Moderate Feel Good Exercises for Fibromyalgia Weight Loss

My name is Suzanne and I'd like to share with you my journey with fibromyalgia and how exercising both helped and hurt my chronic condition, which led to an amazing discovery! If you've ever felt fatter, more tired, more inflamed and had more pain during the times you exercised the most, my story and passion project will interest you for sure. 

I was a trained fitness instructor and personal trainer and have worked in the industry for over 25 years. Like everybody else in the industry I got caught up with the idea that high intensity training and other super challenging workouts were the only way to lose weight and shape up. So I pushed and pushed myself - I mean, "no pain, no gain," right? Well, not for me. The more I pushed, the worse I felt - The symptoms of fibromyalgia were beginning to bloom (actually they had been doing so for a while), I just hadn't realized it yet. 

My Experience With Fibromyalgia

One day I was teaching a one hour long cardio kickboxing class and afterwards I became so dizzy I could barely stand up straight. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the class so I just propped my self up against a wall and played it cool with everyone. But in reality, I could barely catch my breath and thought I was going to pass out. My legs felt super heavy like cement. This was scary - I knew something had to change. For years I forced myself to fight through this kind of pain and fatigue, fooling myself that the other instructors were doing the same thing, when in reality, they were not. The way my body reacted to physical activity was unique and I needed to respect that... 

Over the next few years my pain and fatigue severely increased. There was a point where I could barely even walk and that was so depressing because I had previously lived such an active lifestyle. Like most of us, I started to investigate via the standard health care provider options, including a physical exam, seeing multiple specialists, getting all sorts of blood tests, etc. and the general consensus was that, yes I most likely had fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome. Of course, my next question was, "what is the cause of fibromyalgia?" I'm not going to say I was able to find what was the cause, but I did discover what was a major contributor for me: High Intensity Training and similar types of exercising (which is what everyone seems to be doing these days). So what I was doing to improve my health, was the very thing making my fibromyalgia symptoms worse! 

What's crazy about all this is that even though I had plenty of fibromyalgia pain and fatigue, with all the exercising I was doing, at least I should have been looking good, right? Wrong! Well, don't ask my husband - he always says I look great, but personally, I felt like I had excess weight around my belly, my muscle mass was decreasing, and I just felt puffy and inflamed. This is when I started the dreaded yoyo phase... 

What's the yoyo phase? On days you feel bad, you limit your exercising to a gentle stretch, but after a few days or weeks you start feeling better so what do you do next? You guessed it, you go right back to trying a high intensity or strenuous workout. And consistently, I would crash after that. I was in an endless cycle, and to be honest, my health was on the decline. I knew that a total lack of exercise was not healthy either. What I really needed were exercises that were right in the sweet spot - not too light and not too intense. I looked all over the internet to find workouts like these, but they just didn't exist. All I could find were two extremes: too easy or outdated routines that didn't get me any results, or overly intense routines that were just too much for me to handle.

What I Did That Helped

I started experimenting with creating my own workouts using unique combinations of exercises and varying levels of range of motion and intensity. After many months of trial and error, I found a combination that gave me consistent results. I was feeling stronger, leaner, had more energy and less pain with half the effort. It was crazy to be able to workout everyday without crashing. And those annoying side effects like inflammation and stubborn belly fat were disappearing!

I wasn't finished with the yoyo stage yet, however. After many months of working out in this new way I started feeling so good, I thought - "OK, I'm better now so bring on the higher intensity workouts and heavy weights!" You know what happened next. Widespread pain and exhaustion, welcome back! Honestly, I'm glad I went through that phase because it taught me that treatment of fibromyalgia and similar conditions need to be treated in a long term manner. Most people don't just fix it and never have to think about it again, but when they find something effective for them, it's a good idea to stick with it. And that's what has been totally true for me. Mild or Medium intensity exercising, performed effectively, is what my body requires to stay fit and lower pain levels... and I'm sticking with it!

How I Help Others Today

As a fitness instructor, I love to help others with their goals and I tried sharing these workouts on YouTube. The feedback was incredible! Comment after comment started flowing in with women sharing their experiences about major weight loss (10, 20, 30 Lbs. and more), as well as significant improvements to their chronic pain conditions, mental health and their overall quality of life! They were doing things they never thought were possible before and now they had real hope! It truly touched my heart that I could help thousands of people by sharing these workouts online. And so I kept at it and have developed a unique method to help our community of fibromyalgia warriors to effectively lose weight and shape up, without causing that dreaded crash, afterwards. This is what my passion project, Cocolime Fitness, is all about. 

