Saturday, January 23, 2010

Update

Today is day 9 since my last crash and I'm finally doing a bit better.

This one has been one of the worst. I am still upset with myself...this was preventable as I knew better ..... this should not have happened. I've certainly learned my lesson though. CFS is here, probably for good (at least to some extent) and I'll have to deal with that. I've been going against the grain of my personality this past week (which is difficult) and have been resting, resting, resting. Meals have been less than stellar...but food nonetheless. Everyone has, once again, had to chip in and do more. Hopefully, that won't last too much longer.

I've also been looking over my notes, trying to remember what, exactly it was that started me on the road to improvement a year ago. When I was first diagnosed, I researched....and researched a lot. I was able to learn so much helpful and valuable information from those who have the same condition...whether it was what worked for them, what didn't, medical info that just wasn't right, a book recommendation or perhaps an article or website. I'm so thankful to my on-line CFS friends who've been both willing to share their successes and struggles all the while using up their valuable (often limited) supply of energy in order to do so.

I made notes...many of them and am now re learning and remembering things to do. I don't think it was any one thing that started me on the road to feeling better...but a combination of things. I need to hit that combination again (and this time I'm writing it down)

We moved to NL to enjoy and explore this beautiful province....which I still plan on doing. While we have seen some of it....there is still a lot more area to cover. There are pictures to be taken, things to be learned and friends to be made.

Looking forward to fully recovering from this latest crash.

11 comments:

Renee said...

So sorry Linda that this crash is such a long one. Not fun at all. Sometimes we can figure out why and learn from it, but hey, don't beat yourself up. It is over and done with now, and it sounds like you are making plans to keep it from happening to this extent again.
Hugs

At Home on the Rock... said...

Thanks, Renee. :0)

Shannon said...

(((HUGS)))
Praying for your recovery, Linda. I really hope that you find your groove again soon.

At Home on the Rock... said...

Thanks, Shannon.

Becky said...

Linda, I wish I lived closer or you lived closer. We could fix some meals for you or something. I hope you are better soon, wish I could do more.. ((hugs))

At Home on the Rock... said...

What a nice thing to offer...thanks, Becky.

Penelope said...

I'm so sorry that you're still feeling under the weather Linda. I think I've mentioned before that my mother has been diagnosed with CFS and Fibro. She swears by a routine of gentle stretches (and/or Tai Chi) each morning. She's had her diagnosis for years, and she says that she just stops the minute she feels she's going too far. It's taken a while for her to learn the signs, but now that she knows what she's looking for, she's doing much better. Mom says the hardest part is when others don't get it...and try to convince her to push through it - that it will get better.

I hope you feel better soon, and that you find what works best for you.

((hugs))

Penelope

At Home on the Rock... said...

Thanks, Penelope. Thanks for the info...I do remember you saying about your mom having CFS and Fibro.

I find your comment about the gentle stretches and/or Tai Chi....very interesting. Just the other day, Brittney 'picked up my leg' (I was flat out on the bed...so it was limp) and she started moving up and down and around in small circles. It felt amazing and after she had stopped...I could notice a difference or small improvement in that leg. I've been having her do that each day, which I feel is helping. It seems to be the (gentle) stretching part that is helping. I've been wondering if a series of stretching exercises would be beneficial...and now you mention your mother does this and finds it helpful. I am going to research this concept further.

I'm not too familiar with Tai Chi....but I'm going to investigate that as well.

Your mom is right about the difficulties of trying to explain this to others. For healthy people..."pushing it" does help increase energy/improve fitness over the long haul...but with CFS its the opposite. Pushing it worsens it...with the next day being worse and the second day worse still and so on. That cycle can go on for days.

She's right about stopping the minute she realizes she's going too far....that IS THE KEY. I know this too and I could feel it that day (after about lap 3). I should have stopped then....but I didn't. I had been feeling so much better and fell back into that mindset of just pushing it to increase energy even further.

Thanks again for that info....off to look up those things.

Dominique said...

Having crashes stinks. I am recovering from one myself. You know you shouldn't but...

I hope your rebound soon. I love the header picture on your blog. What a beautiful place to live! Wow! I might have to consider moving there! LOL.

I am adding a link to your blog on my blog so my readers can read follow your journey and your story.

I am also grabbing your rss feed.

Thanks and I hope you feel better soon.

At Home on the Rock... said...

Thanks for stopping by Dominique :) I'm glad you like my picture. I do like looking out over the ocean and when the icebergs get here, I'm in total awe.

Crashes do stink...hope you are feeling better soon as well.

At Home on the Rock... said...

Thanks, Renee. I've never read her blog before today, but am really glad I found it. She does seem to be quite knowledgeable and I appreciated her post today (or was it yesterday). She offered many good links that I've been reading.

I think this is an out and out relapse, seeing as it's now day 22 or something like that...I've lost count. I've been out 3 times in the last 3 weeks and am having trouble with a lot of things. It is different this time around.

Hope things are going better with you. Thanks again, Renee.