As I said yesterday, fatigue is one of the hardest things
about having RA. I am ALWAYS tired!
My three year old daughter is extremely strong willed. Even more than a “normal” three year old
would be. She tests her mom and dad’s patience
several times an hour. Last night was
particularly trying. Let’s just say I
was not displaying my best parenting moments, nor was my husband.
After an hour of trying to get her to get ready for bed,
yelling, threats of discipline, rough hair brushing, tears, and screams, I was
lying with my little girl in her bed, snuggling her close and explaining to her
why Mom and Dad were so frustrated this evening. I told her that we were all tired and
sometimes when we are tired, we get pretty grumpy. She agreed and told me that, yes, “at night
when it’s bedtime you get grumpy, and also in the mornings when the sun is out,
you are grumpy then too.”
As much as I don’t want to admit it, she is absolutely
right. I’m grumpy in the morning,
evening, afternoon, night, late night, late morning, early afternoon, all the
time. Because I’m so tired.
The prompt for today’s blog is, “How do you manage fatigue?” Well, I don’t, really. I just push through it to get through the
day. I guess the one thing I do, is try
really hard to get a good night’s sleep.
I unfortunately have to use pharmaceuticals to help with that because,
along with the normal aches and pains associated with RA, I also have Restless
Leg Syndrome. As soon as I lie down in bed
and try to get comfortable, I feel tingles and twinges all throughout my body
and the only way to get them to go away is to wiggle and move. Yeah, that doesn’t work when I’m trying to
fall asleep. So now, I take more meds to
deal with that.
Another thing that I do to help sleep well at night is I
bought a sleep mask. Yes, one of those
goofy things that go over your eyes. I’ve
only had mine for about a month, but I have to say, It Is Awesome! I’m naturally a very light sleeper. I wake up to slight noises and lights and
have a difficult time going back to sleep after I’ve been awakened. The sleep mask has helped at least with the
light part. My husband and I like to
watch TV right before bed (yes I’ve heard all of the tips to avoid watching TV
before bed, but it works for us), and usually I am ready to turn it off and go
to sleep long before he is. The sleep
mask helps block out the light from the TV and I am left with a soothing
background noise to lull me to sleep.
Well, at least I can go to sleep.
 |
| I bought this one from Amazon.com |
My lifestyle is quite busy, so I don’t feel like I can sit
and rest very often, unless I’m at work.
When I’m at home, I feel like I need to clean and keep my house in order
(which I fail at miserably, but I still try hard), take care of my kids, feed
my family, and make sure my surroundings aren’t in absolute chaos. It’s hard work, and I’m awfully tired, but I
push through it knowing that my kids will grow up and become more self
sufficient, and I will get to rest when I’m dead.
Riley
Riley, as a dad who likely had RA long before it was Dx'd I understand. It is true my sons were older, middle and high school, but I got grumpy (angry) during that time. I regret it of course, You gave me a great deal to reflect on today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleterick
FYI: I am 56 with 3 grandchildren and our sons are 36 and 34, so what i speak of was long ago. But it was as vivid as if it happened yesterday as I read you post.
Thanks, Rick. Ever since my daughter told me that, I have been trying extra hard to control my grumpiness and just love on her as much as I can.
DeleteI've SO been there Riley! My youngest was around 18 months when I was diagnosed, and I'd been having all the tests and run around for nearly a year by then. My eldest was 7. By the time my youngest was four, I was on my own with them - so believe me, they got grumpy much more than I could have wished. At the same time though, they had to learn to be independent and to contribute to keeping the house running, and long term, that wasn't bad for them. It's how I got the name 'Dragon Mother' - my eldest took to telling people he'd been brought up by a dragon! They survive, and they also learn to be MUCH more understanding of illness and disability than kids who don't have the experience yours are getting and mine had.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kaz! I'm hoping they will be understanding. They are going to have an ailing mama to take care of when they grow up.
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