HOW TO FIGHT FATIGUE?

Really?

I didn't know these things.

I'm sure they will help.

Right.

I read an article and it was about fighting fatigue if you've got a chronic illness. It's kind of interesting to me in a funny sort of way. I'll comment on the points that were brought out in the article because I found some humor in it.

Point number 1: See your doctor.

I've met a number of people who have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia or as in my case, a combination of both. Most of them will say the same thing I do. Our doctors are on speed dial. I don't think seeing my doctor any more than I do will help anything; short of having him move in with me. I think they're actually sick of seeing me.

Point number 2:  Get enough sleep.

I hate to get pissy at this point in the post but one of the markers of a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue are sleep disturbances. Get enough sleep? Sometimes that's all we do! We sleep and sleep but it's not sleep that restores our bodies or our souls. We can take medication that would knock out a horse but sometimes that isn't even enough to keep us asleep. Most of us would give everything we had to get refreshing sleep; the sleep that allows our muscles and joints to heal. 

Point number 3: Aim for more refreshing sleep.

All I can say is WTF?  Go to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier. Don't watch TV in bed. Plan your evenings carefully. Who wrote this article? Are they on drugs???

Point number 4: Exercise for energy and to help you sleep.

It just keeps getting better and better. The article has a picture of this smiling, happy woman walking like she hasn't got a care in the world. There's not one look on her face that would give anyone a clue that she might have to crawl in the door because the pain is so overwhelming. Now I'm not saying that walking and gentle stretching doesn't help but that picture just really is annoying to me. The kicker of this point is that we shouldn't exercise late in the evening because it might interfere with sleep. Is anyone laughing yet?

Point number 5: Eat well to fight fatigue.

I hate to clue them in but I can eat like a champ and it has ABSOLUTELY no effect on the pain. Again, moderation in all things and as important as diet is you cannot make a blanket statement that this will always fight fatigue. Besides, when you carry the fatigue and pain that most of us do on a daily basis, I say Vive la Chocolat!

Point number 6: Step into the sunlight.

This is to bring to light (pardon the pun) the value of sunlight in setting our internal clocks. Again, I hate to be Debbie Downer but our body clocks are totally screwed up. Stepping out into sunlight isn't going to reset it. Sunlight can help us get valuable Vitamin D which we really need but I don't think it will help in the fatigue department.

Point number 7: Maintain a healthy weight.

I'd love to do this one. This has been the bane of my existence since I got sick. Between the autoimmune Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, the hypothyroidism and the inactivity that pain brings my calorie intake is down to almost nothing and I still don't lose weight. Except for the occasional chocolate binge my calorie intake is under 1200 a day. That isn't bad in anyone's book. I should be skinny. Hey, you tell me..............  Anyone else have trouble with this due to side effects of the Fibro and fatigue?

Point number 8: Manage Stress to fight fatigue.

I will totally agree with this one. Stress is a killer. The problem is these invisible illnesses is that there is fallout. There is a huge economic fallout that accompanies this illness. It's disabling and as hard as we try to keep some normalcy in our lives, it has a huge impact on your ability to make a living. In my case,  it makes a huge impact on my ability to make a living if your income is coming from a high stress environment. There's also relationship fallout. Whether it be from spousal, partner, familial or friends, everything is affected when you don't want to be around anyone. People do not understand and they take it personally. Top it all off from the stress that most people think this is all in your head. Stress????? What do you think??

Point number 9: Try Aromatherapy.

Personally, I like this one but there are people out there that have sensitivities to any kind of odors or smells. For me, I love it.  It does help me and I love the Bath and Body Works instant aromatherapy rollers. I have two that I use. One is Instant Comfort and it's vanilla and chamomile. The other is called Sound Sleep and it's lavender and chamomile. I roll the comfort on my wrists and the lavender on my pillowcase. I don't know if it helps the ability to stay asleep  but it does smell good when my head hits the pillow.

Point number 10: Be good to yourself.

This is so true. We need to realize that there are certain things that we have to accept. Fatigue will be with us no matter what we do. We can manage it and management is so important but until they find a cure flares will always be with us. 

So.....

I will try all these tips tonight.

I'll probably be exhausted from trying them.

But......

Will I be able to sleep?

Probably not.