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Living with chronic health conditions can be a struggle

When treating patients with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Kidney disease or similar….I find myself always explaining the notion of knowing your “empty warning sign” or “red line”.

Often patients who suffer these complaints have to or want to keep up with day to day demands of their lives. Whether that’s work demands, house hold tasks, childcare or just staying above the water with their symptoms it can be a real struggle. During their acupuncture treatments a stage of symptom management is met usually fairly quickly and the patient feels more accessible energy and dampened negative symptoms which invigorates them to do more.

fibromyalgia-symptoms

Doing more is absolutely great and I encourage it but what I see and hear in 8/10 cases is “I felt great so I caught up on X Y or Z and now I feel so very tired, I don’t know what’s happened.”

So what’s going on here?

Well what these patients hear from me next is my explanation for energy management when achieving balance for treatment progression and stability! Think of yourself as a car with a fuel gauge.  When you are working, cleaning or caring for others you are using vital energy, when we are ill we don’t have much energy spare so we tend to conserve or over use and feel drained. In this state you are often always on the “red line” and burning your reserves into fumes! So when you intially feel more energetic and able like you’ve got a quarter tank, burn it all up miss the empty warning light for the “red line” and burn straight back into fumes; starting at the point you wanted to get away from!

In order to rebuild your energy you need to know what your body uses as your warning light!!! You cannot replenish on fumes every time.  Signs from the body usually include; light headedness or dizziness, aching, burning or dry eyes, sore joints and of course feeling tired.

Many chronic suffers ignore these signs so they feel they are “fighting” their condition but really they’re fighting themselves. If you listen to your signs, sit and relax, eat something nutritious and rest your body for half an hour or so you’ll find you recover and get past your red line and rebuild your reserve rather than burning out. Listen to your body regularly and realise this is not your giving in to weakness but restoring your strength!

Laura Jones – Acupuncturist – Cedar Hall Clinics

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