Fatigue....ASD....linked?

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Is the constant fatigue that I experience related to my ASD? I always get tired easily. In weekdays when I have to spend around 8 hours outside home taking classes, doing assignments and working as a TA, I feel as if all my body's strength is drained accompanied by throbbing head and sore back. I am unable do anything else but sleep when I get home. Does this have anything to do with the fact that I have to spend those 8 hours surrounded by people who are constantly, working in group activities and having to try to act normal (I still do stand out to be quite different).
People with aspergers usually have trouble going to sleep (insomnia), I on the other hand need at least 8 hours of undisturbed sleep to feel fresh again. Does anyone else have the same problem?

I've been like this my whole life. Always fatigued. I tried changing my diet, my sleep habits, my exercise, etc., and nothing changed. I never got any more "energy". When I figured out about the ASD (I'm older, so wasn't diagnosed), I said, "Aha!" I have to spend hours every day in fight-or-flight mode just to interact at a "normal" level. Constant sensation bombardment. No wonder!

And sleep to me isn't refreshing. I wish it were. I need hours of awake alone-time to refresh properly.

I'm the same, i didn't realise it had anything to do with ASD...

It is like walking or hiking at your proper pace--you can go a really long way. But, if you have to walk or hike much faster pace, you tire easily. Because most Aspies need to work really hard in social situations, we tire easily--just like someone walking or hiking much too fast for comfort.

Same story here, with insomnia thrown in. Keep an eye out for depression as a cause for fatigue, too.

Yes, having to put in a lot of effort for a long time is common for Aspies trying to cope with the NT world, and of course that causes fatigue.

But there are so many other causes that are possible, and many of them are physical or non-AS psychological. You should really get checked out. For all you know, you might have anything from mono to inattentive ADD...

I never thought that there might be a link between the two, but it would make sense. I'm always tired. From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I go to bed, I'm just exhausted all day long.

I am always tired due to all the pills I am on. The only time I am not as tired is when I am manic or hypomanic.

I believe so. Brain works harder, uses more energy.

I always assumed I was just lazy, but this might not be the case.

I have been exercising alone regularly and it helps with stress. I have more energy than I did when I hardly ever bothered with it. The ipod helps with this because I stay focused and move quicker when listening to it.

I also have trouble with hormonal backache and fatigue. When I get tired in the evening nowadays, it's due to a fluctuation in hormones. That kind of fatigue is very different from other kinds and I can tell the differences in types of fatigue.

I`m always tired!

Meditation practice helps me a lot.

I also am very tired all day, no matter how much or how little sleep I get.

But I don't do anything to get tired. My days consist of sitting at the computer or laying in bed. But the smallest bit of physical effort drains me completely - I don't get out of breath, but I get achy and tired and my body feels so heavy and weak.

But myself and a few of my family members think I may have Fibromyalgia, and I also have ridiculously heavy breasts that caused a curved spine, so obviously carrying those around with me all day isn't going to be easy.

But even before I developed breasts large enough to cause a problem, or started getting joint pains, I was still always tired. I thought it was just school, but the other kids did the same hours as me, got as much, less in some cases, sleep than me, but I was still always exhausted by the time I got home, even if I took the bus home!

I think we all have to experiment to see what makes us tired. The sources of fatigue may not be immediately obvious.

For example--sitting at the computer.
Interacting with other folks on the web
Florescent lights
Hum of a noisy computer
Those awful moving ads!
Need glasses or a better prescription