Living Daily with Chronic Invisible Illness

Remodeling with Fibromyalia

Up, down, up, down…such is the life of a person who suffers from Fibromyalgia. I wish I had something positive to report on how to handle one’s day. But I don’t…

Pacing yourself is vital to getting through your day if you have Fibromyalgia. I find when I am feeling anxious about what all I need to accomplish, my brain freezes up and my joints start to throb.

Staying relaxed is very important!

Recently we finished remodeling our master bathroom. For two weeks my bedroom sat in a case of disarray as newly awaited bathroom parts found their temporary home next to my side of the bed and old ones lay on top during the process.

Clutter, even for a time, causes confusion, anxiety, and stress to a person with Fibromyalgia.

So even though the process, which included ripping off 30 year old wallpaper from the previous owners, retexturizing the walls, painting a coat of primer, painting the ceiling white, and then adding the robin’s egg blue color to the walls, all took days, it felt like forever with the mess.

It was all I could do to function.

I began by supervising my two children who were assigned the job and then added the mother’s touch of finality making sure each step was done correctly before moving on to the next one. That was what happened on a Tuesday-Friday.

Then, on Friday night when my husband got off work, he and our son laid the new flooring. Saturday brought the new vanity and sink base. They also hung the lighting, and window treatments.

My job was to paint the accessories as I wanted to make my own towel rack and toilet paper holders. They turned out rather nice, if I do say so myself!

I paced myself while painting the items, getting up frequently and walking, laying down to rest in the afternoons. The usual “Get through the day routine with the least amount of pain as possible.”

Against my Fibro body was all the weather during the remodel. Storms and I don’t get along, and it stormed almost every day of this project. Plus, I don’t do repetitious movements for longer than, say, 4 repetitions! More than that and I feel it immediately! Worse, I’ll feel it that night, the next day and the next.

But now I have a beautiful bathroom!

Life goes on when you have Fibromyalgia, although we may not be able to keep up, we still need to get through the days.

Hang in there when remodeling happens. It’s just a season of time and like Fibro-flares, they pass.

~The Fibro Momma of Ten

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