Over the past several years I've created a wide variety of safe, effective workouts to help you on your fitness journey. I know how frustrating it is to have to search for exercises that are not too much and not too little, to help you get good results. So I've incorporated a little of everything to meet the various needs of our community. And, I'm still publishing new workouts monthly! 

Some of you may prefer to start out with simple stretching and honestly, you can accomplish a lot with that, including pain relief and increasing energy. 

If you like aerobic exercise, I have several cardio and dance routines including a special series called, MIIT (medium intensity interval training), which are cardio routines with fun, upbeat music, are non-repetitive and zero impact to give you a fantastic experience and results.

For my particular body, I need light weight training to get noticeable muscle growth. If you feel the same I have several workouts with weights that are either targeted to upper body, lower body, or abs and back, or a total body workout.

If you want to tone up without weights, I have an entire series of bodyweight only workouts. And I know many fibromyalgia patients prefer to not to have to get up and off the floor several times during a workout so I have ones that are All Standing and ones that are All Seated.

In my MITFIT 90 program I share what I've learned about making a positive lifestyle change and incorporating a healthy diet, which includes my personal recipes to help you find an allergy friendly, healthy meal that the whole family will enjoy. This 90 day fitness program will guide you every step of the way to make significant changes in your life. 

Where To Start

I know that sometimes just the thought of exercising can be overwhelming when you're dealing with the pain of fibromyalgia, sleep problems, chronic fatigue and other chronic pain disorders. So in addition to my blog articles and workout routines, I publish a simple newsletter called Tips, Treats & Tweets to share something positive and helpful to you each week. Fibromyalgia treatment starts with a positive outlook and to help, I warmly invite you to join the Cocolime Fitness community!

One of the most important things I've learned in this journey is to always "listen to your body." Regrettably, I didn't do this at first, but once I started doing so, little by little I found a form of physical therapy that truly helped me and many others to lose weight, get in shape and get back to being the people we once were, and after 8 years of exercising this way, I can honestly say, "I'm never going back!" 

From Suzanne at Cocolime Fitness | Low Impact Exercises for Fibromyalgia, Adrenal Fatigue, workouts for beginners.

Fibro Bloggers and their stories - Angelique Gilchrist from Fibro Ramblings

Fibromyalgia, The Disorder that Changed me Forever by Angelique Gilchrist.

Introduction

My name is Angelique, I live in South Africa, and am a mother of three beautiful souls. I have the most incredible husband who has stood by my side throughout. He’s my rock and I’m forever grateful for him.

I used to work in the rental finance industry as an Accounts Executive. I loved my job. I travelled a lot for business which I enjoyed as I didn’t have to sit in an office every day. My job was stressful at times, but I loved the challenges. I almost always exceeded my targets though hard work and determination.

I was healthy for the most part except for asthma which I developed in childhood, but it was under control. I had the odd cold and flu at times but nothing else. I had an abundance of energy and successfully balanced my career and home life. Being a perfectionist, I was constantly on the go and thrived in this environment.

Angelique and her husband

The Diagnosis

Around 2007, I started experiencing “Restless Legs Syndrome” (I didn’t know it had a name at that stage) and every night my legs would not stop moving. I assumed that it’d go away on its own and tried to ignore it. 

April 2008, I had my gall bladder removed due to a polyp growing on the body of the gall bladder. The operation was done laparoscopically. Waking after surgery, I felt extreme pain in my neck and shoulders. The doctor explained that during a laparoscopic procedure, the abdomen is inflated with gas (Carbon Dioxide), and the pain I was feeling was from the gas working its way out.

And so, it began … This pain remained and I haven’t had a pain free day since!

My legs got worse and I developed insomnia which interfered with my daily life. The pain in my legs and body was excruciating. I started getting headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, muscle spasms, and extreme fatigue. I consulted with my GP. He ordered lots of blood tests and diagnosed me with Restless Legs Syndrome. He prescribed medication, however nothing helped. He then referred me to a Neurologist.

My consultation with the Neurologist, Dr Wolberg, was in July 2008. He performed a neurological examination, more blood tests, an EMG, lumbar and brain MRI. Restless Legs Syndrome diagnosis was confirmed. Prescribed medication made no difference, and some made me feel worse. I stopped taking all medication.

