“How bad can fibro fog be?” This is a question I have been asked more times than I can count.
This is what trying to do one chore with fibromyalgia is like when you have fibro fog:
- What is Fibromyalgia?
- What Are Common Fibromyalgia Symptoms?
Yesterday was laundry day – a simple enough chore, for most!
I hate doing laundry…so I do marathon laundry once a week. I try to get the week’s worth washed, dried, folded and put away on Fridays. Most of the time I am successful!
Thursday night I asked my hubby to gather the laundry hamper, towels, etc. and bring them into the kitchen (I have a laundry closet attached to the kitchen). I had been weeding that day and my back was aching. With fibromyalgia, I find I need to ask for help to be successful!
Friday morning I tried to ignore the piles awaiting me while I tried to shake off the morning aches. Finally, I sorted everything into lights, darks, colors and towels and sheets – four piles total.
I loaded the whites into the front loader and added soap and vinegar (I prefer it over fabric softener). Turned the machine on and went to watch an episode of 13 Reasons. 15 minutes later I realize I don’t hear the laundry going… Yes, I had forgotten to turn it on. Restart it.
40 minutes later I switched the whites into the dryer, reloaded the washer, reset it and double checked that I turned it on!
The dryer is done, so I pull things out one at a time (I hate the bending and reaching – painful), fold and place in the hamper. Once all loads are done, it is easy enough to take them into the bedroom to immediately get put away.
I then grabbed all the dirty clothes and shoved them in the dryer, turned it on and walked away, going to have a shower.
When did I realize this? It occurred to me in the shower that something was wrong, but I had no idea what I had done.
I go back into the kitchen and it dawns on me, so I pull everything out of the dryer onto the floor, then start putting the clean wash into the dryer, dropping about half in the process because my hands had one again gone numb and tingly and didn’t want to work correctly.
Of course, between dropping the clean laundry onto the dirty laundry and having numb hands, I couldn’t feel what was damp and what wasn’t. So I then had to rewash half of the load. So I reload the wash, add soap and vinegar and turn it on.
I come back to check on the laundry…and I forgot to turn the machine on. Again!
At that moment, I sunk to the floor and burst into tears. I am finishing laundry this morning – I just walked away last night!
That is a moment in my life of fibro fog.
Cheers,
Chelle
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Thinkstock photo via Andrew Olney.
40, Married, almost empty nester, budding blogger. I was diagnosed as a child with depression, and battled it all my life. In 2009, something changed, my depression became unmanageable, I was riddled with anxiety and starting to feel the effects of Fibromyalgia. I was classified as disabled in 2010. It was a long journey but I was “officially” diagnosed only a couple of years ago, although we were already treating me for it!
chelle-iredale