fibro fatigue

Its been a long week already, I wk full time and have household duties like dishes, laundry, cleaning etc. Some days I have to get in bed the moment I get home from work. I try to plan which chores to do each day and exercise and keep a schedule but lately none of that is working. My muscle relaxant was changed last weekend to robaxin.

How do y'all handle fatigue and keep things going?

Hi BunnyGirl:

It is pretty much impossible to do everything. For me I worked way to hard before. Full time job, come home, make dinner, do dishes, never got ironing all done and had to do the night before. In summer I worked outside too. I could do it all until illness struck.

I had to stop working. My neck became so inflexible and I could not do the demands of my job. It was not easy, stopping work. I had to get help from a Lawyer.

I use feather dusters, a dust pan with a long handle so I don't have to crouch. I have a light vacuum that picks up surface dirt. We have a central vac but the hose is heavy for me. I do love Swiffers too. What is a must for me is the Bathrooms. I buy Scrubbing Bubbles for the tub tiles. It has a strong scent so I use a mask. I have a tub scrubber with a long handle. My Husband now helps. Sunday morning we do laundry together. How romantic is that? My Husband takes the garbage out to the street but still hasn't figured out that it does not walk to the garage on its own. Also, for some strange reason my Husband thinks you need some kind of degree to put dishes in the dishwasher. I cannot do shopping alone. Another togetherness effort. I need him to lift. He has bad knees but is strong. Saw a friend of ours this week. He is in his 80s. He tells everyone, don't get old. I agree.

Many good tips provided. My Mom had 6 kids. We all had chores to do. There is nothing wrong with that. She did our laundry - God Bless her - she will be 85 in February. She has painful arthritis and suffered with migraines and depression too many times in her life.

I asked my Headache Doctor about Robaxin. He put me on Baclofen. I also used Cyclobenzaprine. My Doctor believes that Robaxin is a weak muscle relaxer. It is helping some people on the boards. Everyone is different. Some people don't need strong meds. The Baclofen has its issues. It was pointed out that it is difficult to come off. My Doctor said I don't use much. I use 5 mg at lunch and 10 mg at bedtime. I find the muscle relaxer better than pain meds. I have used an extra 5 mg sometimes but I try to get by with minimum. I am not out of pain though. I try to keep moving to get some pain down.

We, unfortunately, have to make life changes.

Loring

Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints, Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Chronic Daily Headaches, I.B., Hard of Hearing...

Hi BunnyGirl,

Everyone here has said everything I could think of. I'd just like to reinforce from personal experience. I'm having a rotten flare week (gotta love January, right?). I'm reaping the benefits of the large crock pots of stuff and able to give my family meals. I make homemade chicken soup but I buy the chicken pre-cooked from the supermarket. I buy the baby carrots for less cutting, etc. When we are feeling adventurous, my daughter makes noodles (they stay firmer in the soup), but we use a noodle maker machine to do it. I also make Chili, stew, etc. We make banana bread, zucchini bread, lemon bread in batches and spaghetti sauce as well. I buy the stuff, keep it in the house and wait til I have a day where I feel like something and throw it in a pot. It's worth a little extra money if you can to buy stuff pre-cut. Plus, just the smell of something cooking in the house makes me feel accomplished - even if it was very little effort on my part.

having someone carry up and down the stairs is huge for me. I'm losing my grip (literally, not figuratively .... or at least that's not the point of this one). If I get people to carry up and down, I can usually manage the detail work of laundry.

For work, since I'm starting to have trouble with my hands, I've been researching dictation software.

LJ - thanks for the reminder about the d-ribose. I like to do shakes, but my old powder is no longer made. I put my own stuff together (I always use unflavored and vary per day), and I think the d-ribose powder would be a good addition.