Lupus and Fatigue: A new Schedule changes everything

I lied. 

Back in December, I told you my fatigue rolls into town once a day, every afternoon. 

I told you it's part of my daily routine, one that I have accepted and learned to embrace. Here's the post. It's all true.

But what I wasn't entirely upfront about is how I feel about unexpected fatigue. The fatigue that hits mid-morning, or right after school, or again around 7pm. 

The kind of fatigue that gets in the way. That upends my plans. That forces me to change how and when I do things. 

That kind of fatigue is not welcomed here. 

It makes me resentful. And annoyed. And disheartened. 

These waves of fatigue haven't always happened. I had it under control for years. Every weekday, my alarm would go off at 6:45 am. I'd get up, take the girls to school, and come back to accomplish some combination of exercise, work, and errands.  Around 12:45p, my internal alarm would sound, and I'd usher myself off for an (expected) afternoon nap. It was like clockwork - six hours after I woke up, I'd get sleepy. Even on the weekends, when I would sleep in. Six hours after I woke up, I'd be ready to nap. 

But ever since Deirdre started high school in September, we've been getting up almost an hour earlier. And almost every day since, I've had to come home and take a morning siesta.

Not cool or convenient for a perfectly planned out morning like mine. 

And then any sleep I do get in the morning throws off my afternoon nap. And then a later afternoon nap conflicts with school pickup, or after school activities. And when I don't get a full afternoon nap, dinner time and nighttime routines get complicated by fatigue. 

So, no, I have not embraced my morning fatigue. I have not learned to live with it. 

I am currently sulking.