My condition continued to worsen, and extremely painful muscle spasms began to form. At times, I was in so much agony that I’d end up going to the Emergency Room. Doctors would relieve some of my pain with medication. However, none of my symptoms were going away or getting better. My pain levels kept soaring. Due to this, I couldn’t function normally. The severity of my pain meant that there were many mornings I couldn’t even get out of bed. I wanted to know what was wrong with me so that it could be fixed? I needed this agony to end.

During my second consultation with Dr Wolberg, he prescribed different medications. I had a bad reaction to one of the medications and ended up in the ER. I was admitted to hospital and spent the next seven days there.  During this time, a lot more tests were done, including a brain MRI, lumbar puncture, blood tests, etc. My medication was changed again. Physiotherapy was done and I experienced some relief from this. While in hospital, my boss came to visit to hand me my retrenchment papers. Some people …!! With that my depression worsened. My psychiatrist suggested I spend 2 weeks in a clinic working on my depression but once I saw the place, I refused to go. I was then discharged with no answers. It felt like 7 days had been wasted.

A few days later I phoned Dr Martinus (Neurologist) to obtain my test results. Dr Martinus was extremely rude and told me to contact Dr Wolberg (my initial Neurologist) to get the results. Turned out that Dr Wolberg had not received any results and once they got them, they phoned me to let me know that everything was fine. I received a copy of the brain MRI results which noted that “white spots” on the brain were detected. I wanted to know what that meant. Dr Wolberg said it was nothing and I didn’t need a repeat MRI. The treating physician in hospital told me to repeat the MRI in 6/8 weeks and Dr Martinus told me that I needed a repeat MRI in 6 months’ time. Confused much??

A short while later, I ended up back in hospital due to severe pain and muscle spasms. This time a neck x-ray was done, followed by an MRI. The results showed that I had early facet joint degeneration, decreased cervical lordosis, and bulging discs. A Neurosurgeon told me to take all my scans to Dr Wolberg.

While waiting for an appointment with Dr Wolberg, I continued with physiotherapy. Eventually the therapist suggested that I urgently see my Neurologist as he’d never seen such bad muscle spasms and the physio wasn’t working. There were times I felt the physio made the pain worse.

I emailed all my results and recommendations to Dr Wolberg as I was unable to get an appointment with him. Dr Wolberg told me that I needed to see a Rheumatologist and referred me to Dr Dessein. This doctor had an extremely long waiting list. I put my name down and asked them to phone me if any cancellations arose.

I felt so defeated and confused. I had to carry on as usual regardless of what I was going through.

The pain continued to worsen. My GP would at times give me an injection for the pain. This was only short-term relief and the cause was not being treated. I ended up at the ER again due to extreme pain. I noticed a difference in the way the staff were treating me. They phoned Dr Wolberg who explained to them that I needed to see a Rheumatologist. I was refused any treatment for the pain and in fact was treated like a drug seeker. My pain was so intense that I was contemplating suicide and now I was getting treated like this!?

Why is it that when you have diabetes, you get treatment? If you have Epilepsy, you get treatment, etc. etc. However, if you are suffering from Chronic Pain, you will not readily get treatment and will rather be treated like a common drug addict or drug seeker.

A couple of days later and the pain was unrelenting. I couldn’t function at all. I drove to the Milpark hospital where Dr Dessein was based. This was far for me to go but I needed to urgently see a Rheumatology as I couldn’t carry on living this way. I was admitted under the care of a neurologist, Dr Rowji. I spent the first night in High Care and was transferred to a ward in the morning. I was seen by Dr Rowji and explained everything to him in detail, making sure not to leave anything out. His first comment was that he doubted the diagnosis of Restless Legs Syndrome and there wasn’t enough evidence to substantiate a consultation with the Rheumatologist. Besides this, he seemed very friendly and helpful.

When seen the next morning, he mentioned that he hadn’t received all the results but was able to tell me that I had no arthritis. Finally, some good news. That evening, Dr Rowji was back to see me. This was his feedback:

• All results were back and there was absolutely nothing wrong with me
• He claimed that Dr Wolberg had never suggested I see a Rheumatologist
• I should stop looking for a Neurologist to find a problem with me
• My problems were psychiatric, and a psychiatrist would be coming to see me
• He asked if I’d been a “rugby ball” in a previous relationship as the “white spots on the brain” were caused by brain injury!
• He told me to stop wasting his time

Feeling completely shocked was an understatement. I tried to show him proof that Dr Wolberg had referred me to the Rheumatologist, but he dismissed me, telling me that I would not be seeing a Rheumatologist. Again, I was very rudely and abruptly told to stop wasting his time. I was completely broken by this stage. I ripped the drip out my arm and left in tears. Just a quick side note, this medical treatment is not government funded or free. We must pay a fortune on medical aids and these doctors are private and we end up paying a fortune to see them.

