouts a week.

i am also noticing unusual levels of fatigue and like you,i'm 2 years post takedown.i've put off going to the doc but will be waiting to hear what your diagnosis is,i've also heard of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so it could merit some investigation if all else appears normal.

Mike: my usual workout during the school year is 3X a week and i still felt fatigued all day. im doing 5X a week now but with only one body part per day which is a generally accepted split...

Too much sleep (like over 8 hours) can cause fatigue.

ok, so i got the results back today.
the b12 count was extremely low. i didnt quite understand, maybe jan can help out here, but the indicator for something or the other shouldnt be above 100 and mine was at 196...

also, he said that my iron levels were very high and he was worried i might have hemochromotosis. wtf? im going in for a re-test tommorrow. is there any chance it could be something related with the jpouch or colitis?

my testosterone level was also low.

he gave me a b12 injection today.

im going in for more blood work tomorrow to find out more about the iron overload. i asked him if he could test for other stuff too cuz i remembered you all had mentioned some other stuff. so what all else should i have included in the tests?

Total iron binding capacity, transferrin, ferritin

I am sure you have already had a CBC with differential.

Jan