Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Yesterday my day started well, other than the complete date memory breakdown. Then the energy gods decided to punish me for writing about how great I was feeling and how much work I got done this past weekend. When I rushed Mika to school, I did not think it was very cold and was only a little chilled when I got home and started writing my journal entry. Coldness slowly creeped into my body and by the time my helper got here 45 minutes later, my teeth were chattering.
My helper set up my second computer heater and turned up the house heat. I told her about my day mix up and we started our regular Monday routine. As the day progressed, I was not warming up (although I did turn the house heat back down after a couple of hours). I also started to feel a little tired. The tiredness wrapped its fingers around my energy core and squished it into a little pile of goo. By the time my significant other, Donald, arrived home with our seven-year-old, Mika, after school, I was ready to get in bed.
I did not get in bed right after school. Since Donald starts his day so early, it is not uncommon for us to eat supper right after school. Yesterday was one of those days. After eating, I needed to wrangle Mika through her homework. Mika only needs to read 20 minutes and write three sentences about what she read. You would think homework would be a 30-minute chore. Not at our house. If Mika completes her homework in an hour, it is a good homework day. Mika is easily distracted when reading and I keep stopping the clock when she suddenly needs a drink or wants to use the restroom. It usually takes 35 to 45 minutes for Mika to read 20 minutes.
Mika’s reluctance to do tasks she does not like has led to several conversations recently about how by stringing out unpleasant tasks she is shortening her free time. Mika is still struggling with that concept. Supper is a struggle too. Mika does not like to eat any vegetables and I insist she eat a spoonful or two which Mika can turn into ten bites spanning an hour. I try to be patient, but I am not willing to sit at the dinner table for two hours while she tries to do anything but eat.
At 7:00 p.m. I was a zombie and finally going to bed. I dozed in and out through all the Monday night shows, so I will need to watch them online if I wish to know what happened. I then slept hard until about 6:30 this morning. I cannot remember the last time I slept that long. I obviously needed the extra sleep.
I wonder if the utter exhaustion was me coming down from my steroid high or a reaction from the chemotherapy. It would make sense for exhaustion to be a steroid issue. I have lots of energy and do not sleep much on Friday evening and Saturday after I get steroids. My energy seems to go back to average on Sunday, but I frequently do not sleep as much as usual Sunday night either. I could understand if yesterday’s fatigue was the result of all the work I was able to accomplish this past weekend; however, I did not notice that I slept any less this weekend.
Yesterday was not a productive day for me, and I need to accept that there may be many more of those kind of days coming as my illness progresses. I have noticed I have been getting colder as the day progresses many days, even if I stay at home. When I start shivering, I find it difficult to work, so I have been trying to make sure I get most of my work done by noon.
My piece of advice to you is to go to bed early when you need to. If steroids were responsible for yesterday’s weariness, next Monday might be an early night again. By going to bed early on Monday, I will ensure I feel refreshed on Tuesday and will enjoy the day more.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Yesterday my day started well, other than the complete date memory breakdown. Then the energy gods decided to punish me for writing about how great I was feeling and how much work I got done this past weekend. When I rushed Mika to school, I did not think it was very cold and was only a little chilled when I got home and started writing my journal entry. Coldness slowly creeped into my body and by the time my helper got here 45 minutes later, my teeth were chattering.
My helper set up my second computer heater and turned up the house heat. I told her about my day mix up and we started our regular Monday routine. As the day progressed, I was not warming up (although I did turn the house heat back down after a couple of hours). I also started to feel a little tired. The tiredness wrapped its fingers around my energy core and squished it into a little pile of goo. By the time my significant other, Donald, arrived home with our seven-year-old, Mika, after school, I was ready to get in bed.
I did not get in bed right after school. Since Donald starts his day so early, it is not uncommon for us to eat supper right after school. Yesterday was one of those days. After eating, I needed to wrangle Mika through her homework. Mika only needs to read 20 minutes and write three sentences about what she read. You would think homework would be a 30-minute chore. Not at our house. If Mika completes her homework in an hour, it is a good homework day. Mika is easily distracted when reading and I keep stopping the clock when she suddenly needs a drink or wants to use the restroom. It usually takes 35 to 45 minutes for Mika to read 20 minutes.
Mika’s reluctance to do tasks she does not like has led to several conversations recently about how by stringing out unpleasant tasks she is shortening her free time. Mika is still struggling with that concept. Supper is a struggle too. Mika does not like to eat any vegetables and I insist she eat a spoonful or two which Mika can turn into ten bites spanning an hour. I try to be patient, but I am not willing to sit at the dinner table for two hours while she tries to do anything but eat.
At 7:00 p.m. I was a zombie and finally going to bed. I dozed in and out through all the Monday night shows, so I will need to watch them online if I wish to know what happened. I then slept hard until about 6:30 this morning. I cannot remember the last time I slept that long. I obviously needed the extra sleep.
I wonder if the utter exhaustion was me coming down from my steroid high or a reaction from the chemotherapy. It would make sense for exhaustion to be a steroid issue. I have lots of energy and do not sleep much on Friday evening and Saturday after I get steroids. My energy seems to go back to average on Sunday, but I frequently do not sleep as much as usual Sunday night either. I could understand if yesterday’s fatigue was the result of all the work I was able to accomplish this past weekend; however, I did not notice that I slept any less this weekend.
Yesterday was not a productive day for me, and I need to accept that there may be many more of those kind of days coming as my illness progresses. I have noticed I have been getting colder as the day progresses many days, even if I stay at home. When I start shivering, I find it difficult to work, so I have been trying to make sure I get most of my work done by noon.
My piece of advice to you is to go to bed early when you need to. If steroids were responsible for yesterday’s weariness, next Monday might be an early night again. By going to bed early on Monday, I will ensure I feel refreshed on Tuesday and will enjoy the day more.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.