Advice 'dont Overdo Things'

[ramakentesh]

Does any one else here have trouble seeing or noticing when they have 'overdone' things - I often find that on good days i feel ok and can do a variety of things and dont seem to notice any immediate problems, but the next few days i get the pay back. But i cant seem to guage when ive overdone things recently.

Any advice would be grand.

As background i have moderately severe POTS with long intermittent periods of low symptoms in between.

[Megan]

I notice this sometimes. I feel fine while I'm doing whatever, but the next day it becomes blatantly obvious that I should not have been doing it. The best advice I can give you is to learn from past experiences. If it was too far once, it likely will be again. Also, don't go until you feel as though you've reached your limit. Stop BEFORE you feel that way. But I'm still learning, too. So share any tips you find for yourself!

Meg

[ramakentesh]

Yeah its a tough one. last time i was in a pot hole i pretty much exercised myself out of it with starting off very slowly -200 metre walks to full on stuff later on as a gradual thing. However this time im not able to get away with as much. On one day i can do things without any problem, but on other days it seems to set me back. Trial and error i guess

[Ernie]

Hi,

I agree that it's with experience and trial and error. Each person has their own limits and you are the best one to know and learn yours.

[iheartcats]

I'm very bad at this. My doctor even tells me to try not to overdo it so much...he agrees I'm likely not really 'harming' my body horribly or anything, but I feel AWFUL, tachy (high heart rate), etc. with a bad spell.

When I feel well (well for me which isn't fantastic!), I just want to get stuff done. So it is hard to know when you're 'overdoing it.' Sometimes I overdo it and recover quickly, others times I pay.

This condition is so up and down it's hard to gauge, so I feel.

[EarthMother]

I use to spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure this one out. But for me over the years I have seen that sometimes I crash for no apparent reason! The same activity one day may have no post effects, but the exact same thing on another day may be followed by a multi-day crash.

At this point, I do what I can do, when I can do it. And spend less time trying to analyze cause and effect. Because for me at least the possibilities are endless (what did I eat? how did I sleep? what was the barametic pressure (and yes this makes a difference for me as well!) the temperature, my hydration level etc. etc. etc.)

[Rachel]

I agree with the others. It is hard to learn just how to pace yourself. Each person is different, so you just have to learn what works for you. As your health changes you sometimes have to re-learn how to pace yourself. It's a delicate balancing act.

The only advice I have would be to maybe take it a little easier on the good days. If you are crashing after a good day then you probably over-did it. You can try cutting back on your activity level the next time you have a good day. Once you get to the point that you are only a little more tired than normal for a day or two after a good day, that may be a good pace.

We have to be careful to do enough so that we don't become too deconditioned, but we also have to be careful to not over-do it and make our symptoms flare up even worse. It is so hard to find the right balance between the two! And like EM said, sometimes it is impossible to even tell what brought on a crash. They just happen.

Rachel

[Tammy]

I over-do-it every day at some point - only because my daughter is 3 and she needs mom to do a lot for her. Right now I'm laying down in bed because I was trying to sort through her vhs tapes and organize them a bit (and was kneeling to do so because of the shelves they are on), which apparently was too much for my body today, and as I'm resting she's bringing me things from the refridgerator that she wants to eat so I keep having to get up and cut up fruit or put something in the microwave, etc. as I'm feeling like I'm going to collapse. And I have to second that what I've ate, drank, weather, stress, my cycle, etc. all affect what I'm able or not able to do each day. So we all can try to not over do it, but circumstances beyond our control may prevent that from happening

[MomtoGiuliana]

I admit I have stopped trying to figure this out for myself. I can really push myself some days/weeks and be fine and do the same thing another day/week and suddenly feel poorly. The one constant need for me though is adequate rest and hydration.

[ana_22]

correct me if i am wrong....but i think i read somewhere that chronic fatigue patients measure their temperature when doing things and if it has fallen this means they are overdoing it?

i vaguely remember reading this somewhere...has anyone heard of this technique?