Thursday, 19 June 2014

Fatigue management…

A huge part of my life now is that I always feel tired, which makes me feel pathetic. Even when I have had a day of doing next to nothing, like today (although I am going to see Through The Keyhole being recorded later), I still can feel exhausted. I went to see an OT last week to discuss my issues that have been getting worse over the last year or so. I mentioned how I can be knackered from just sitting at the computer writing but she said that although it doesn’t seem like I’m doing much, typing takes a lot of brain, hand, arm and eye energy.

Another interesting point she made was that the body takes longer to recover from everyday activities with Friedreich’s Ataxia so my fatigue levels are dependant on what I have done the previous day. Obvious but I hadn’t thought about it before. For example, a session at the gym can completely wipe me out the day after but you’d expect. However, I get tired doing the most mundane things. My car was being serviced yesterday (can you believe it has been a year) so I had to wait in Harpenden for about an hour. My carer and I sat outside a coffee shop enjoying the sun. Hardly tiring but I feel shattered today.

Now, I’ve been told to try and make weekly plans so that I don’t end up going shopping, have a hospital appointment and then go to the gym all in one day. Also, I like to sit at the computer for hours on end but as she said, it’s exhausting so I am trying to break it up into 15-minute bursts throughout the day (although I have written this post today in one go as I’m off out soon). This may sound like a weak excuse but fatigue is part of the reason why I’m not that sociable. Talking and smiling takes a lot of effort sometimes so I just prefer being a recluse.


Bye for now!

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