Day 4 or 40... I have no idea.

So apparently Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays are going to be my exhausting days, at least this week. I know my schedule varies slightly week to week, but I don't know how much stays consistent. Even if that changes next week, what won't change is how absolutely bleeping exhausted I am now. Fatigue doesn't even begin to fully describe it, though it's the only word I can really come up with. Today was especially tiring - a LOT of movement & our first day of pool therapy.

Pool therapy is pretty awesome, even if it's extremely hard. We don't even do it that long - about 40 minutes - but we use foam weights and water resistance, which is quickly taxing on already weak muscles. I have a feeling after 2 days in a row of pool therapy, Saturday is going to be pretty sore & miserable.

Sleep, as I stated before, is a huge part of their focus in the program. When you reach Stage 4 sleep, your body secretes chemicals that heal micro-tears and damage done to your cells during the day. It's only secreted during Stage 4 and is very important to help maintain the body, especially for chronic pain patients. However, because of muscle tension, stress, and of course pain... what's the one thing chronic pain patients don't get enough of, if any at all? STAGE 4 SLEEP. Shocking, I know.

So in addition to working on getting sleep, they've been (& I've been - don't want to leave the impression I'm not doing anything) working really hard on changing a lot of my everyday habits that cause me more pain than they should because of my EDS. Like writing!

Before this week:

 

 

After this week:

 

It's really hard to adjust to, but I'm doing pretty well, I think. For now. I'm certain I'll hit a wall or have a flare-up or go into a slump, but for right now, I'm pretty optimistic about everything.

 

As it is, it's time for meds & bed. Goodnight, my spoonies!

 

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