Since Monday, I have finally realised that yes, I am actually ill. This may seem silly, but even though I’d accepted that I had M.E. and that it was affecting me, I wasn’t accepting just how ill I was, so still trying to do things I really shouldn’t be doing. I’ve learnt my lesson.
On Monday, I went to college. I vomited on the bus on the way there, as sitting up for more than 10 minutes = bad idea, and motion on top = even worse idea. Turns out other bus passengers are either disgusted or concerned when someone is throwing up in front of them. When I got to college, I lay on cushions on the floor of the chill out room as I couldn’t do anything else, and did not make it to my lesson. It was the first time anyone at college had seen me that ill, though it’s been my normal level for the past month. I went home in a taxi about 2 hours later, and was vomiting in there, too.
Tuesday I had an appointment at hospital about my teeth. Got there on time, went for an x ray then had to wait nearly 2 hours to see someone. If I’d known I’d be waiting that long I would have cancelled the appointment. When going through the list of medical issues, I finally realised just how bad I’ve got. Had any blackouts? Yes (once just after using the commode while having a bad day, the other time after trying to sit up in bed, also on a bad day). Any seizures? No, but I get jerks in my limbs that can throw me off the bed, as well as muscle spasms and milder jerks in my limbs that last for hours (and can jerk me out of my wheelchair, with the seatbelt on). Dizziness? I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t dizzy, but it can get really bad if I sit up, even on normal days.
I managed to contain the vomiting on Tuesday by swallowing it. Not nice, but I didn’t want to upset any other bus passengers. I’d also lost 4lbs that week, as I found out at Slimming World on the Tuesday morning (too ill to go really, but I was still being stubborn). That was in the week I wasn’t really following the plan.
So what’s come out of this? I checked where I am on the AYME functioning scale again. Answer: around 10-15% normally, lower on a bad day. No denying I’m severely affected any more, though it’s still hard to accept. When I was going out, yes I could do it, but I was trying to ignore how ill it was making me. I’ve asked how to join the SAMs (severely affected members) list at AYME,
I’ve told my tutor that even distance learning isn’t going to be possible, as I’m just too ill. I can’t even concentrate on a TV show all the way through without it making me more ill, so trying to study would be far too much (not to mention I’ve already fallen behind and not heard from my lecturer about what I’ve missed). So I’m going to be withdrawn from the course. I’ve also let the Interface students know via the Facebook page. I’m really going to miss college, as it was the last bit of normality in my life, but I need to keep what functioning I still have.
I’m also putting Slimming World on hold, at least for now. The meetings are making me more ill (as much as I didn’t want to admit it) and trying to follow a diet while spending so much time nauseous is probably not the best idea. Also, since coming off the quetiapine my appetite has reduced drastically, so I’ll be able to lose weight just be being sensible with what I eat. I’m also not going to pressure myself to lose weight- I just don’t want to gain any. I’ll be weighing myself at home every Tuesday morning on the Wii Fit to monitor it, and will change what I’m eating if I start gaining, or losing weight too quickly. I shall be emailing my Slimming World consultant after I’ve finished this blog post.
I’m also not going to be having any more baths, at least until the bath lift is fitted. I’ve been stuck once, been close a few more times, and it’s not worth making myself ill over. We tried washing my hair in the sink, but I’m too tall to make that work, so I’ve bought an inflatable hair washing thing for use on my bed. Bed baths are also a lot less tiring than washing in the bathroom, so it will be better overall (I still get exhausted when trying to do it myself, though).
No more going out unless it’s necessary. I’ve a doctors appointment on Tuesday, so will be going to that. I will also be going to the hairdressers next week. This may not seem necessary, but it’s been over a year since I last got my hair trimmed, and getting it done will make it easier to brush. It will also allow me to get my hair washed outside of bed :p Today nice Icelandic carer put my hair into a French plait, which keeps it pretty tidy even spending 22+ hours a day in bed.
I’m also slowly compiling a list of all my current symptoms, that I’ll be giving to my GP and consultant. Hopefully they’ll have ideas on how to deal with some of them, but if not, at least it will mean they’re aware of them. I’m also trying to figure out the baseline for activities, but this is hard as it’s in direct competition with my problems with transitions (if I try and stop an activity before I’m ready, then I get incredibly anxious and may panic, which uses more energy than just continuing the activity for a bit longer). I have made it so I’m only sitting at my computer for an hour at a time, maximum, and reminding myself after half an hour and 45 minutes that I’ve only so much time remaining. That worked well today- came off after 45 minutes because I’d reminded myself after half an hour, and I was at a good stopping place in levelling on my mage in World of Warcraft 🙂
I’m not doing so well on the getting to sleep at the same time every night, but I’m less worried about that. I managed 12 hours yesterday (from 1am to 1.30pm, with a half hour dozy resting period when the carer arrived at 10am) so it looks like I can sleep naturally. It does mean that it’s 2.08am now though, and I’ll probably not be going to sleep before 3am. Oh well- one thing at a time.
