hi moshe,

i can only speak for myself and i do have oa, spine, knees, hands, etc..
and don't have diabetes.   i think oa related fatigue depends alot upon
where oa is located in the body.  in dorothy hamill's case, i imagine she
must have sustained a lot of spine jarring falls.  and though she might not
have fractured anything, her disks and soft tissue damage "could have"
brought on spinal oa, assuming that's where her oa is.

personally, i feel that living with a specific chronic pain level
(especially, in my spine), that obviously would be different for different
individuals, wears me out and wears me down.  my fatigue, i think, is
related to that.  weakness, i think, is related to something else.

whenever my spine compresses a nerve, like when i try to lift and carry
heavy (for me) objects (like several plastic grocery bags full in each hand)
away from my body, is when i experience weakness the most readily and
consistantly.  however, back in my late 20s or early 30s is when i tried to
quit  lifting or carrying things like 50 pound salt licks (we had farm
animals at the time), because the weakness incurred was debilitating, but
also because the pain was severe enough to make me feel like i was going to
black out.   but then, i'm stubborn.  so, in my 40s, i got into a
landscaping love affair/obsession with a ten yard load of one-man (ha!)
landscaping rocks---and had a few episodes then, too, including
subluxations--none of which deterred my ultimate intent.  it just took me
longer to do what i was determined to accomplish by myself.  but then again,
when my son was just a tiny infant (in my late 20s), there were times when
just picking him up would literally put both of us on the floor (it was an
aware easing to the floor kind of thing), until my strength returned, which
sometimes took a couple of hours.  i never knew when picking my infant up
was going to cause weakness, so i tried very hard to stay alert for it, to
prevent hurting my son.  i figured safe on the floor was better for both of
us, than crashing into things on the way down involuntarily.

i think i'd suggest logging/journaling what you were doing (prior to a
weakness episode--lifting, twisting, reaching, etc.  one time for me, while
sitting at the table reading a newspaper, i turned a full page and it
brought an episode on, along with a subluxation.  the twisting motion, i
think did it, also because i have a tendancy to sit on my left hand to keep
it warm, while reading.), that might have brought the fatigue/weakness
episode on, might be helpful to your doctor and you.  so, what i'm saying is
try to observe the nuances of what came before an episode for you and write
it down.

kate

Hi!

Long before I got my RA diagnosis, doctors were pursuing MS as a possibility
because of sudden weakness. While we don't have definitive answers for all
of it, we have discovered two things:

The weakness in my hands are caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. The opening
for the nerve is sufficiently narrow that the nerve is compressed and the
signal from my brain to maintain my hands position and grip just doesn't
reach the hand. So, perhaps there is something inhibiting the signals from
the brain;

The body weakness, fatigue, 'drop foot' where I was tripping over my own
toes, and balance problems go away if I avoid eating cream products (soups,
whipped cream, ice cream, etc.). Don't know why. Too vague a thing to test.
But a definite correlation.

And while I also experience similar energy drains, I think of it as simply
hitting the wall. It takes energy to deal with the pain, extra energy to
move stiff joints, and extra energy to move an overweight body which is
deconditioned from not exercising for several years. The battery runs out
and needs to be recharged.

Perhaps a diary of food intake, activity, and  how you feel might help point
out a pattern. It could be medication you are on doesn't last as long as
typical for you. Or perhaps this occurs exactly x hours after waking, no
matter when you get up. Or x hours after eating a particular food, or x
hours after an activity. It could even be wholly unrelated to the OA - Do
you rest in a different area than where you felt the fatigue? Could there be
something environmental involved (carbon monoxide, solvents, paints...)

Good luck sleuthing. I hope you find some answers.

BTW - would it be to forward to say, "Shalom u'vracha!"?

Adelle

I can only say that one of those doctor should be a Rheumatologist and a RD
would treat the problem.
    The fatigue with a person who has inflam.arth, is because our immune
system is working overtime fighting our own body...   Any loss of sleep or
normal rest is just too much for a persons daily routine.
Harv

As much as I know, and from personal experience, all types of Arthritis can
cause fatigue.  I was tired with OA, am tired with RA, and FM is a "pain in
the A.., and every other place as well"!  ;-)  Note my signature line.