From the article: Pacing 101: Living with Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Using your energy wisely is important when you're living with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. What's your experience with pacing? Are you struggling with it? Have you found things that help you stretch your energy and become more funcitonal? Share your experience here so we can all learn from each other. Share What Works for You!
Pacing
- I have had Fibromyalgia probably since I was a child, sometimes better sometimes worse. My pacing depends entirely on how my day starts. If I waken in pain and with a foggy head I may do well to take my meds, make a small snack and crawl back in bed with the alarm set for the next time I need meds (which along with water are now on my bed side table). Each time I wake I reassess to see how I feel. If I have had enough sleep at that point I will get up and do a small chore. Like wipe down the bathroom. Not clean, just wipe the surfaces. Then usually lay down for an hour or so, until my Yorkies want me to get up and play. I have only had them for a few months, but being on disability, living in a rural community without close neighbors, they have made a word of difference in that I have to get up at least to care for them, and they are small enough to walk on me without pain, so we can play. I do use a timer if I am starting a project that I may get involved in and forget to stop and res
- —Guest Edana
Trying to figure it out
- I have had fibromyalgia for about 20 years but I think all the years of not listening to my body caught up to me about 10 years ago and I feel as if my life has gone downhill since then. I just did it all with 3 kids, all of whom were competitive swimmers, meaning practices before and after school everyday. I took care of the kids, the house, and the finances and at the same time was class rep for a class action law suit. I also have arthritis and was recently diagnosed with Sjogern's syndrome. I haven't figured out what my limits are or how to pace myself properly and always end up overdoing it. Some of the advice here I will try to use. I always feel so useless now because did everything before and now feel like I can do nothing without winding up in bed for days. I think I am just finding it difficult to accept the fact that I have severe limits to what I can do. I know I have to break the cycle of doing too much and then crashing. This is a good place to get advice and support. Thx
- —Pondering1
my store
- I own a jewelry store. All of the work on the bench and selling jewelry was my job. This Christmas my doctor made me take 4 weeks off. I hired two part-time employees and two goldsmiths to contract the repairs to. Then I took 2 more weeks off. I am slowly returning to work. I like to brag that I replaced myself with four people ( to let you know how hard I have worked). Having fibro. you know it is probably true. I now work 4 hours a day for 4 days a week. I'm on week three of this schedule. I work one Saturday a month for 5 hours. I also do warm water exercise in a 90* therapy pool. The pool is helping me get well. I stay with the exercises for 1-2 hours a visit. They are making such a difference in my life. I am grateful for this website. I always find somethig new to learn here.
- —MissMB
Pacing myself
- This has been really useful. I am 47 had fibro gor 22 years now got arthritis as well I have just indulged ina cleaner but find I feel really guilty about all the things I can't do that I feel I should be able to be more energetic wife and mother. We have just moved to a bungalow that helps a lot no stairs ... But the place needs lots of changes and I every time I set a planned amount of time to do a little of the work all my shoulder muscles spasm so it doesn't get done and I stress out which doesn't help I have a great gp and have trigger point injections quarterly but. Feel like a 47 year old trapped in a 74 year olds body. If I didn't have my husband and son I don't know what I would do to myself.
- —Guest Fattroutt
Pacing Myself
- I have learned the hard way that I have to swallow my pride and hire help since friends and family do not understand that I am physically unable to do the simple every day tasks I used to do with such ease!
- —Guest Tami
Fibromyalgia symptoms/habits
- Since high school I knew I had to pace myself. I did not know why. I did what I thought was priority and left the rest. People thought I was lazy. After a family member was diagnosed, I inquired about it. Yup-me too. OK now I knew why I had always needed to pace myself. I know I can't do all the things in a day others do. I do what I can;nap often;take Tylenol now round the clock to cope with pain. I make water aerobics a priority to keep flexible. As I get older, stiffness is setting in. I have added warm water PT and will continue those exercises in warm water on my own. Fatigue is present at least 50% of the day, everyday. Fibro fog is better since I eat less sugar and wheat. Pain is better if I stop coffee and salt. Pain is never gone.Feel bad that I passed this on to my child.Flu shots result in me getting sick a few weeks later.Seems like immune system is stressed and I catch a virus easily.Result is extreme FM pain flare and whatever virus symptoms pop up. Others live with worse
- —chrissis
How to Get it done and not kill myself
- I have "IN" days and "OUT" days. Because it takes energy to do hair and makeup and get dressed, I schedule two items on one day such as one Dr. appt and medium-size grocery shopping. The next day, is a "butt" (recovery) day. The same with gardening and yardwork, though I have to factor weather into these things, also (I live in New York State). On my "IN" days, I sleep as long as I can in the a.m. after hubby leaves for work.
