It is an understatement of almost epic proportions to say that mornings are not my best time. The last four or five days have been especially bad. I have been dreaming vividly, which always leaves me tired when I wake up. I am getting to sleep sooner and sleeping as late as I can (so much for yoga at 5:30) and I still barely have the energy to haul myself into work.
There are a lot of factors at play causing this, a big one being the cold weather. I have been taking cyclobenzaprine the last few nights, and it does seem to help some of my stiffness in the morning. Mostly I am trying to get as much work done as possible before the holiday and get any last-minutes cards and packing done. I keep a wary eye on the weather reports and my fingers crossed for smooth travel on Thursday.
But mostly, I just don’t have enough spoons. I’m not sure if it is rushing around to get things done for the holiday, but I feel like I’m winding up for a flare like the one I experienced at Thanksgiving. I’ve spoken with a few folks who list stress as a trigger for flares, and I’m beginning to suspect that may be the case for me as well. There are a few other issues I am tracking that probably have an impact as well, but I’m still new to identifying and tracking my RA, so it may take a few more rounds to know for sure. This is especially frustrating- knowing that x may or may not make things worse, but not knowing what I can do to head things off other than what I already do.
Redefining "Good" 