Our house has been plagued by persistent illnesses of late. 

A sickness bug and semi-flu like colds that we keep passing back and forth: unable to shift. Add in teething, some sleepless nights and seizures (me, not Dylan) and I’m absolutely knackered. 

Today, actually, it’s fair to say I’m properly fatigued. It’s hard to explain what fatigue feels like. Its muggy and heavy and normal things require more effort than they should. No amount of lemon water, kale or a hundred turmeric lattes will fix it. And sleep doesn’t actually help much either.

A large proportion of mums have returned to work at this point. And I’m very aware that I’m fortunate to remain on maternity leave whilst also having Dylan in nursery 2 days a week. 

We do, unfortunately, seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in hospital waiting rooms… but I think he’s used to it now – and so am I! The 2 days at nursery give me a chance to do uninterrupted physio stuff (I also don’t feel too bad about it because he has loads of fun and by the amount he eats its clear the chef is a much better cook than me!).

I will, of course, be picking up freelance work again soon and by soon I mean in the next couple of months.

As I quite literally flopped onto the sofa this morning to have a little rest, I thought about the things Health Visitors and Midwives tell new mums (certainly in the early weeks and months) the say that we are best placed to sleep when the baby sleeps (!) , carve out some time for ourselves (ha – good luck with that!). And the housework? That can definitely wait.

It’s all good advice. But the problem is it’s not very feasible. But it can, I think, be applied to attempting to manage bouts of fatigue.

Its muggy and heavy and normal things require way more effort than they should

I recently asked my Instagram followers for their tips for dealing with life overload (house stuff combined with a baby and medical appointments, etc., etc.) and the resounding advice was to strip things back to the bare minimum. Lower standards on housework (Even as a temporary measure… Say, in a busy week.). And crucially (to try to) not to feel bad about it.

“Be kind to yourself,” the Insta quotes proclaim. Perhaps it’s not such a cliche after all?

I think I might treat myself to shaving my legs this week!! (And before you think wtf – it’s a ‘treat’ because I can’t do them standing up in the shower due to rubbish balance, I have to sit down somewhere and have my left (weak leg) up on a stool and two hands free to maneuver which makes it feel more of a big job!!).

For now though, wish me luck submitting my tax return. I’m almost done which with just a day until the deadline, it’s safe to say I’m cutting it fine. You’ll find me eating ALLLLL the biscuits for the remainder of the morning.

Once I’m feeling a bit less fatigued I’ll be back to share some tips for managing brain tumour (and epilepsy) related fatigue. It would seem a bit rich in the midst of a deepening slump myself. So I’ll save it for another day when my brain works.

If you’re reading this and feel a bit the same then be safe in the knowledge that YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

And in the meantime, you’ll find some excellent resources below.

Be back soon.

Sar X

Brain Tumour Charity

Brainstrust

Macmillan Cancer Support

Image: the cheeriest building on the Manchester NHS Foundation Trust site.