It sounds so simple when people say it. "Just do the housework yourself" or "just get a job".
But it's not that simple. A few weeks after the one-year warranty ran out, my new dishwasher completely stopped functioning. As in, the water doesn't get anywhere near the dishes; they don't even get damp. OK, so you do the dishes by hand, no big deal.
Except it IS a big deal. I was making a concerted effort to stand upright, not bent over, and nonetheless, after washing just a few dishes, I had back spasms. I was nowhere near done, so I tried to ignore them. After a few more dishes (hadn't even gotten to the pots yet!), the pain was threatening to make me pass out. Back to the bed for the rest of the day till the spasms finally abated around midnight.
On several occasions over the past few years, I've attempted to do some volunteer office work. Same thing. After sitting upright in a chair for about an hour, the back spasms start, and if I try to tough it out, they get worse. And that's if I don't get lightheaded first, from being upright. (Dr. Cheney, Dr. Lerner and Dr. Peckerman attribute this to a post-viral heart defect and recommend that CFS patients spend most of their time horizontal.)
If you know of a way to do housework or an office job lying down, let me know. Otherwise, the simple suggestion of doing these things is something my body won't let me follow through on.
2 comments:
Sounds so familiar! When I was first ill, I lived on toast. I remember being hungry for good food once and lying on the sofa preparing an only-one-pot meal. Then I staggered to the kitchen to put it on to boil but by the time it was ready I was too ill, nauseous and exhausted to eat it.
Then I ordered pre-packed ready meals from Wiltshire Farm Foods and they worked out well.
I'm quite a lot better but I use many more gadgets like electric can openers now. I have a special chair to use in the kitchen but in practice, I only cook about once a week. Preparation of food, eating it and clearing up the kitchen is a real problem for most ME/PVFS/CFS/CFIDS sufferers.
Bending has always left me in bed for days afterward in pain. Things such as doing the dishes, doing laundry, changing my sheets...really anything that requires repetive bending or standing for a length of time. I have never heard of the "horizontal" position supposing to be better for this. Aside from when I cannot sleep, I spend as much time laying down as possible. Often this is because the fatigue makes me feel weak, and my head just drops.
I wish I could afford a maid!
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