Do you ever wonder this question? I am contemplating it today. Actually, I'm not contemplating too terribly much because I'm much too tired. This week has been a doozy.
On Sunday, I actually went out shopping for some Christmas items. I'm not sure how long we spent in the first store, but it was at the second store where I admitted (at one point) that my brain was tired and I couldn't think clearly. When asked if I wanted to go home, I said no. I wanted to rest (my mind) just a bit and make a decision. Rob was very patient with me and we ended up leaving much later, after I had make my decisions and purchases.
Monday, I participated on a phone "interview" helping someone with a project. It was really a very long conversation which I was surprised to see lasted more than an hour by the time we hung up. Of course, I had kids to teach later in the day.
Tuesday was a simple day, primarily about playing with one of the items I had purchased and then teaching.
Wednesday, I had to get up early (for me) for a 9am hair appointment. I knew that it would be a long one since we were planning to do some highlights and color (yes, I'm pushing back against the gray). I left there at 11am. Then, I went back to one of Sunday's stores to ask for a gift receipt for the item I had purchased. I should have thought to get it Sunday but wasn't thinking quite clearly at the time.
After getting the extra receipts, I went to another store to view a competing item to help me decide if I wanted to return the first item or not. Nope, I'm sticking with my first choice. Then I went to the nearby pet store to find some new toys for the kiddos. After that I needed to stop at the local music store to pick up some items I promised to look for and to find selections appropriate for this spring's solo festival for the horn students of varying levels of ability.
Anyways, I finally got home sometime before 2pm, needed to eat lunch and chill, and be ready to teach at 3:30pm. I was understandably tired after all of that. I felt "normal" tired, I thought.
Yesterday, I had to get up extra early to get downtown DC to Union Station to catch a train to New Jersey. We were making good time when disaster struck. An accident had shut down Constitution Ave. and thus blocked our route to the train station. After trying to figure out which metro station we were closest too, and what it would take to get to Union station from there, I decided to just get to the train station and take the next train (an hour later). It cost me more for the ticket but I got to the destination in time to scarf some lunch very quickly before I was needed.
Then in New Jersey, I participated in an event during which I seemed just as normal and active as anybody else. Nobody could see my diseases although I talked about them. I was the perfect example of the "but you look so good" syndrome. At 5:30pm I was sitting on the train to come back to DC. I think I walked in my front door at around 8:45pm.
I felt tired last night, but today I'm extra, crazy, must be the MS or RA, insane tired. It's the - I don't even want to get up to get something to drink although I'm really thirsty and probably dehydrated - tired. It's the - I can't walk a straight line or can hardly lift my legs high enough to climb the stairs - tired. It's the - how do people do this stuff and still function - kinda tired.
So I've completely forgotten what true "normal" tired feels like. But I guess the slight bonus to this is that my legs have a gentle tingling throughout which feels kinda soothing at this point. It kinda "feels" like white noise under the skin. Ahhhhh....
Lisa, I'm exhausted just reading this! I sort of forget the normal tired -- MS fatigue has taken its place. I have learned, though, that as soon as I start to experience that tired feeling, I need to stop and take a break. I get a second wind, and then I can move again. If I don't stop, I drop -- literally -- so it's just not worth trying to push a little harder. Get some well deserved rest!
ReplyDeletePeace,
Muff
Wow, that's a busy week. No wonder you are tired. Even a "normal" person would be tired. Like you, I can tell if I am abnormally tired when my legs tingle.
ReplyDeleteRest up!
Cheers
oh i am so glad that you mentioned the soothing sensation of the tingling! i know it's a symptom... and not necessarily a good sign...but when it's in my legs it feels sort of ok... kinda of like that feeing after a great massage.... just sort of numb, jello-y, tingly...
ReplyDeleteand i can see why you are tired! woman! you just go and go and go!
Hi Lisa, yes this is so "normal" when you've got MS. I've jsut send one of my contact to follow you as she experiences a lot of fatigue but also,like you she has arthritis too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your writing
I agree, just reading the post makes me feel tired! No wonder. I think all of that would make a normal person tired. With MS, you had to be using up spoons like crazy, a wonder you didn't crash.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the tingling at first - because it wouldn't go away. As I think about it now, I realize it is there in the background more often than not, and I tune it out. I don't think of it as soothing, but I do think white noise is a good term for it.
about 4 years when I was seeing some dr's who were trying to determine if I had carpal tunnel (they thought I did, I don't agree), I went to see some specialist that did a nerve test, attaching electrodes to different parts of my arm from my hand up to my elbow, to my shoulder etc... and there was noise, sound, I could hear and feel. what was weird was the sound would change and if the tone came into sort of harmony the pain cleared. In his opinion the problem wasn't carpal tunnel because there didn't seem to be any blockage at the wrist to explain my problems.
I'd forgot about that test until I read your post about the white noise. Yes, I think the nerves do carry sound. And yes, that tingle might well be white noise.
I remember normal tired quite well, because my MS fatigue is so severe and so different. I still hate the tingling wherever it is, though if I think too much about my MS, then the "white noise" of it is deafening. Another reason my MS blogging days are coming to an end---I'm really tired of thinking about MS so much. (But not MS-tired. LOL) It is good that you are so active now. If you follow a normal MS progression, it is GOOD to do as much as you can now. That is what I did and I cherish those years.
ReplyDeleteIf I could, I would give anything to feel normal tired over MS tired.
ReplyDelete