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#Post#: 4409--------------------------------------------------
Pacing yourself
By: agate Date: May 5, 2024, 1:44 am
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MS creates daily challenges when it comes to knowing just how
much you can get away with even if you've had MS for years.
Some years ago I realized that it wasn't a good idea to have
outings two days in a row--"outings" being almost always medical
appointments. It wasn't good to have visitors two days in a row
either.
Then I moved toward realizing that it wasn't wise to have two
appointments/outings in one week, or two visitors or sets of
visitors in one week.
"Visitors" wouldn't include people dropping by briefly on short
notice. Visitors who are more of a challenge are the ones who
will be staying a while and who make arrangements in advance,
the ones for whom food might be obtained and the place cleaned
up more than usual.
The problem with appointments is that a person must be punctual
in getting to the appointment. And there is a deadline to meet
for the transportation too. Rides are scheduled to come at a
definite time, and a person had jolly well better be ready to go
at that time.
All of this adds up to a certain amount of pressure.
I don't do pressure well at all.
I realized yesterday that I was scheduled to have visitors
today, a long medical appointment on Wednesday (with the
transportation arrangements still unsettled), and another bunch
of visitors the following weekend--whether that would be
Saturday or Sunday was still undetermined.
The problem with the second bunch of visitors is that there
might be three of them, two of whom I've never met and know next
to nothing about and the other is a friend I haven't seen in
person since we were both 17-18. I know nothing about what food
they might eat or if they have special needs in terms of
seating. Two of them are in their 80s.
I don't even know how they would plan to get here. That isn't
always easy for people as this building isn't centrally located
or easily found.
So I decided to exercise my free will. I really am having
problems with stress lately. I react to it with physical
symptoms that are unpleasant and tiring. I stop eating. I lose
sleep. I feel shaky and tend to make more mistakes than usual
and be more forgetful than usual. I would not be good company
for any visitors.
I decided to beg off on the out-of-town visitors who I suspect
are wanting to come more out of a sense of obligation than for
any other reason. And I put off today's visitors until next
weekend.
I don't like asking people to change their plans on my account
but in this case I have a pretty good idea that both changes
will be perfectly all right.
And anyway I have MS. If anyone wants to tell me that MS is no
big deal, that person would get quite a lecture from me.
I can still do some things but at my own pace, and that pace is
slow.
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