The last few weeks have been ridiculously busy, with way more drama than I usually like to let enter my life, so unfortunately maintaining this site hasn’t been a priority recently. I’m pleased to report, however, that things have settled down a bit and therefore I can now refocus my attention on working on some improvements to this site…I have several ideas that have been percolating in my mind for quite a while now – it’s just a matter of finding the time to actually make it happen. So anyway…watch this space: there will be soon be many more product reviews, advocacy alerts, special features and much more. Now I just need to find the time to execute all these great plans of mine…
Posts Tagged ‘fatigue
16
Apr
10
Back on track
Since I was diagnosed with lupus in 2004, the most persistent and debilitating symptom I’ve experienced has been chronic fatigue. In an attempt to alleviate this relentless symptom, I’ve tried just about every product on the market that claims to boost energy. Pre-packaged drinks, vitamins, supplements, powders – at some point or another, I’ve tried them all and unfortunately, I haven’t had much success. Despite all the disappointments, I’ve felt compelled to keep trying new products in an attempt to find something (anything!) that will bring even just a little bit of relief.
I was going through a particularly difficult flare with more severe fatigue than usual when I first came across some ads for FRS Healthy Energy. I checked the site out but I was skeptical: the ads seemed to indicate that the product was geared towards athletes (which I’m certainly not!) and I’m generally cautious about signing up for “free” trials so I didn’t sign up right away. As my fatigue continued to worsen, however, I decided to give the product a try - but given all of my past disappointments, I wasn’t expecting much.
The first package I received from FRS contained their FRS Concentrate in Low Calorie Orange flavor, FRS Chews in Pomegranate-Blueberry, and FRS Powder in Orange. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the orange drinks, both concentrate and powder. Most energy drinks I’ve tried have a taste that ranges from somewhat unpleasant to downright horrid but I actually enjoyed the taste of FRS, which reminded me of watered down orange juice. I was less impressed with the taste of the chews but I appreciated their convenience – it was easy to stash a bag of chews in my purse for a little pick-me-up while on the go.
Finding that the products were palatable was a good first step but the important question still remained: would they help boost my energy level? I didn’t notice anything right away and was about to write off my experience with FRS as yet another failed experiment when suddenly I noticed a bit of a difference. Usually when I am in the middle of a bad flare, I don’t have the energy to make it through the day and often end up napping in the late afternoon. To my surprise, after using FRS for a few days I was able to forgo the afternoon nap. Simple activities that usually left me exhausted (grocery shopping, vacuuming, yard work, etc.) were more manageable. I felt a bit better overall. It wasn’t a miraculous total recovery but there was definitely a noticeable difference.
Even after experiencing some success with FRS, I still remained skeptical. What if the improvement was coincidental? Maybe I was already coming out of the flare when I started using FRS – if that was the case, then FRS would have nothing to do with my increased energy levels. How could I be sure that there was a direct correlation between using this product and having more energy? I concluded that the only way to know would be to continue the experiment.
Over the next couple of months, I kept track of how I was feeling when I used FRS and how I felt when I wasn’t using it. During this time, I also tried other flavors of FRS but I quickly learned that the Orange flavor is by far my favorite. Time and time again, I noticed that my energy levels were higher when I used FRS.
Now satisfied that it is actually helping, I continue to use FRS concentrate once or twice a day. I mix it with water in a SIGG bottle that I keep by my side at all times and I generally don’t drink anything but water or the FRS mix. Using FRS hasn’t eliminated my fatigue altogether but it has made it easier for me to get through my more difficult days and to me, that’s certainly worth it. Whether you’re struggling with chronic fatigue or could just use a little extra boost of energy now and then, I’d definitely recommend giving the product a try.
06
Jun
09
The circle is unbroken
I’ve spent the majority of the last few weeks holed up in my bedroom, reading books on yoga and wellness, sleeping too much and venturing out of the house only for the occasional medical appointment, prescription refill or fast food fix. It’s been a miserable, depressing existence and I’m tired of it. I want to make changes, live more authentically, quit feeling shitty all the time – but I often feel as though I become so overwhelmed with all of my health issues that I end up just retreating back to the status quo. It’s like my own version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – when you’re physically miserable, you become consumed with just trying to dull the pain and function well enough to meet your basic needs and get through the day…there’s no time to think about higher functions like life goals and spiritual aspirations. I’ve been living in this kind of “crisis mode” for years now and I want desperately to be able to resolve these problems so that I can move on to the things that really matter…like finding work that has meaning to me, strengthening relationships with family and friends, pursuing hobbies and interests for personal fulfillment. But I can’t get to any of these things because I’m bogged down in all the little details of daily life that are so often almost insurmountably difficult. A routine trip to the grocery store can leave me wiped out for the rest of the day, even something fun like an evening out for dinner and a movie can end in disaster with me curled up on a bathroom floor feeling dizzy and nauseated. Fear of getting sick in public keeps me home much more than I’d like…and even though I want desperately to return to regular full-time work outside of the home, I know that as long as things remain as they are now then that possibility is completely out of the question.