- —Guest Marti Murphy
Pacing
- I pace my weekly schedule. If I am going out one day, I avoid anything too physical, stressful,and problem foods the day before I go out. I also I pace myself in getting ready. I start hours ahead of time and complete each task, then rest. Ex. Shower, rest. Fix hair, rest. Makeup, rest. Dress, rest. I also put everything I will wear out the night before. At home, I quickly forget stuff I can't see. I keep notepads/post its everywhere, have shelves organized without clutter so I can find stuff. I have clocks all over the house because I forget I have a watch on! I clean up as I go so I won't be overwhelmed. If I know an event may cause me stress or pain, I have meds in my purse and an exit strategy. My purse is organized and as light as possible. I keep my daytime meds in a drawer. I take them all out and when I take a med I put its container in a big bowl. I fill up the bowl as I take meds.At night, I put them back in the drawer and repeat the process each morning.
- —Guest nancyjean
Pacing myself
- I am 55 years of age with fog so thick I struggle 5-6 days every week. My diagnosis is like a mixed salad of fibromyalgia, fatigue, spinal fusions, overactive bladder, and depression. I am gradually learning to say "no" to most invitations which interfere with my resting periods. It is frustrating to manage my life on my small funds from social security after taking a leave from my career of earning nearly $70.000. Mental wear and tear is devastation.
- —Guest Magnolia43
Decluttering and getting organized
- I realized that I get very overwhelmed in spaces where there is clutter or I'm disorganized. (Not in other people's houses, just my own.) I've always been cluttered and disorganized but I'm finally learning that I can't allow that any more. In the parts of my house that are decluttered, I feel relaxed and can think more clearly. In parts where it's jumbled, I lose things, forget. Since forgetting is so scary and frustrating and embarrassing, I am working a little bit at a time on getting rid of things I don't need or haven't used in a long time, and giving special places for things I use and need to "live". It's important to note that I'm doing it a LITTLE at a time. :-)
- —KellieSnider
assorted
- after waking, get out of bed 15-45 minutes later i.e. warm up, don't spring out of bed. use zippered shirts instead of button up or ones that are a struggle. use slip on shoes that are also comfy and shock-absorbing. reading can be tiring so pick your times to do this. get a cleaner if possible, even if once a year. decline activities that are going to be just too hard. when you say no to something you're actually saying yes to yourself. a trip somewhere, to the shop for example, becomes a seven-step process - so start early: rest/ drive there/ rest/ shop/ rest/ drive home/ rest. same as for appointments and any other errand or task! prioritise sleep and rest! :) don't pick things up and carry them, if they can be kicked and pushed with your foot. if it doesn't move when you push it w your foot, you definitely shouldn't even be lifting it. gentle stretching movements (maybe a 5-minute routine) will help maintain flexibility and range of movement. take care and be kind to self!
- —Guest alana
Pacing yourself
- I have tried for years to learn to pace myself, one of the things I have done to simply my life is to use the shopping carts in store, I prefer to shop in stores that have carts. I also allow myself to use a cane when walking (everyone knows if I am using my cane indoors I am in bad shape) because I feel like it helps me go further but also because it offers the feeling of security; I have fallen without the cane more often. Sometimes I am able to say I need to take a nap (usually I slept for several out). I follow most of the advice concerning clothes already, however, I wish to add I love bluejeans but have always bought the elastic bands for the ease of putting them on, but I will try the maternity and see how that works for me. Well, I try to pace but all to often am not able to achieve this but I keep trying. Thanks for the info.
- —deb121958
2 min rule
- I started a pacing technique of only standing or doing anything for 2 mins at a time, even talking is counted in that. Then have a rest for as long as it takes to recover completely, and only do another activity for 2 mins again, then rest again, and my day would carry on like that. On good days rest more and then the next day you'll have a better day. And now I'm pretty much recovered from being a bed bound mess to being able to go out with friends and do activities as normal. Caffeine is so bad for M.E don't drink it!
- —Guest JaneyB
Alternate Days for 48 hr Recovery
- Even a doctor appointment wears me out, plus I need to work out in a pool 2x/week, which leaves me wiped out. I now have a rule - only 2 activities per week outside the home. If I have a doctor appointment, then I cancel one workout. For everything I do outside of home, I must allow 48 hours to sleep or I'm useless. My fibro is severe, so work is not an option. If it weren't for my husband being employed, I wouldn't even qualify for disability, since I have been a housewife for 30 years. Geez, I had to homeschool 2 special need kids, and still get no credit for social security or disability. Post-cancer too, so uninsurable if husband ever loses job. So I stay useful at home to help him keep his own energy level up for his job.
- —Scribelle
What works for me.
- I set mental schedule in my mind for each task for each day. I don't add or subtract anything unless there is an emergency. I allow one hour then rest resume complete. I write everthing on a calendar and reward myself with a pleasurable activity, movie, nap, music or just plain quiet.
- —victorenebrooks
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