Severe fatigue the day after driving. Please help!

[Iloveautumn27]

I hope someone can give me some advice.

I'm mid 40s. In the past few years I've noticed increasing fatigue the day after driving medium/long distances. This has worsened up to the point where now the day after a long drive (3 hours say) I have to effectively write off the entire day as I will feel like I've been sedated and have to spend several hours in bed. The following day I'll be back to normal.
I don't have any fatigue when actually driving, I'm fine doing this, it's just the following day.
I am generally fit and well. I have no hearing difficulty, some tinnitus at times in my right ear. Vision I think fine, slightly reduced in right eye compared to left but have glasses for driving now and these haven't helped with the fatigue.
I have some problems with my neck which I have had for several years but not any worse. On HRT and no menopausal symptoms now.
Wondering if anyone else experiences this and has found anything to help?!! Thank you very much, any advice really appreciated.

Well it sounds like a trip to your GP is in order, rather than asking the opinions of random MNetters. This is clearly not normal.

Yes I have seen my GP, had normal bloods, no obvious reason why I am getting this, hence my post

Me too.

53, two and a half hours to visit my family, stay with them, drive about for several days visiting more family and friends locally and I'm absolutely fucked.

I don't need to drive at home, but I'm still in so much pain 3wks since getting home.

This isn’t very usual. Do you have an easy to drive comfortable car with supportive seats? Eg an automatic, with lumbar support? I would check your driving position as a starter if you haven’t already.

Do you exercise regularly? I used to
drive a long way for work at times and now do
for DC sports and always feel better if I exercise afterwards. It’s the being static I find hard. Could that help? Or a good stretching session.

One other thought. Are your iron levels definitely high enough? Tests can say they are fine but to feel on top of things I find mine need to be higher.

Thank you this is helpful. My car's getting a bit old but not uncomfortable. Maybe I just need a new car!
Ferritin levels were about 70 so I think ok and I did start taking iron recently just in case but it hasn't helped. I'll keep taking it in case they need to be a bit higher. Thank you

Do you find driving stressful? Are you anxious or tense? I get very tired from driving because I think I concentrate quite hard and sitting still is tiresome. I also have low iron and low blood pressure which makes everything more tiring.
You might want to check your eye site perhaps and stop for frequent breaks and only have healthy snacks and plenty of water,

I’ve had something really similar for a few years. The day after a long drive I also tended to feel really tired, even if I didn’t do much of the driving. It’s really improved this year. A difference in my health is that I was diagnosed with a lung condition last year (which I probably had for years), and I have more energy now that it’s under control. It’s still a puzzle why I was so tired after a long car journey. I wondered if it was to do with poor circulation. Or dehydration - but I tried to drink a lot. It’s interesting to hear of someone else with the same thing.

did you get your ears checked? It may be a form of vertigo being triggered by the motion

What’s your posture like when driving? Are you very tense? I used to sit upright away from the seat back, shoulders and arms really tense and found driving exhausting. Now I remind myself to lean back and relax and I am less tired after driving.

These are all really helpful suggestions thank you. I am not anxious driving but don’t often take breaks so will do this more and get my ears checked thank you so much.

Do you feel fatigued if you’re a passenger in a car on a long journey? The answer should tell you whether it’s the act of driving that tires you out, or the act of travelling.

I feel the same and have done for years. I just assumed it was low stamina / taking stress when driving. But I wonder if it’s the ear thing? I do have motion sickness and a fear of heights.

How often do you drive?
And how often do you drive longer distances?
Are the longer drives on motorways which you're not used to?

To be fair I wouldn't even think of 3 hours being a particularly long drive, so would definitely be concerned if it wiped me out the next day. I have a bad back, so that would probably be painful the next day, but mentally I'd be fine.

Do you get fatigue after exercise? Or by other tasks that require a lot of focus? Or is it purely driving?

I'm.the same its because I get stressed driving long distances

However!

I recently changed my car to a more comfortable one and I was less wiped out i drove six hours and stayed awake long enough to eat at home and was fine to drive the next day to my dad's across town so not far but previous I would have avoided it

Could it be carbon monoxide? I’d put a CM detector in the car to see.

That'a what I was going to ask.

I have ME/CFS. It started with me having to spend most of the weekend in bed - so all of Saturday and Sunday morning. It was the only way to recover from effort of getting through Monday to Friday.

Thank you again for your replies. I am rarely a passenger but on the occasions I have been yes I will feel wiped out the next day. Not to the same extent as if I’m driving but yes still tired after.
I do get very tired after exercise. I was unwell about three years ago and since then have experienced this. I did a long distance run 18 months ago and it took me a week to recover. I don’t exercise much now as I am working a lot and don’t have the energy really. I find I struggle after long days at work, (mainly staring at a screen) Don’t know if any of this helps!

Obviously not suggesting you have ME/CFS but it might be worse looking into and seeing if the symptoms you experience fit. GPs aren’t great at recognising or understanding it (currently going through diagnostic process myself). I noticed it first a few years ago when I tried an exercise class and was unwell/extreme fatigue for 2-3 days after. Hopefully it isn’t this 🤞

Could something about driving (or being driven) be giving you a migraine?

Hopefully not CFS/ME. I’m hoping it will get better if I can work out what’s causing it.
I do get migraines, though much less since bring on HRT and I don’t get these after driving (unless what I’m experiencing is a weird kind of migraine)

Me too, I definitely clench my jaw when driving so maybe that, I also have really low iron, but I also wonder if it is the concentration that fatigues me

So, not suggesting you are the same but I also was very fit and active then had an energy total crash and since then any form of exertion from exercise, driving, food shopping etc causes me to also takes days to recover. I have the blurry eyes, ringing in ears and other symptoms. I am newly diagnosed with ME/CFS but this was after ruling out all other physical issues. Yours could be due to any number of other things.
First stop is the GP they should do full bloods and general check up then take it further if need be to get to the bottom of it. If you do drive even if you don’t feel tired at the time, try resting straight away and see if it helps.
Good Luck.

Random but if your car has air con make sure it’s not on recycle as that can cause drowsiness as you’re getting too much carbon dioxide (I think it’s that).