One of the hardest thing about having rheumatoid arthritis is the setbacks. After days of increased energy, the malaise fairy visited me. To think, a year ago, I did not even know what the word “malaise” meant.
For those of who have never heard the term, malaise is pronounced muh-laze and it is defined as a general ill feeling. This general ill feeling means a combination of fatigue, lack of energy, body aches, sleepiness, drowsiness, and weakness. Malaise is mainly associated with systemic diseases. Depending on the disease, it can develop slowly or quickly. Diseases known to cause malaise include lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and systemic lupus.
Lucky for me, I scored with two of these conditions. Malaise feels like having the flu except you know you don’t have the flu. It is like feeling sick and just not feeling right at the same time. It is something a nap can’t cure.
One of the biggest mistakes that us RA’ers make is trying to do everything on our “good days.” Of course, I know I overdid it with Thanksgiving and having a four-day weekend, I tried to get everything and anything done, and now, I am having a setback. Another mistake that us RA’ers make is that we look at the good days are a good sign of our getting better when in reality, they are nothing more than good days.
One of the hardest thing about having rheumatoid arthritis is the setbacks. After days of increased energy, the malaise fairy visited me. To think, a year ago, I did not even know what the word “malaise” meant.
For those of who have never heard the term, malaise is pronounced muh-laze and it is defined as a general ill feeling. This general ill feeling means a combination of fatigue, lack of energy, body aches, sleepiness, drowsiness, and weakness. Malaise is mainly associated with systemic diseases. Depending on the disease, it can develop slowly or quickly. Diseases known to cause malaise include lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and systemic lupus.
Lucky for me, I scored with two of these conditions. Malaise feels like having the flu except you know you don’t have the flu. It is like feeling sick and just not feeling right at the same time. It is something a nap can’t cure.
One of the biggest mistakes that us RA’ers make is trying to do everything on our “good days.” Of course, I know I overdid it with Thanksgiving and having a four-day weekend, I tried to get everything and anything done, and now, I am having a setback. Another mistake that us RA’ers make is that we look at the good days are a good sign of our getting better when in reality, they are nothing more than good days.
I hate setbacks, don’t you?