BII Symptom: Fatigue

This symptom of BII was huge for me. I was so tired all the time. It didn't matter how much I slept at night, and it didn't matter if I took a nap during the day. I was always tired. Like the kind of tired where it feels like so much work just to put one foot in front of the other. Going up the stairs felt like climbing a really steep hill. I would be winded by the time I got to the

top and my muscles would be burning. None of that was normal for me. It kind of reminded me of what it was like to climb the stairs when I was knee deep in chemo treatments. It was terrifying.

I couldn't figure out what the heck was happening either. I made it to bed by 10:00pm almost every night. I tried stopping screens well before I was ready to go to sleep. I wasn't drinking coffee because I had suddenly become way too sensitive to it. I drank green tea, but stopped by 10am so there was no chance it would keep me up at night. It didn't matter what I did. I could wake up in the morning after a solid 8 hours of sleep and immediately want to go back to bed. I was trying to move as much as possible during the day so my body would be tired, but it already felt tired so this was a vicious circle.

I was beginning to think that this was it. This was how things were going to be, and I would just have to get used to it.

But then, I got my implants removed. Fatigue didn't immediately go away. I was recovering from surgery so some fatigue just naturally comes along with something like that. My body needed time to heal. I did however, notice I was feeling more rested after getting some sleep, but because I was on meds, I wasn't sure if it was because of that or things were really changing.

Once I was off my pain meds, though, I noticed a huge difference! I woke up in the mornings and felt like I had slept. I hit the afternoons and didn't always need a nap. As more time has passed, I don't feel the need to nap hardly ever anymore. I actually have energy again!

And, honestly, I was surprised as hell. I wasn't expecting things to magically get better. I had read about so many women who had improved dramatically overnight, and I believed them. What I had trouble believing is that it would be the same for me. I don't know why I felt this way, but I did. I am so grateful that I was wrong!

Today, I have had my implants out for a little over 17 weeks and my fatigue is basically gone. Of course, I get tired like a normal human, but I don't wake up ready to go back to bed. I don't have to drag myself through my day and count down the minutes to when my head hits the pillow. I can climb the stairs and even exercise now! This alone was worth going through the surgery and recovery, and, like I've said so many times before, I have no regrets.