Those of you who’ve been reading this blog a while will know that I find it hard to listen to my body and rest. A lot of the time I know I need to take a break but I choose not to and end up making myself worse. Well, dare I say it, but I think I’m finally learning.
A couple of days ago I told you all that I’d just got back from a mini break to Edinburgh, which was great fun (especially as I’d never been before), but involved far more walking, (and far more hills), than I’m used to. As a result I’ve had quite a few ‘bad CP days’ in a row. When I got back on Saturday night, moving my legs was a real effort and it felt like they could barely take my weight anymore.
On Sunday, walking up and down the steps in my house left me exhausted but I started to feel a lot better after a hot bath, and I thought things would be better the day after, which was Monday. However, I woke up still aching pretty much everywhere, including in my neck, back and shoulders, and it took me a long time to summon up the energy to get out of bed and into the shower.
Today is Tuesday, and I’m not entirely better yet either. My writing group meets on Tuesday mornings and I always look forward to going and I try not to skip it if I can help it, but I did miss today’s meeting. I woke up even more tired than when I went to sleep, and my legs still felt really stiff. Thankfully today my neck, back and shoulders seem to have stopped hurting, but I’m still so sleepy that I feel like a zombie and my legs still aren’t very happy with me.
I got up to start getting ready to leave the house but the only thing I could think was “I need to heat up some wheatbags and go back to bed”. I tried to ignore it and started to boil the kettle for a cup of tea when I realised that I didn’t want to wait around for it to finish, let alone stay up long enough to drink a cup of tea. That was the point at which I knew today would be a lazy day. I heated up some wheatbags, went back to bed and slept for about another three hours.
I feel a bit better now. I’m nowhere near as tired and I’m not quite so stiff either. Maybe things will be better tomorrow.
How do you cope on your ‘bad days’?
viewfromawalkingframe 
I often get days like these when I’ve over done things, sometimes even when I haven’t realised….
I just have to go with it and rest for a day or two, then start to force myself back into action gently.
On these days I let my body judge how much sleep I need, and rest plenty. Then I do lots of gentle/easy stretching, like using my gaiters and splints to get a good stretch in long sitting for example so I get a good stretch out without the effort…
I over did it Friday, and that evening I knew about it….. My legs went soooo tight and achy….. luckily my friend was coming over and she helped give me a really good stretch out so I managed to get a comfortable nights sleep.
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Yeah I try and do that too. I’ve had a onsie day today. Hope you’re feeling better now at least xx
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I had a pretty chilled day sunday, with a couple of warm soaks in the bath… so feeling a bit better. I have started taking a stick with me when I know I’m going to be doing a lot of walking which helps, although it does make me push myself a bit more which I suppose defeats the object a bit!!
I do pre prepare when I plan to do a lot, with more stretching before and after, and make sure I have a rest day the day after.
I love onesie days! a good excuse to sit reading or knitting and drink lots of tea!! That’s one thing I actually like about the coming winter 🙂
What’s Edinburgh like? It’s on my list of places to go….
Is it easy to get about?? I plan to go by train, I live on the south coast and you can get a train that basically goes the length of the country and I think that would be a great way to see Britain….. And I love travelling by train.
How are you getting on after having your splint adjusted??
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I know it’s temping to push yourself but don’t push too hard. How are you finding the stick?
It thought Edinburgh was really pretty and fun and the people were lovely. It’s quite hilly and there’s quite a few cobbles but there’s loads of tea rooms and cafés to rest in along the way. I’d recommend it if there’s a lot you fancy doing I’d recommend going for a few days so you can pace yourself a bit. I went by train too.
I’ll be honest I haven’t tried the splint all that much with the amount of time I’ve had to spend on mu feet of late because I haven’t wanted to risk getting blisters and making it harder but I plan to spend some time working on it this week
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Yeah I do that too. Had a onsie day today. Hope you’re feeling better now at least xx
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That’s no good Nic. I am wondering if you would mind sharing, whether you would do something differently if you knew you were going to over do it? Did you do a lot more walking that you expected? Would you have used your wheelchair more in hindsight? or is it better to be able to walk to do what you were doing? Or something else? Or would you do it all the same again because it is worth the “recovery days” for the experience that happened? Curious
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Interesting question. I knew there was a good chance that thr trip would make me tired bit I didn’t like the thought of people having to pish me for the whole trip and taking both the wheelchair and frame wasn’t an option. But I didn’t think I’d over do it quite so much.
Usually if I know I might be about to over do it I take the wheelchair or I’ll take it easy for a few days before I do something big and rest for a few after.
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Cool – thanks Nic 🙂
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I’m getting on ok with it, it does get in the way a bit at the moment – in shops when I’m looking at things, but I’ll find a way round that. I’m looking for a way to attach it to a rucksack for when I don’t need it as I only use it when I’m doing a lot of walking or having a bad cp day.
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I’m sure there are loads of rucksacks out there that should be able to have a stick attached. It just means you get to go bag shopping (my favorite kind of shopping!)
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never thought of that!! bonus!!!
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