CFS treatment
I've had my first real meeting with the occupational therapist who will be dealing with my case. It went really well, and I've learned some coping techniques which, given time, should help me to be less tired during the day.
Technique number one is planning out the day so that you have set periods of rest. I figured if I was going to plan when I would rest, I might as well sketch out a basic plan of action for the whole day. I have times when I should be sleeping, doing housework, times set aside for knitting, computer time, or watching TV. I have my half hour rest sessions set out mostly after I've been working, to help me cope a little better.
Technique number two is called pacing - learning how not to overdo yourself and send your body reeling back into wanting to sleep 15 hours a day. It can really turn into a viscous cycle, so I have to be careful. Pacing means making sure I know what my body can do and not overdoing it, but going close to the limit to make sure I can get things done.
Other things we discussed were moving projects that tire me, like doing the laundry, from the morning to the afternoon/early evening when I'm less tired. It always takes me hours to wake up and feel like I have energy in the morning, so holding off on heavy chores makes sense. I have a time set aside in the morning for chores, but it's more for light things like tidying up.
So I made up a schedule Thursday night and immediately failed in it when I slept late on Friday morning. I woke up at seven, stayed up for an hour, went back to bed, and instead of getting up at 10 got up at 12:30. After that deviation though, I've stuck pretty much to it. Today I had trouble getting up from my nap, but given how tired I've been today I can understand that. Hopefully it will get easier. I was told that it takes six to eight weeks to get a sleeping schedule sorted, so I may be a bit on edge for awhile.
Technique number one is planning out the day so that you have set periods of rest. I figured if I was going to plan when I would rest, I might as well sketch out a basic plan of action for the whole day. I have times when I should be sleeping, doing housework, times set aside for knitting, computer time, or watching TV. I have my half hour rest sessions set out mostly after I've been working, to help me cope a little better.
Technique number two is called pacing - learning how not to overdo yourself and send your body reeling back into wanting to sleep 15 hours a day. It can really turn into a viscous cycle, so I have to be careful. Pacing means making sure I know what my body can do and not overdoing it, but going close to the limit to make sure I can get things done.
Other things we discussed were moving projects that tire me, like doing the laundry, from the morning to the afternoon/early evening when I'm less tired. It always takes me hours to wake up and feel like I have energy in the morning, so holding off on heavy chores makes sense. I have a time set aside in the morning for chores, but it's more for light things like tidying up.
So I made up a schedule Thursday night and immediately failed in it when I slept late on Friday morning. I woke up at seven, stayed up for an hour, went back to bed, and instead of getting up at 10 got up at 12:30. After that deviation though, I've stuck pretty much to it. Today I had trouble getting up from my nap, but given how tired I've been today I can understand that. Hopefully it will get easier. I was told that it takes six to eight weeks to get a sleeping schedule sorted, so I may be a bit on edge for awhile.