I fell into a deep depression. Unrelenting pain, restless legs, insomnia, headaches, confusion, muscle spasms … I couldn’t live like this. I took an overdose and woke in hospital the next day.

In July 2009, I finally got to meet with a Rheumatologist, Dr van Zyl at Unitas Hospital. Within 10 minutes, he diagnosed me with severe Fibromyalgia! I was not crazy, and it was not all in my head! Finally, someone that believed and understood what I was going through. Dr van Zyl put me on medication which was changed here and there and performed regular trigger point injections. I was seen by a different Neurologist to monitor the white spots on the brain. I was so excited as I was convinced that this was going to be a thing of the past. I managed to get a new job and could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sadly, due to the severity of my Fibromyalgia, it was recommended that I be medically boarded. The Fibro symptoms can be bad and can interfere a lot with your functioning. My worst symptoms experienced were:

• Fibro Fog. Completely forgetting information that I used to know very well. I could barely remember what I had done the day before. I was becoming a blithering idiot.
• I battled to concentrate, and my cognitive functioning was not the same anymore.
• When speaking, I would battle to get the words out that I was trying to say.
• During a conversation, I would often forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence. It never came back. My brain went blank.
• I used to be on the road often as mentioned and now I was getting lost in places that I drove to often. This was a terrifying experience.
• Sitting in one position for an extended period was unbearable.
• The pain was unrelenting and worsened.
• I was permanently exhausted due to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
• Headaches all the time.
• Battling to walk due to the extreme pain.

There was nothing more that could be done for me. There is no cure, and little could be done to improve my symptoms. I have severe Fibromyalgia. I went on disability in 2010. Dr van Zyl left and I am now under the care of Professor Meyer who is a pain specialist and an expert on Fibromyalgia.

I remain ever hopeful that a cure for Fibromyalgia will be found. I refuse to accept that it is incurable. One day I will return to the person I was and will be able to enjoy life to the fullest again.

Why Did I Create Fibro Ramblings Blog?

After what I went through to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan, I decided that I needed to try and raise Fibromyalgia Awareness. It is such a terrible condition. Not only do we suffer from the condition itself, but we too must suffer at the hands of people who don’t believe that Fibromyalgia is real and presume we are making it up!  This treatment comes from doctors, friends, family, and complete strangers. We constantly feel like we must prove that it is a real illness. “Oh, but you don’t look sick” … such a common statement. Fibromyalgia is an invisible illness and we end up feeling so alone with little to no support. People can be so ignorant and insensitive at times. I wanted to create an environment where I can share my experiences and knowledge about Fibromyalgia in the hopes of helping people suffering from Fibromyalgia. I too hope that I can educate people about the condition. We don’t want pity from anybody, we just want them to understand what we are going through. If I can help just one person through my blog, then I will be happy with just that. One of the features that I am doing on my blog is allowing people to tell their stories and show their faces. Fibromyalgia affects everyone ... the young and the old, male, and female … there is no discrimation. Telling our stories is healing and is part of our diagnosis acceptance. Knowing that you are not alone also makes a huge difference. I am so honoured that I can play a part in the lives of Fibromyalgia sufferers.

Angelique Gilchrist's blog Fibro Ramblings

Her feature series: Faces & Stories of Fibromyalgia

Angelique Gilchrist 

Fibro Bloggers and their Stories - Katie from Pain FULLY Living

Living FULLY Despite Pain - Katie Clark's Story

Me portaging a canoe (only a few feet), during a week-long canoe trip at 

Algonquin Provincial Park, 2011. I celebrated my strength and 

the inevitable (or so I thought) pain that came with that.

I took the “no pain no gain” mantra as truth, so being pretty active, I was used to having pain somewhere in my body generally all the time. It wasn’t a worry. Pain just meant I was working my muscles, so I actually felt good to have pain. Silly me.

However, in my forties, more pronounced pain in unusual places began to crop up: the deep aching pain in my bladder radiating throughout my pelvic area, the sharp, hot pain under each armpit and at my inner knees, the mild, tight pain at my jawline. 

Now, in my fifties these spots of pain have multiplied so that I’m not exaggerating when I say that I have some level and type of pain everywhere in my body. These spots aren’t all lit up at the same time, thank goodness. They politely take turns as to which is intense and calls out for attention which has seemed to be fairly random as to why. Recently, I imagined a toddler having hold of my pain remote control just randomly pushing buttons. This is how it seems to be.