So here I am, trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation. I’m working more these days and even if it is only part-time contract work at home, I feel much better doing something productive with my day. I’m taking better care of myself – trying to be more careful about what I eat and exercising more often. I’m trying to make time for more relaxation and self-care: meditation, yoga, massage therapy, etc. I know that these types of activities can’t totally replace traditional medicine but I do think that they might be just what I need to complement my other treatments…and, after all, what I’ve been doing hasn’t really been helping all that much so it’s certainly time to try something new. I feel hopeful that maybe now I’m on the right track and things will start to improve soon. I’m definitely more than ready for a positive change now.
18
May
09
At the end of my rope
When I found myself standing in the middle of my kitchen at 3am, frustrated to tears over a broken toaster, I knew I had finally lost it. I’ve been in the middle of a flare for the last several weeks, which is both physically and emotionally draining, and after trying so hard to cope for so long…well, a breakdown was inevitable, I suppose. My chronic migraines have been more frequent and severe, which is bad enough in itself but on top of that, I’ve been experiencing fatigue so overwhelming that I find myself exhausted after the simplest of tasks, often returning home from routine errands feeling as though I’ve just run a marathon. My muscle are sore, my joints ache, and on several occasions I’ve felt so tired and worn out that I crawl in to bed fully dressed and have to spend a few hours napping to recuperate. After feeling like this for a few days, I find myself becoming increasingly irritable and in a melancholy mood…after a few weeks with no improvement, I’m feeling hopeless and desperate.
When I’m in this kind of situation, everything bothers me…I don’t sleep well, I have trouble eating because the headaches often leave me nauseated, I alternate between feeling feverish and clammy – I’m basically just a mess. I eat almost nothing but toast and strawberry popsicles because these are the only edible items that I can reliably keep down. Since I can’t eat normally, the few things I can eat become ridiculously important to me…and that’s how I ended up having a breakdown over the malfunctioning toaster. I felt like my world was falling apart around me and now to add insult to injury, even my appliances were turning on me. My misery was complete and overwhelming. After shedding a few tears, I set the traitorous toaster out by the trash can and went to bed.
The next day Ken found the toaster and asked what was wrong with it. I told him it was broken but he likes to tinker with things so he took it back to the kitchen and just a few minutes later, he announced that it wasn’t broken after all…in fact, he eyed me suspiciously as he explained that he couldn’t find anything wrong with it at all. His accusatory stare told me he’d drawn his own conclusion about what had happened and in his version of reality, I’d decided to discard a perfectly good toaster so that I could have the thrill of shopping for a new one. Incensed by what he was implying, I retreated to my bedroom and spent the rest of the evening avoiding my family. Given the circumstances, there really was no other viable option open to me.
01
Mar
09
Running on empty
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been totally off schedule – awake all night and then catching up on sleep during the day. This started before Ken went out of town on business but got much worse after he left…it was as if he took my temporal frame of reference with him. Before all this, I had been accustomed to waking up with him at 4am and chatting a bit before he left for work, then returning to bed for a couple stolen hours of sleep before waking again and truly starting my day. This schedule worked fairly well for me and kept me adequately rested, which in turn led to a better overall sense of physical and emotional well-being. All that has changed, however, and now I find myself wide awake night after night…then crashing mid-morning for several hours of much-needed sleep. Part of me is desperate to get out of this cycle but another part of me strongly resists. I feel more creative and productive during these all-night work sessions and when I return to a “normal” schedule, I feel as though I have lost something vitally important. I do my best writing in the quiet early hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep and I don’t know how to harness that same creative energy during the day. But this schedule takes a toll on me physically, often leaving me tired and irritable and more susceptible to the various aches and pains that sometimes overtake me. Something has to give…I just can’t decide yet what it should be.
