My autoimmune disease has sapped both my energy and my strength -

[hedgehog]

it takes forever to get anything done! I'm doing better now, but for a while it was all i could do to fold a basket of laundry! As a result, my house shows a sever lack of housekeeping. Also - I haven't been able to do the gardening I'd like to do.

So - my youngest is home for a few weeks between ending college and starting her job, and she is cleaning my entire downstairs. My husband went out one afternoon and cleaned up a rose bed that had gotten totally away from me.

These are two things off my mind; it feels better already!

It's hard to let other people do things for you, but sometimes it's not only OK, it's the right thing to do!

[Warpy]

1. My house looks like an episode of Hoarders

because I've spent the last 5 weeks caring for a wrenched back on top of all the autoimmune garbage. Now I have to flog myself into making it vaguely presentable and clear a path from front door to kitchen because the refrigerator I've hated for 17 years has finally conked out.

You're not alone in this. Unless we don't own anything and don't have any hobbies and can afford a cleaning service, most of us with autoimmune diseases live in a disaster area.

[hedgehog]

3. I told everyone, that on the days I'm feeling stronger, I'll be outside in the

garden, not inside in the house!

I could have a tidy house, but then I'd have to give up all my hobbies! I'd rather have fun in the clutter than sit around something that looks like a Better Home and Gardens photoshoot!

[deek]

10. Life is hard, and then it gets harder.

"You're not alone in this. Unless we don't own anything and don't have any hobbies and can afford a cleaning service, most of us with autoimmune diseases live in a disaster area."

I agree wholeheartedly! But even though friends/relatives know about our chronic diseases, it is still difficult for them to understand how much it impacts everything. We are NOT lazy.

[Warpy]

11. My fridge that I've hated for 17 years finally died

and I'm finding crap from the Paleolithic in the back of it. I will never, ever get stuck with a side by side as long as I live, they're horrible, that narrow and deep construction really hard on those of us with joint problems to keep clean.

FML.

[MuseRider]

2. Agree with Warpy

and I am so sorry to hear you have been down.

I have RA. It is very mild but it is still, at times, debilitating. Everyone loses patience but I do what I can do. My husband had heart surgery last year, it was much more extensive than we knew it was going to be. He recovered fairly quickly but the aftermath for me was horrendous and I certainly did not expect it. Pneumonia x2 followed by Whooping cough and I am still trying to recover.

With an auto immune disorder you just have to do what you can when you can.

For me it is getting a little done at a time. My husband feels great and keeps pushing to add more but I know my limits and just have to put what he wants and says out of my mind. I know I will be better, that is the good part about this not being something else that never gets better. Everyone just has to wait for it like I do, like you do, like everyone does. I wish my face would turn colors or something so nobody thought I was just faking it.

I am glad you have that support, use it and get better quicker!

[hedgehog]

4. Given the family history, I figure sooner or later I'll be diagnosed with Lupus.

The one nice thing you can say about a butterfly rash, at least people can see it!

[MuseRider]

5. True but it still sucks.

So sorry. I don't have Lupus in the family thankfully. AND I am very lucky to have a mild RA. My Maternal Grandfather died because of it as did 2 Paternal Great Aunts.

Hope Lupus skips you.

[Downwinder]

6. I never do anything that I can put off until tomorrow.

Hopefully tomorrow will never come.

I tell myself that maneuvering around piles is therapy.

[KC]

7. It's horrible

not having the energy or the strength
to do what needs to be done around
the house. It's all I can do to do a small
load of laundry and if up to it I will
fold them, if not I put it off til the
next day.
Most don't understand, but I can only
do what I'm able to do. If they don't
like it they can come help!

[hedgehog]

8. I think that for many of us, the hard part is accepting that

other people can help. In American culture, it's a shameful thing to let other people do things for you. We need to get over that.

[mopinko]

9. it can be so freaking isolating.

my kids are bigger, and my husband finally learned to operate a vacuum cleaner and the dishwasher, so it's only embarrassing to have people drop in at the house. for so many years when my kids were little it was just unthinkable.
it was hard on me and hard on them to just never allow anyone in the house.

youngest finally lends a hand now and then.

[dcfibro]

12. It's difficult to accept

that you can't do all the things you used to, at least for me. Having been a neat freak, superwoman, the queen of multitasking, etc.; now I also take forever getting things done. I am exhausted by the time I finish showering. It took a lot of work for me to just let go and allow things to go undone, but it was necessary for my sanity.

[TBF]

13. That has been my experience as well -

the worst side effect of my arthritis is the fatigue. While I'd rather have that than the pain some suffer with on a daily basis it is still a big adjustment to face the fact that you have a chronic illness and sometimes resting is the best you can do.

[PasadenaTrudy]

14. Same here....

Fibromyalgia. Today my goal is to wash my sheets and make my bed. It's a king size so it tires me out just making it!

I've been wiping down the kitchen and bathroom countertops and sinks before bed so I stay on top of the grime. I use Mrs. Meyer's counter top spray so I enjoy the smell. It does make it easier to tackle.

I learned that I have the blood marker for lupus. Not sure if that means I will get it or not...hope not. No one in my family has it..