Exercise & inflamation

     While I have never enjoyed exercise to exercise, I have always loved sports. Before getting sick I played on an adult volleyball team. I have captained my own team & I love to play. I like to play basketball  and softball to. Also I have coached basketball & softball.
     These days I'm less active. Pain and instability keeps me from a lot of activities. A long walk suits me more at this moment in time. I like to explore new parks. While walking it gives me a chance to think & enjoy nature. I play h.o.r.s.e & dominate but it's not the same intensity as a game of basketball. Jumping and running are not suggested on these chronic legs. Falling is not fun.
     I hope to get my body to a place where I can possibly play volleyball again. Until then I will go for walks, play & dance with my kids for exercise. They say motion is lotions but no one talks of the pain it could cause. 
Exercise with care.

5 things I've learned since diagnosis

1) Patience
Before I got sick I was a very impatient person. Go ,go ,go-rush, rush...hurry, hurry. I walked around people in a hurry on the sidewalk. I passed people in my car. I got irritated waiting for others. This chroniclife really slows you down, especially when you can't move without pain. You wait to see your doctor.  You wait for scripts, wait for test results and wait to take pain meds.
While I still pass people on the freeway, I have a lot more patients now.
2) I've learned more about the body. After diagnosis I read and still do. I can't get enough info about my rare disease stills. *fact* Unlike other autioimmune diseases stills disease effects men & women equally.
3) I learned which foods lower inflamation in the body. There are several but some are: salmon, leafy greens, nuts, tumeric, garlic, ginger & tart cherries.
4) I now know that there are lots of people who live with daily chronic pain. I had no clue so many were suffering in silence.
5) More than anything else I've learned
I AM STRONG. The physical pain I've endured in the last year has been more intense than anything I've known. I have battled depression, body image, fear and loneliness in addition.
These are more challenges than I've ever fought simultaneously. I was never alone, God gave me stregnth.  I'm still battling but I know I'm strong enough to get through with God's help.

Tired of being tired.

What is there to say about being fatigued? You're tired?
Beat, Broken-down, Drained, Pooped, Worn-out, Exhausted, Spent, Tuckered-out?

It's the absence of energy. 

Mental, emotional  and physical exhaustion. 
Some days it's so extreme it feels like a task to pay attention or sit upright. 

 Here are a few images of how fatigue makes me feel.

How do I deal? Really, I don't know. I keep going because I have no choice. I attempt to pay attention, I nap, I drink caffeinated beverages, I take breaks, take deep breath or just hide myself away from the world.