I repeatedly felt a crushing fatigue that I could not push through. When I did not rest, I could barely hold my head up after dinner. Using a timer to force myself to rest was annoying because it would go off at the worst time. Watching TV turned me into a zombie who could not stop clicking the remote because nothing good was on at the moment. I tried reading and going on the Internet, but I got so absorbed in these activities that sitting for long periods made me tired. I found two strategies that work for me.
(1) Brief rests before the fatigue overwhelms me. Lying on top of the bedspread with a towel under my shoes does not feel like I am going back to bed. I lie down for fifteen minutes without having to get undressed. (2) Energy conservation. For example, I divided doing dishes into 3 steps.
Step 1: Empty dishwasher - rest 5 minutes. Step 2: Take clean dishes to the appropriate cabinet with a cart. I did not have to repeatedlty carry heavy stacks of dishes from the dishwasher to each cabinet - rest 5 minutes. Step 3: Load dishwasher. I have a double sink so I use one sink as a staging area to hold dirty dishes until I need to wash them.
GOOD NEWS: My crushing fatigue faded after the first year! homeafterstroke.blogspot.com
Your resting thoughts are good for anyone.
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