Daily Activities & Fibromyalgia
Those who don't deal with fibromyalgia on a daily basis have a very difficult time understanding why people who have it can't always remember things, get exhausted from doing simple activities, or have pain so severe that all we want to do is try to find a comfortable position so we can just have a few pain free moments.
A friend of mine wrote these words to me many months ago, and to me they sum up our experiences with an activity that most people just take for granted.
"I remember I used to 'cook dinner', and it was no big deal. Now I have to 'think' about what I'm going to fix, then I have to 'think' if I really want to thaw something out or just have soup because I hurt so bad. Then maybe I decide I'll fry that chicken, so then I have to go to the freezer, and it's not an upright, so I have to lift the lid, and find something to prop it open. Then, of course, the chicken is on the bottom, so I have to pick everything out of there which is cold and frozen, until I find the chicken. Now that I've found it, I have to put everything else back. Then I take the chicken to the microwave and put it on defrost. Then I suppose that I have to cook potatoes to go with the chicken. Now I have to walk back to the laundry room, get the potatoes, bring them back to the kitchen table, where I sit down for a minute because the pain in my shoulders just won't quit. I've forgotten the knife, so I have to get up, which really hurts. I never want to get back up after I've sat down, but I get the knife, and sit back down and peel the potatoes, which takes a little time because my fingers and hands hurt so bad. Once that part is done, I have to go get a pan, take it to the sink, fill it with water for the potatoes, wash the potatoes, cut them into pieces, and put them in the pan. The pan is very heavy at this point, so I may ask for help carrying it or just go for it, depending on how bad my hands are. I haven't even gotten to the chicken yet or set the table. Most people just do this stuff automatically every night, while the people with fibromyalgia just have to take it one step at a time, and it can be grueling. The same thing happens when I go out for dinner. I never sit in a booth because it hurts so bad trying to get up, so now we always ask for a table. There are just so many adjustments that we have to make just to 'get through' a day."
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