Fatigue - It's Not Just Feeling Tired

So, tonight I gave our two puppies a bath.  They're actually pretty good about this, although no one would ever say they were fans of the process.  I figured I was safe to do this because I haven't really done anything else today.  It's been a perfectly lazy Sunday, spent stretched out in my recliner catching up on recorded tv with my hubby.  The process took maybe 30 minutes or so to round them up, shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, and dry them.  Since my way of doing this is to strip and bring them one at a time into the shower with me, I follow up the process with my own (quick) shower. Doesn't sound too arduous, does it?

But that's it.  I'm done.  Finished.  No energy left and pain levels, especially in my back, are spiking.  So I figured it was a good time to talk about the fatigue that is a major player in the fibromyalgia.  Because many people don't really get what fatigue is.  They think it's just feeling tired.  In actuality, it's much more than that.  It can hold you and your body hostage, making it impossible to move, let alone accomplish anything as ambitious as taking a shower yourself, let alone giving the dogs baths.

The thing is, no amount of sleep, if you're able to get it, fixes fatigue.  Fatigue is when you wake up in the morning feeling as exhausted as you did before you went to bed the night before.  It's taking a 5 hour nap in the afternoon and then being ready to go to bed two hours later.  It's considering how badly you really need to go to the bathroom and if you can postpone it because just the idea of walking from your bed or chair to the bathroom is almost inconceivable.

You know the exhaustion you feel when you have a bad case of the flu? It's kind of like that only moreso. It can appear at any time and last for an undetermined amount of time. It can creep up on you so that one minute you are working away at your desk and the next you find that you can't stay awake.  It can make driving a real challenge.  You may feel fine when you get in the car but then suddenly you find that you're having trouble focusing on the road and your eyes just do not want to stay open.

Fatigue is knowing that your pain levels might actually decrease if you could get up and go for a walk but you can't work up the energy to sit up, let alone make your legs actually move.  Putting on clothes and shoes and getting out of the house? Some days this is an insurmountable task.  None of us like it. We have things we want to do.  We know that the vast majority of people don't understand and don't get it.  They see us as lazy or not pulling our weight helping out with things. Believe me, we would if we could.   Please try not to hold it against us.  Know that if we are able, we'll be there and pitch in to the best of our abilities.  Nobody regrets it more when we can't than we do.