You got to move but I am so tired!

The Lupus Foundation of America states that:

*65% of people with lupus suffer from chronic pain

*76% of lupus patients say fatigue has altered their life

*89% of people with lupus say they can no longer work full-time

No amount of sleep is enough to ever feel well rested. Mornings are a bitch...the struggle before the day’s even has begun. After my chemo treatment during the 2021 Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, my rheumatologist agreed to wane me off all medications. I was experiencing more side-effects than physical benefits. I only take my injectable, Humira, twice a month for my rheumatoid arthritis. Besides cannabis...I was petrified to go cold turkey. I have been on various prescription cocktails for eight years. It's odd being pill free...at the height of disease insanity I was taking 20 pills a day and I still felt like shit. Pre-lupus, I thought I knew what it meant to be tired, that it was a simple loss of energy. I never understood the actual weight of fatigue. Being tired is not something that is felt at the end of the day, it’s a state of being.

At the end of January, I started to walk. In the mornings, my big puppy Chica and I would walk for 15 minutes. By the end of March our walks were 45 minutes. In addition, I walk on the treadmill for 60 minutes in the evenings The walk are usually slow and sluggish but I get it done rather than being stagnant and focusing on the pain. Low and behold, my sleep is much better. I still take my Indica cannabis at night for sleep aid but physical activity works. It calms my nerve pain, inflammation and it has helped with my fatigue. If you ask, I am alright. My rheumatologist quoted my physical function and energy at 60% percent without the aid of medication. Lupies, this is tiring but keep moving...use an aid to keep track of your progress.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein