Hi everyone, I've posted a couple of times about my Dad. He was put on Rituximab about 3 months ago after trying other meds which made him sick.
He has been complaining of being exhausted. Says he does his two hour walk in the morning and is no good for anything else for the rest of the day. Is this normal? Or should I be gently persuading him to see his Doctor? I'm living in India at present but thankfully returning home next month so I'll be able to keep a better eye on him!
Fatigue is very common in Vasculitis. I wonder if the problem is the 2 hour walk, I am not surprised he is exhausted after that. He probably needs to learn to pace himself.
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Haha yes Keyes, he's tapered it down from 4 hours! Ex army major with a sit down you die attitude. I'll be staying with him for a month so I'll try and make him rest more. Thanks for the reply
I was going to say exactly the same as Keyes! Fatigue is part of autoimmune disorders of all sorts - however well the symptoms are managed, the actual disease is often chugging along in the background and has a similar effect on the body to a really bad cold or even flu.
He can probably carry on with walking - but he could try an hour and an hour with a rest in between. I couldn't walk for 2 hours without being tired but I can manage 1 hour and 1 hour. Stopping for lunch in the middle is a good plan...
Keyes has given you the gorilla and the spoons stories. This is a post I wrote a long time ago about pacing:
There are links at the end to two excellent resources, the second in particular is very comprehensive. All autoimmune disease and pacing is similar - you might find something there that helps convince him!
Thanks so much for your reply PMRpro. Dad keeps getting chest infections and just had a big chunk of his ear removed due to skin cancer. It's interesting to note the toll being taken on his body aside from those things. I'm hoping he might come and live with us when we're home so hopefully he won't feel the need to get out of the house as much as he lives alone. Thanks again!
You might find these interesting in explaining chronic illness.
My personal favourite is the Gorilla in your house. It can be a difficult balance between accepting your limitations and giving in completely. In many ways the psychological burden of disease is just as onerous as the physical.
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Oh that's great. Very interesting. Thank you so much!
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A question on behalf of someone else, asked this morning by email, a new member to Vasculitis UK
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