It all caught up to me

Exhaustion that is. I have been riding this wave of feeling okay most of the time. This happens every so often. Wednesday I felt it a bit. I came in the door at 530 after getting my nails done (a post chemo personal preference - after destroying my nails in chemo, I appreciate them much more now) and felt a wave of exhaustion come over me. We did go out to dinner anyway. I figured I would be okay if I just went to bed after that.

Yesterday I was okay in the morning and made it through work, a couple errands and the grocery store. By the time I got home, I was tired and decided I needed to lie down for an hour before making dinner. An hour later I got up and told my husband it was left overs in the microwave for dinner and back to bed for me.

I was exhausted. I was more than exhausted. I slept all night. The alarm went off and I slept for another hour.

I am still tired but I think I can get through today and probably cook dinner.

This is what happens to me. I function normally and do normal non-energetic things. Then all of a sudden I am completely wiped out. Exhausted.

Tomorrow I hope to sleep late. Maybe even get that crucial 12 hours of sleep. Thank you fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis for doing this to me.

Fatigue, needing sleep, being tired

I drag my butt out of bed these days as opposed to jumping out of bed. It is harder and harder to get up in the morning. I have never been a fan of snooze alarms but my husband introduced them into my life when we got married. Apparently now I need a snooze alarm. As I slept through the first four alarms this morning.

There is a difference between fatigue, needing sleep and being tired. To me the differences are:

• Being tired means you need to rest to recover from exertion
• Fatigue means chronically being tired
• Needing sleep means needing sleep

I blame it on fibromyalgia predominantly. It causes fatigue. I get sleep and then I am too fatigued to get out of bed. I get tired also - after going for a walk or to the gym. Sometimes I am too tired to finish my workout. Sometimes I am too fatigued to cook dinner.

I plan my life carefully to avoid being too tired in mid-day and needing a nap.

Hmmm... I think I have another topic of discussion for my upcoming physical.

Day Two of Pajama Girl

More pajamas for me. To continue yesterday's sagas, I finally got out of my pajamas in time to take my younger niece and nephew shopping with my husband. The kids were happy with books, ice cream, and a music store where a weird piccolo was purchased. We came home in time to watch a movie with popcorn. Then we proceeded back to my parents to eat left overs. After which I took my older niece shoe shopping for her birthday.

I was tired by the time we came home so it was pajama time again. Today I am still in my pjs at 11 am and promise to take a shower shortly before going to an early dinner.

The reason for my pajama girl discussions is the contrast in my health from a year ago. Last year I was just diagnosed with RA and fibro and had much more energy and capacity for doing things with others.

What a change a year makes. I need more naps. I need more rest. I have less energy. I just get damn tired too often. Crap.

Today I will go to the early dinner and come home for PJ time again. Tomorrow life might begin to return to normal as I will stay home except for a quick trip to the gym.

A day off from blogging

I missed blogging yesterday. I meant to blog but time got away from me. My brother and  his four children (ages 8, 11, 14, and 16) are visiting. This means chaos. The poor cat  had to recover from over affection from children.

They are a lot of fun but some how take a lot of time. Breakfast seemed to last for a few hours as people wandered through and ate and left, came back for seconds, etc. Very different from the quiet mornings with just the two of us.

After my nephew learned how to make lasagna yesterday morning, my sister came over and the volume increased. Then all of us went for a walk in the woods on very icy trails. I thought I would be fine but I was exhausted.

Eventually they all left and went to Boston. I was physically exhausted. My RA feet hurt. My fibromyalgia body hurt. I needed a pain pill and a nap.My husband and I took naps. The cat continued his nap.

Then we went to my parents for a late Christmas dinner. I lasted about another 3 hours before I had to come home and become horizontal and sleep. I lead such an exciting life.

Today, my husband went to work (traitor) and left me home to deal with all the chaos. I have to take the remaining car to the garage for the day so I will be carless. This might even force me to take it easier than yesterday. But I will be at the mercy of family members to retrieve the car at the end of the day.

I can tell you I am physically exhausted still. Crap. This is no fun. But I do get to see everyone.

Changes

I am going on vacation again (and a note to burglars - my husband is not and will stay home and be protected by the cat while I am gone). This time I am going with a friend who I have often vacationed with over the years and have known for more than 30 years (now I feel old). We have gone on various adventures in the Northeast and Midwest over the years. These have included a trip to Duluth (with a Deliverance moment), a trip to Bayfield, WI and to see the headwaters of the Mississippi in Itaska, MN.

Just last year we went (with our men - they are not always allowed) to Boothbay Harbor, ME and took a day trip to Monhegan Island where my husband and I hiked all over.

This week we are heading to Burlington VT to look for soap makers, cheese  makers, yarn, glass blowers, potters and weavers and will stop at Basketville and Webs on the way home.

In the past we have been relatively energetic and able to do things like go for a walk and go shopping without a break in between. The difference is that this year I do not have the energy and strength I had last year to do much. This will be a change. I will not be up to not nearly as much activity.

