Today is day 25 of the WEGO Health ~ The Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge 2012. I will be writing a post everyday this month and each will in some way focus on what life is like with fibromyalgia (as well as other health issues including migraines, hypothyroidism, and polycystic ovarian syndrome).
Today’s prompt is plain and simple: write a schedule of what your typical day looks like. Where does your health fit in? Do you manage your condition throughout the day or have specific times that you check-in?
As a woman living with fibromyalgia (a disease characterized by chronic widespread pain [my major pain areas are back, hips, and legs] as well as a host of other issues - brain fog, depression, sleep problems, fatigue, migraines, gastrointestinal problems, etc.; the two biggest difficulties in treating this disease, in my opinion, are that the symptoms are different for every person and the so-called fibromyalgia medications don't work for everyone, they don't help me at all!), I never know how I will be feeling when I wake up in the morning.
A "normal" day in my life looks something like this:
10:30am - Wake up, it takes about 10-15 minutes for me to get out of bed because I'm so stiff and need time to stretch.
10:45am - Take medicine and eat breakfast while reading email and other computer stuff
11:45am - Take a shower and get dressed
12:45pm - Eat lunch and check Damaris' schoolwork (I homeschool our 12 year old/7th grade daughter. Thankfully, she is very self-motivated. We chose Alpha Omega's Switched On Schoolhouse curriculum since it does much of the teaching and grading for us. I still check all of Damaris' schoolwork and am available to help her if she needs it.)
1:30pm - Watch some tv and blog
3:30pm - Knit for a bit while I watch more tv
5:30pm - Talk to Russ about his day after he gets home from work before he and Damaris prepare dinner
6:30pm - Eat dinner and watch tv with Russ and Damaris (depending on how I'm feeling, I may knit a bit more)
9:00pm - Damaris goes to bed
10:00pm - I start prepping for bed by eating a snack so I can take my meds which I cannot do on an empty stomach.
10:30pm - Take medicine. Read in bed.
12:00am - Attempt to sleep. Insomnia and fatigue are bad with fibromyalgia and it's difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep in. That's why it's usually 10:30am before I wake up.
I do a lot of things from bed and/or my recliner. Some days I spend all day in bed. Other days I can be up and about a bit more.
That's a "normal" day for me. What about you? How does your health affect your day to day life?
Portions of this post were edited from a previous post C.C.'s Homeschool Day in the Life of a Mamma with Fibromyalgia
I can empathize with you because I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in Jan. 2005. I have a severe case of it. I am currently on 11 meds for my fibro. I understand about not being able to sleep. Here it is 7:45 am in the morning and still cannot sleep. I will pray for you that God gives you strength and hope everyday!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Angela! I hope you get some rest today and a less-pain day!
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