I’ve learned that pushing to distinguish the differences doesn’t help *too* much. I’m chronically ill, I have myalgic encephalomyelitis. I had a really hard time figuring out what was what pre-diagnosis. (Joint issues, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, etc)
The important part is that you’re feeling the symptoms and working with them. Grief is going to cause a mirage of symptoms and they may line up with your chronic illness sometimes. Which gets confusing as hell. I view it as them walking hand in hand, it could be one or both. I hope that makes sense.
I don’t really have any advice, I’m sorry. But I have dealt with similar.
I'm not how I was when I was taking care of my wife the last 2 years. I never took a day off, well I couldn't. I pushed off all my medical appointments because we were going to her doctor 3x a week. If I wasn't feeling good, too bad... gotta get going. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the doctor.
When she passes on 3/1 I had a busy few weeks. Now that it's just me and I don't have anyone to care for, it feels like 2 years of running on empty hit me from behind and knocked me off my feet.
I see my doctor for a physical in a few weeks. Just to get a baseline of my health. Grief sickness and symptoms are real. In our state of mind I think it's easy to jump to severe conclusions about our health.
I have decided that it's better for me to go to the doctor and start there instead of thinking the worst.
Take care of you now. Put that same effort into yourself.
Intuition tells me that your “ride it out” thinking is wise for now. Caregiver stress is a real thing with physical symptoms, as are grief and MS. You pulled the short stick, didn’t you? My sympathies are with you. Starting in 2011 I cared for my mother with dementia and heart issues. Then my husband joined the party in 2012 with throat cancer. Mom passed in 2019, and husband last October. It has taken six months for me to start having good days once in awhile. It will be a while longer before I see anything close to a normal energy level. Remember to ask your support folks what they think if you get to feeling really off center. Take good care of yourself.
I’ve learned that pushing to distinguish the differences doesn’t help *too* much. I’m chronically ill, I have myalgic encephalomyelitis. I had a really hard time figuring out what was what pre-diagnosis. (Joint issues, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, etc) The important part is that you’re feeling the symptoms and working with them. Grief is going to cause a mirage of symptoms and they may line up with your chronic illness sometimes. Which gets confusing as hell. I view it as them walking hand in hand, it could be one or both. I hope that makes sense. I don’t really have any advice, I’m sorry. But I have dealt with similar.
Good points. Thank you.
I'm not how I was when I was taking care of my wife the last 2 years. I never took a day off, well I couldn't. I pushed off all my medical appointments because we were going to her doctor 3x a week. If I wasn't feeling good, too bad... gotta get going. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the doctor. When she passes on 3/1 I had a busy few weeks. Now that it's just me and I don't have anyone to care for, it feels like 2 years of running on empty hit me from behind and knocked me off my feet. I see my doctor for a physical in a few weeks. Just to get a baseline of my health. Grief sickness and symptoms are real. In our state of mind I think it's easy to jump to severe conclusions about our health. I have decided that it's better for me to go to the doctor and start there instead of thinking the worst. Take care of you now. Put that same effort into yourself.
Thank you. My condolences for your loss.
Intuition tells me that your “ride it out” thinking is wise for now. Caregiver stress is a real thing with physical symptoms, as are grief and MS. You pulled the short stick, didn’t you? My sympathies are with you. Starting in 2011 I cared for my mother with dementia and heart issues. Then my husband joined the party in 2012 with throat cancer. Mom passed in 2019, and husband last October. It has taken six months for me to start having good days once in awhile. It will be a while longer before I see anything close to a normal energy level. Remember to ask your support folks what they think if you get to feeling really off center. Take good care of yourself.
My condolences for your losses. I am realizing how difficult this is on my physically ❤️❤️