My Tiredness Is Tired

"I'm so tired". Don't MSers love when you hear this from people who don't have MS? Not!! Having MS and fatigue is not just about being tired. It's not like you stayed up late last night binging your favorite show on Netflix and now you have to be up at 7am. MS fatigue drains ever fiber of your being. It's constant 24/7, debilitating exhaustion. 

MS fatigue feel like someone who just went on a hike, had no sleep, carried 20LB rocks up the mountain, had no water, and on the hottest day of summer in the blistering, sweltering afternoon. You might as well have climbed Mt. Everest.  When you finally do sit down and relax, you collapse. You could sleep through a marching band in your room. You could sleep through a tornado making its way to the Wizard of Oz. 

My mom always says she so tied that even her eyelashes hurt! 

I believe her. I have an autoimmune disorder myself that causes extreme fatigue. Until I went through it myself I couldn't really understand what she was going through. I get it now. I feel it every day just like she does. 

One area of fatigue that I struggle to keep a good balance between is my social life. Canceling plans due to a lack of energy happens. It's not that you don't want to go out and enjoy time with friends and family, it's that you physically cannot. To someone who doesn't have chronic fatigue, don't stop inventing your chronically fatigued friends and family out. Even if they can't go, just getting the invite means the world to them. Not being invited can make them feel isolated and unwanted. Invite them. If they can't make it, let them be the ones to make that decision, not you. If you ask them 500 times to come out and they only show up once, that's ok. But give them 500 chances to yes.

So I'm going to get back under the blankets and continue my Netflix show. Though, I'll probably need a nap in between each episode.