The Question

The question I constantly ask myself is: Is it worth it or should I rest? Many people never have to ask themselves this question, but I have to every single day.

This is normally how it goes:

I get up and start moving around, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, getting dressed, etc. That leads to me taking my pills (Omega 3-6-9, B6, B12, and C) and doing my morning social media check. By the time I'm ready to leave, usually that's when my pain begins.

At this point, I am usually sitting on my bed, thinking, "Should I cancel on dinner plans for tonight?" I weigh the pros and cons and come up with the following arguments.

1. No way! I'll be fine.

2. Nope. Would you rather go out and have fun and make memories, or sit at home, bored and wishing you were out having a good time with your loved ones?

3. No; I can rest during the day and move some things to the next day (which goes along with the spoon theory. If you haven't heard of it, here: http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/wpress/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/)

4. Yes; I need to rest. Taking care of myself is so important. If I rest now, I'll be able to have more fun later.

If you'll notice, I have 3 nos up there and only 1 yes. Does this mean that I value socializing over my own health and well being? Not necessarily, but part of the "no" is definitely denial.

I often do go out when I know that I shouldn't. I'm stubborn, that's just me... my mom will agree with me on that one! Haha!

Sometimes I get so angry with myself for having this disease and I want to prove to the world that I am strong and it doesn't affect me. But the truth is... it does. When I'm having a good day, I'm on cloud nine. Sometimes I forget about RSD. I'll go sing karaoke with my friends or go out to eat dinner with my best friend or hang out with my niece, and the world is my oyster. But when I get home and wake up the next morning, I know that I did too much.

So what's the secret to getting it right?

I'm not sure, honestly.

My number one focus is living life to its fullest. The trade off for that is foot pain.

The thing is: there is no concrete way of knowing what my pain level will be the next day. I can take preventative measures, but that still won't really allow me to gauge my future pain level.

So tonight, when I think about whether I should go to dinner with my friend Justin... or if I should stay home... I'm going to be a bit more realistic and bring an ice pack along. I'm going to wear my Z Coil shoes instead of a cute outfit and heels. I'm going to take care of myself and compromise some things that aren't essential for one of the best things in life - spending time with a good friend.

I hope you guys will be able to do the same! Make compromises with yourself and see how much better you feel. Let me know what you think in the comments. :)

XOXO
-Sammie