Feeling Exhausted?
posted: 17/06/2010
Mental or physical exhaustion, feeling drained and weary, is one of the most common HIV symptoms. Doctors call this fatigue. It makes you much less able to get on with everyday tasks, and you feel a tiredness that won’t go away, even with a good night’s sleep.
42 different studies were checked over and these show that anything between 1 out of 3 people, and 4 out of 5 people with HIV, face fatigue.
Dutch researchers looked at 42 different HIV studies done between 1996 and 2008 to see how common fatigue was; what causes it; and what works best as treatment.
Fatigue is really common
They found fatigue was very common – in one study it was reported by 88% – 4 out of 5 people.
What causes it - not clear
It is linked to poverty and a low income, and emotional and mental health problems. Perhaps surprisingly, high viral load or low CD4 cell count don’t seem to be linked with people’s chances of having fatigue – although some of the 42 studies found some links with HIV factors. However, some symptoms, such as fever and stomach problems, were often found along with fatigue. People with other infections such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and having other health problems, were linked with more severe fatigue. There is some evidence that people with lower testosterone levels were more likely to report fatigue.
Stress, depression, anxiety and poor coping strategies were all consistently related with greater worse fatigue.
What helps?
A wide range of medicines were used to treat fatigue, including testosterone, antidepressants, and psycho-stimulants. But evidence to show they worked is limited. But the researchers did find that counselling, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), sometimes helps.
While pills, testosterone, or counselling may help with fatigue, we should not overlook the harm poverty causes. Poverty and low income are a burden that makes coping with life generally much harder. If you have fatigue, poverty makes it even harder to cope. So increasing people’s income, helping people budget better, reduce spending, cut back on drink, smoking, drugs, may all help too.
The study authors end by saying “treatment for HIV-related fatigue is important because of its social, psychological and behavioural consequences and it requires a multidisciplinary approach. There is a need for an appropriate evidence-based practice guide for the management of HIV-related fatigue.”
Source with reference
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