Me: “I am Exhausted”

Them: “Get some sleep. Rest. Oh just take a nap.”

If it were only that simple. There is tired and then there is the exhaustion that many of us with a Chronic Illness feel. It is the nausea inducing, body shaking, fever generating, limb weakness type of exhaustion. For me, my exhaustion can sometimes include breathing difficulties and neurological side effects such as dropping things, tripping (body imbalance), and fogginess. It is a concept that is difficult to grasp if one has not experienced it.

Sometimes resting or sleeping do infact help but more often than not it only places a bandaid on the situation. It is like plugging in your cellphone that is at 2% for 10 minutes to get just enough of a charge to make a call. You rest/sleep for 8 hours… and sometimes you have just enough energy to do just one activity. You save up all of your energy for one thing. We are not talking about saving up your energy for one big trip to Disney, no. I am talking about you sleep 8 hours to do something like clean the bathrooms or cook dinner. This is of course if you can get to sleep, as many of us are experiencing side effects from medications or in such pain we can not get comfortable.

I wish I was joking. I wish that everything I was saying was a harsh dramatized dream, but it is not.The last time I was experiencing this level of exhaustion I was being newly diagnosed. I have to admit that I have been very lucky over the years as I have been able to kind of gage when I was exerting myself and I would plan appropriately. I worked full-time, went to school full-time, and maintained some level of friendships. Now that I think about it, I am not sure how I did it… but I did. Now a days I can’t seem to make it until 3pm without needing to nap for just a moment. When I was working in an office, many of times I would take my lunch break and nap in my car.

I have been looking up some different shakes and teas to help with my symptoms. Think I will make one in the morning and see if it helps even a little. I’ll share the process! Stay strong my fellow spoonies. I am with you… Have a good night!

XOXO,

Exhausted Me.