SNAP THAT: ME

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing? I hope you are well and enjoying the season wherever you are in the world. Here in my city, we are transitioning from summer to fall or autumn season. It happens like clock work every year that I can feel the distinct shift to chilly weather on September 1st.

This year I felt it a bit earlier but then hot weather returned after that. By the time I post this blog we will be in the midst of 2 days of much cooler weather. When I went out to buy a few grocery items on Monday night, it was spitting a bit of rain.

Anyway, many of you already know that I suffer from a few chronic medical conditions though they are mostly manageable as long as I can keep on top of things and do what I need to do. But you may not know that I also suffer from something called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). It's the one thing that is much harder to manage and there are all kinds of symptoms that can arise as a result of it.

I have periods where I am feeling reasonable and able to look after what I need to but there are also periods when my energy is very low or virtually non-existent. I've just actually come through a prolonged period where I was feeling reasonable and could do what I planned to do almost every day. But for the past several weeks I could feel myself veering into a low that I haven't felt in a while.

I've been trying to pace myself and manage things so that I don't go into a zero energy phase. In that phase it is hard to get out of bed, let alone get up and shower to greet the day.

Do you or anyone you know also suffer from this?

Here is a simple chart that illustrates some of the myriad symptoms that people with ME/CFS exhibit.

Recently, I started going to a new church that meets at night, not in the morning. One Sunday I discovered that one of the pastors also has ME/CFS and that's one of the reasons the church gathering is at night and not in the morning.

I was relieved that she would be able to relate to my symptoms and possible understand why it is difficult for me to fully engage in all that churches do. Sometimes it's even difficult just to get to church. Having said that, it is easier to attend night service because it means I have more time to get ready for the day and get going.

I've had ME/CFS now for many years. It's the primary reason I had to retire from work in 2006, much earlier than I wanted.

Having this problem changed my life in so many ways and led me to a much more restricted way of life than I had been living before. My concentrations level was so bad in those days that I couldn't even read a page of a novel. That is what actually led me to start this blog and also to challenge myself to set reading goals.

Happily my concentration is much improved. But I still go through phases where I can't concentrate enough to read or to write. Lack of concentration affects my ability to write blog posts or do anything that requires sustained effort. For example, whenever I write I post, I end up going back to correct it several times after posting because I wasn't able to catch all the mistakes the first time around. This is rather frustrating and annoying but it isn't the end of the world so I try not to dwell on it. I try to keep my perfectionist tendencies reined in otherwise I'd stop doing a lot of things. In relation to my reading habit, I've always enjoyed it and now that I set annual reading goals, I read far more than I ever have though there are still periods when I cannot read much at all. Like right now.

Making appointments in my calendar for everything I do is also helpful. I go to the extent of blocking out all the 'to dos' in the calendar and I try to do this for several weeks in advance. I write things on a wall calendar because then I can see things at a glance and make adjustments if needed. I've come to know what I can actually accomplish in a given period of time so sometimes I have to make a lot of adjustments when other things crop up that are priorities like lab work and appointments.

It also takes me far longer to accomplish things than it ever did. It isn't just from growing older. It has more to do with energy levels as a result of illness though I know some of it has to do with aging. I am a young senior, however so I keep on going and don't feel that age is a reason for my limitations at this point.

I would love to get into better routines and meal planning but I'm simply not there yet. I'm not sure if I will ever be because routines and meal planning were never really my thing. The reason I'd like them now is it brings more structure to daily life and getting things done. It also means I always have something on hand to eat rather than have to worry about having nothing ready when I am not up to cooking. My dear husband is not a cook so I can't really rely on him and I'd rather not have to order take out for all the times I don't feel like cooking.

So lately I've been making a few meals ahead. No more than 2 or 3 items to have in the refrigerator for meal times. While I do have a small freezer, I've found that preparing a few weeks or meals ahead doesn't really work at this point. I may revisit the idea in future.

Here are the foods I cooked this week. They aren't as healthy as I would otherwise make when I have more energy. These foods were largely cooked in the Instant Pot (IP), a lifesaver when one doesn't have much time or energy to make meals. Food also tastes much more flavourful when cooked in the Instant Pot. Other meals were quickly made on the stove top.

This week I was proud of myself for making 2 meals without meat though they were not veganized (Taco Soup with Lentils and Garbanzo Bean Soup). I am going to try to make meatless meals more often because we've been eating far too much beef these past few months. I was also told by one of my doctors that chicken is not good for my cholesterol levels. We have eaten a lot of chicken in the past. I've cut way back on chicken but we are having some this week. I'm also reinstituting more avocados, nuts and olive oil in to our diet and reducing butter and dairy in general though this is harder for me to do.