Living Below Zero

I as talking to my husband a couple of days ago and he asked me to rate how I was feeling ... not a new concept. Doctors use rating scales all the times for everything from fatigue to pain levels; however when I tried to explain it, it came out a different way so I thought I'd share. Specifically, we were talking about sleep and energy. I said that basically, I feel like sleep gets me to ZERO. Then anything I do during the day puts me back below zero. So for instance, I may feel good when I first wake up, but getting dressed, eating breakfast and watching littleA for a bit puts me back down in the negative numbers. A nap will push me back up to zero, but lunch and anything else I do and I'm back down again. It feels like I can never get ahead .... On a positive note, I think I am SLOWLY coming back up to positive .... I may be hovering in the single digits today :) yay! If I can just keep the slow progression up, I may be able to get -- and hopefully keep -- myself from dipping below zero.

I'd say about 40 ...

Based upon the scale below, I'd rate myself at about 40 since I probably could leave the house everyday and just don't as part of my pacing -- sometimes it seems more important to get the laundry done than to leave the house!

I'm hoping that by learning my limits and staying within them -- which includes asking for help! (I'm not very good at that one) -- that I can slowly continue to move UP the scale and increase my capabilities :)

ME/CFS Rating Scale

100 Fully Recovered. Normal activity level with no symptoms.

90 Normal activity level with mild symptoms at times.

80 Near normal activity with some symptoms

70 Able to work full time but with difficulty. Mostly mild symptoms.

60 Able to do about 6 - 7 hours of work a day. Mostly mild to moderate symptoms.

50 Able to do about 4 - 5 hours a day of work or similar activity at home. Daily rests required. Symptoms mostly moderate

40 Able to leave house every day. Moderate symptoms on average. ABle to do about 3 - 4 hours a day of work or activity like housework, shopping or computer usage.

30 Able to leave house several times a week. Moderate to severe symptoms much of the time. Able to do about 2 hours a day of work at home or activity like housework, shopping, computer usage.

20 Able to leave house once or twice a week. Moderate to severe symptoms. Able to concentrate 1 hour or less per day.

10 Mostly bedridden. Severe symptoms.

0 Bedridden constantly. Unable to care for self.

Gratitude of the Day: Knowing that God has a plan -- even when I don't understand it, I appreciate it! I know He'll use even this crazy illness for His good.

Moment of Beauty (MOB): A tender & gentle moment between my husband and son ... seeing it melts my heart and it is truly beautiful.