Noticing a Change in Pain
I began to take note of the changes in pain I was feeling. My friends and colleges started noticing, too. I began to massage myself-like constantly. I would catch them looking at me with concern. They didn’t mention it though, so it took a while to notice it myself.

I remember one trip my husband and I took to visit our good friends at their lake house in New Hampshire.  I had long been a yoga enthusiast, starting in my 30s, so car rides tended to find my legs crossed in lotus or stretching on the front dashboard.  My legs have always felt tight.  But this trip, my right calf was deeply aching.  I massaged and stretched and massaged some more.  By the time we drove the 15 hours to their place, I had actually made my calf swollen and bruised from the massaging.

After my diagnosis about 2 ½ years later (where more and more of this type of pain and my non-stop, nearly manic massaging of my arms and legs), I wrote the poem Kneading Need.

The next summer, following a very stressful school year, the pain came and stayed.  Along with that, the difficulty thinking clearly, stumbling over my words, utter exhaustion, and the feeling that everything was just too much for me to handle. I finally went to my new general practitioner, switching to him the year before because of our move to a rural town in Michigan. He was kind hearted and caring, but he didn’t know me.  I brought my husband with me so that he could verify that this wasn’t me. After some time and trying some things, more visits with the same complaints, and him doing thorough blood work, he concluded that I had Fibromyalgia. 

This wasn’t something I had ever heard about. However, once I told people around me, many mentioned those they knew with it: mothers, sisters, friends whose stories were scary sounding. As I began to research, I got really even more worried that this would be the end of my adventures, the end of my teaching, the end of my FULL life. Luckily, I kept researching, and with the help of my doctors, good Fibro Bloggers who shared facts and hope, and the support from my family and friends, I am seeing that I can live my life FULLY, albeit with pain.

It does look different. I did have to leave teaching. While I loved it, it demanded just too much of each day-literally 10 hours at a minimum between my hour commute, 7 hours with students, and the work put in beyond to grade, plan, prepare, and train. I couldn’t be the teacher I once was and take the time needed to take care of myself. I had also come to realize I had ignored my needs for most of my life. That had to change.

Since 12/7/2018, I have been doing just that. I’ve tried a lot of things, some have worked but much has not. I research, learning and sharing with my FMS people, and work on implementing those things that are helping. I still have pain- all over, all of the time. However, it’s brought me some new insights into myself and into the meaning of living a good life. I think I’m on the right path now.

I’m currently reading a book The Book of Joy written by Douglas Abrams from a week long visit with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Much of it is speaking to me. Here is one quote that I believe with my whole heart as I am a living example:

I have become a more full and complex person living life with much more gratitude and authenticity due to the stress and opposition that Fibromyalgia has brought me. I believe that I would have been content continuing on as I was, ignoring much of myself and those around me had I not been forced to stop and in desperation, looked for how to make things better.

My Current Diagnoses:

Interstitial Cystitis (2000)-InterStim implant (after doing everything prior) & taking Prelief w/acidic foods when I have it

GERD (2010)-Nissen procedure (after years on medication)

Fibromyalgia (2018)-symptoms: ongoing roving pain-muscle & joint, foggy brain, difficulty finding words when speaking, glitches in memory, fatigue, weakness, pulsatile tinnitus

IBS (2020)-found this out after stopping all medications that could have been influencing this; I fluctuate from diarrhea to constipation and have for at least 20 years.

Things that are working for me:

• Low Dose Naltrexone (Newest addition-55 days in. Started at 0.25mg and am now up to 2.5mg and still titrating up to find my best dosage amount). Sleeping pretty well without any other help; clear headed most days all day; less pain overall, more energy. My first post: Tentatively Ecstatic: My Experience with LDN Part 1 I plan to write Part two soon. 

• CBD/THC 1:1 Oil- This didn’t seem to help with pain, but sure did help me sleep soundly. I was taking .25mg sublingually before bed. I stopped because the LDN seems to be helping with it and my GP expressed issues with it (even though I have a medical marijuana card and it’s now legalized even for recreation in MI). My post: Out of the Rabbit Hole: CBD/THC Oil for Fibromyalgia

• Meditation: I have continued with meditation after finishing the Palouse Mindfulness 8 week free course online. This is making a big difference for me. My post:The Danger of Distraction: Turning Toward Pain to Eliminate Suffering

• Yoga and Breathwork: This is an ongoing, continuation practice of 20 years. However, I’m having to learn that my practice looks different now. I had always strived too much to get to that perfect form of a pose often injuring myself in the process. I’m doing much more Restorative, Yin, and slow yoga practices these days. 