I have realized my body has changed significantly in the past year. I am not able to do what I used to. I have to take a lot more breaks and rest a lot more. I went from feeling like a 30 something most of the time to feeling like a 70 something way too often.

I know its part of getting older by  my aging went way too fast.

It all caught up to me

Exhaustion that is. I have been riding this wave of feeling okay most of the time. This happens every so often. Wednesday I felt it a bit. I came in the door at 530 after getting my nails done (a post chemo personal preference - after destroying my nails in chemo, I appreciate them much more now) and felt a wave of exhaustion come over me. We did go out to dinner anyway. I figured I would be okay if I just went to bed after that.

Yesterday I was okay in the morning and made it through work, a couple errands and the grocery store. By the time I got home, I was tired and decided I needed to lie down for an hour before making dinner. An hour later I got up and told my husband it was left overs in the microwave for dinner and back to bed for me.

I was exhausted. I was more than exhausted. I slept all night. The alarm went off and I slept for another hour.

I am still tired but I think I can get through today and probably cook dinner.

This is what happens to me. I function normally and do normal non-energetic things. Then all of a sudden I am completely wiped out. Exhausted.

Tomorrow I hope to sleep late. Maybe even get that crucial 12 hours of sleep. Thank you fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis for doing this to me.

Today you can call me 'Pajama Girl'

I have been very busy recently. I worked Monday and Tuesday. I made pies and did all sorts of things Wednesday. My brother arrived Wednesday evening with chaos (four nieces and nephews) and we had spaghetti and meatballs and salad for dinner. Yesterday morning we cooked more - my older nephew helped make a cabbage dish and my younger nephew helped make the scalloped potatoes. We went for a walk. I was exhausted by 2pm but went and picked up my aunt and uncle and we went to my parents house for a big dinner where we all ate too much. By 7pm or so, I was done for the day so my husband brought me home.

I went to bed early so I could recover and get to today's planned activities. These consist of buying a birthday present for my younger nephew who hit the ripe old age of 9 recently and recovering from the past two days. He found what he wanted on Amazon so it is now en route to him and I got to stay in my pajamas. Everyone else has taken a shower and gotten dressed.

My brother started calling me 'pajama girl' in that loving and sarcastic sibling tone - evidently I wasn't setting a good example for the kids. I will take a shower shortly but the cat is stressed because too many children have been interrupting his naps and right now he is snuggled up against me to recover. When I over do things (like I have for the past few days) I need time to recover from the exhaustion.

I have probably less than an hour and then I will take my younger niece and nephew to the used bookstore and a little local shopping. This will be local shopping, where you park the car in the center of town and walk around to the different stores - like in the old days. No malls will be involved.

Then we will head over to my parents house for some more food - left overs. Because we didn't eat enough yesterday and there are lots of left overs. After that I will come home and put on pajamas again.

I did mean to go to the gym today but I don't think that is happening. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe I'll be pajama girl again.

Fatigue, needing sleep, being tired

I drag my butt out of bed these days as opposed to jumping out of bed. It is harder and harder to get up in the morning. I have never been a fan of snooze alarms but my husband introduced them into my life when we got married. Apparently now I need a snooze alarm. As I slept through the first four alarms this morning.

There is a difference between fatigue, needing sleep and being tired. To me the differences are:

• Being tired means you need to rest to recover from exertion
• Fatigue means chronically being tired
• Needing sleep means needing sleep

I blame it on fibromyalgia predominantly. It causes fatigue. I get sleep and then I am too fatigued to get out of bed. I get tired also - after going for a walk or to the gym. Sometimes I am too tired to finish my workout. Sometimes I am too fatigued to cook dinner.

I plan my life carefully to avoid being too tired in mid-day and needing a nap.

Hmmm... I think I have another topic of discussion for my upcoming physical.

I was bad yesterday

No, not that bad. I didn't break any laws. But I will be recovering from yesterday into tomorrow.

Yesterday morning I went to the gym. Then I came home and got some work done. And ate Halloween candy.

Then I got mostly organized for today's craft fair (at Thornton Ferry Middle school in Merrimack, NH if you want to stop by) where I have  a table.

Then I went for a long walk with a friend. Then we brought take out pizza and salads to my parents.

I came home and had a couple of glasses of wine (and I never drink any more).

I was very bad.

Today I am stiff and sore. I am tired. I am achy. I have to get up and leave here shortly and will be on my feet most of the day. With a smile on my face. My back hurts. My feet hurt. My knee hurts. I would prefer to stay in bed all day. But I have a craft fair. And I have to get up take a shower and run around getting ready.

If I was smart yesterday I would not have gone to the gym AND gone for a walk with a friend. I would  have stayed home last night because I was tired. I just wanted to be a normal person. I should know better. Crap.

When I get home, I will lie down and maybe take a nap before dinner that my husband will cook. Tomorrow I will sleep late and take it easy all day to continue recovering. I just need to get through today first with no Halloween candy, no wine, and no whining.