Fibromyalgia symptoms challenge: 1) figuring out how to live your life with Fibromyalgia symptoms, 2) managing your personal amount of human energy, and 3) not pushing your body too far and causing it to run out of the energy you need to live and feel good.
When I was a patient of Dr. Charles Lapp many, many years ago, one of his key suggestions was great and I’ve never forgotten it: think of my life and daily energy needs as if I was managing them as an “energy envelope.” Each day my energy envelope contains a different amount of energy. The actual amount of energy may vary. I only can use what I have available inside my envelope each day. Some days there’s more; some days, less. However, use too much at any one time and I can be left with no energy to adequately finish out the rest of my day. I could fall flat. “Always keep some energy left over and unused. You never know when you’ll need it!”
Funny thing… I did that exact thing one day and almost fell flat on my face.
I was going to a large, regional shopping center for some perceived need. I knew I was tired, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention to how badly I felt. Suddenly, I went to walk across the width of the mall, when my body began to seriously slow down in momentum. Within a couple seconds, I could not move at all. My legs would not respond. They held me up (thank goodness!), but they wouldn’t move forward. Luckily there was a bench nearby. I gradually worked my way over to it and sat down. I was even having trouble breathing because my body apparently was too tired to work my lungs without a lot of effort!
Well this story has a happy ending, because within about 20 minutes I regained enough energy to walk back to my car. I wasn’t out of the woods, though, because I tired again on the drive home and had to pull off on the side of the road. I was falling asleep at the wheel! I locked all my doors, put my seat in a reclining position and slept for 30 minutes. You better believe that I’ve always been wary when I ‘tire’ since that day. That was scary… .
Yes, I’m much, much better now. I consider myself well, but I’ve never forgotten that experience.
This energy envelope concept works for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well. If you have an energy problem, you must manage how much energy you expend during the day on all activities (large and small). And you only have a certain amount before you run out.
Note: Fibro and CFS people usually do not have an extra gear like normal, healthy folks. They can kick it up a notch and gut their way through physical or emotional pressures. Dear one, when you’ve run out of steam, you may not only falter, you may notice a sharp uptick in symptoms like brain fog, pain, etc.
If you use this simple tool and have some success with it, I suggest that you keep using it and then write in to tell all of us how it helped you.
If your energy needs are more challenging to manage, then drop back in intensity of what you’re demanding of yourself and reconsider what you’re requiring of your body each time you undertake a task. Consider what you exect to be able to do each day on a mind, body and spirit basis. Write it all down, if that helps you keep this in perspective.
You may be your own tough task master. Then again, we’re all subject to the motivation and pressures caused by other people’s expectations, demands and, of course, guilt maneuvers. Just watch out and be cautiously vigilant about your energy and who or what you allow to steal it away.
You may have a small energy reserve, you’re trying to do too much and/or you’re allowing your emotions to sabotage your physical health and the demands you’re placing on your body.
Dr. Charles Lapp also told me that the individual cells of people with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are fairly ‘flat, short and squatty.’ Apparently, they don’t hold a lot of energy at any one time. That’s a simple explanation of why you tire so easily.
You may need to give yourself more consideration. Go at things a bit slower until you progress, get stronger and gain more stamina.
Okay, as a bonus for hanging in there all this week, I invite you to pick up your own copy of the Get Well Journal, something that I put together to help make your next doctor visit a little bit better and help to take some of the pressure off your memory and energy level. (I don’t always have this available to simply pick up like this, so this is a marvelous opportunity to get your own copy.)
Please come back tomorrow for the conclusion of this week and the Health Matters Show.
Cinda Crawford, your host
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