• Supplement: Magnesium Malate/B-12/E/D3

• Prescription: Vyvanse (I was diagnosed with ADD one year before my FMS diagnosis; I do think that the ADD symptoms, though, are more connected to the FMS issues.) 

• Hot pad, ice pad, epsom salt baths, and hot tub.

• Massage: Professional myofascial release, myofacial release @home using foam roller and Yogu Massage Balls, and Rhenpho Massage Gun 

• Gentle cardio: walks and swimming 

• Diet: I haven’t made a ton of changes. This is an area where I really hate being deprived. I have given up on dairy. I eat way less gluten (doing a lot of substitutions). I intake food with high acid much, mostly because I hurt immediately after. I rarely drink carbonation and don’t drink much caffeine. I tend to lean vegan due to the no-dairy. However, I do eat some poultry, eggs, and fish. However, I just can’t cut out tomatoes.

• 10-week Interdisciplinary Pain Management Program through Mary Free Bed - My Post about this: Just Breath and Other Ways to Rewire the Pain-filled Brain

Fibro bloggers and their Stories - Glenys from Morning Cuppas With Glenys

This is the first in our series Fibro Bloggers and their Stories, where you can get to know more about our Fibro Blogger Directory members. 
This week's story is from Glenys, who lives in Australia and blogs at Morning Cuppas With Glenys where she shares her daily life as a christian woman living with fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses. During my time reading her blog she has gone from travelling around in a RV to now living in a home. Here is what Glenys has to say...

I have been pretty much bedridden this last week. For the first time I feel a little life in me so I am going to try to catch up on a bit of housework. I am really concerned about doing too much and burning out again, inducing another fibromyalgia flare. So I have to consider that as I plan my return to domesticity. I don't want another setback that puts me to bed again. It's all about spoons!

The journey back to domesticity is not without peril. There is a fine line between adequate expenditure of energy and exhaustion. Exhaustion can sneak up on you and bite you on the heel when you least expect it. Each day is a challenge as you will see in reading this post.... this is a typical day in the life of a chronically ill wife.

You can be managing quite nicely, up to your chin in folding clean clothes on your bed, when suddenly you wake with a start to find that you have fallen asleep and dribbled all over your husbands' underpants and shirts. Or you can plunge your hand into a sink of the cold and slimy water for soaking dishes left over from yesterdays' dinner that were supposed to be done as soon as you got your second wind after cooking last night. Only the second wind didn't come: not even a breeze!

Vacuuming can take forever as you find that the bag needs emptying and you can't find a new one and as you search, you smell a rancid odour from the washer, where you find yesterdays' wash finished and patiently waiting to be hung out. The washer is reset to rinse the smelly load but you forget to look for the vacuum bag as you fret about how many spoons it will cost to hang the clothes out.

Starting to feel anxious and overwhelmed, you decide to have a cup of tea. A donut in the pantry calls your name and as you open the microwave to heat it, you are surprised by your bowl of porridge left there at 6 am when you got your husband's breakfast. Pulling a tissue out of the box, you have a little cry into your cup of tea as you munch your donut. You are hungry because you didn't actually eat breakfast after all.

Sick at heart and already feeling tired, you decide to just chuck the clothes in the dryer, soak the dishes in fresh hot soapy water for washing later on in the afternoon and you have a nap... after all, a nana nap will help your brain fog clear and you can catch up then. But the afternoon brings it own set of woes as you wake feeling worse. 

You consult your menu list only to find that even though you intended to get the meat out to defrost this morning, you had suddenly felt compelled to double check that you had taken your meds and then you forgot about the meat. With your confidence rattled, you wash the pans that are needed for tonight's cooking and resolve for the hundredth time today to do better.

Eventually the day draws to a close with the evenings' dishes soaking in the sink ready for that elusive second wind. And as you feed the cat and take your evening meds, you wonder if tomorrow will be any better...Lying in bed and in a funk bordering on depression, you start to pray for strength for the morrow and a restful nights' sleep. Only no thoughts come to pray with sense and you are swept into a fitful sleep on a long sighhhhh. 

So ends another day and domesticity is still far far away.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Glenys Robyn Hicks

Her blog: Morning Cuppas With Glenys: Godly conversations for the lonely, chronically ill or disabled Christian woman.

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