Back to reality today. After all my exercise this weekend and the stress of re-entry on Monday, I crashed pretty badly yesterday afternoon. By evening, I was in rough shape, with a sore throat, achy legs - all the usual stuff.
I also had a major orthostatic intolerance (OI) episode. I was just lying on the couch watching TV when I could feel my face redden and flush, and I suddenly felt sicker. Those kinds of episodes are so bizarre! I drank some salt water to try to bring my blood pressure back to normal, but my face was still bright red when I went to bed.
I'm taking it easy today and am doing better this afternoon. While my body is resting, though, my mind is going on high speed. I tried to stay off the computer this morning and lie down. I made list after list on a notepad: writing ideas, book reviews I want to write, new magazines to query, things to get done at home. Now if only I could get some of it done!
On the plus side, my psychologist is fond of telling me that it's a sign of good mental health to want to do so many things. She specializes in chronic illness and has a grown son with CFIDS, so she understands, first-hand, the unique challenges of living with this crazy illness. She says people who are depressed often don't want to do anything, but people with CFIDS or other chronic illnesses usually have long lists of things they want to do, if only they could. Judging by the length of my lists, I must have a very healthy psyche!
So, with all of these projects I want to work on, why am I using up my limited energy on my blog today? Hmmm....good question.
I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) since March 2002. Both of my sons also got ME/CFS at ages 6 and 10. Our younger son fully recovered after 10 years of mild illness. Our older son still has ME/CFS and also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family lives with chronic illness, with a focus on improving our conditions and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.
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