Fatigue is my enemy

By Tatjana van der Krabben

For me personally fatigue is the cruelest lipedema symptom of them all. I can push through pain, happily fool myself into believing my legs and arms aren’t all that large (imagine the surprise when I went up a size), but the fatigue is always there. Two bad nights in a row? I’ll have to run on coffee for three days. A trip to New York City and walking 6-7 miles a couple of days in a row? I honestly look like I pulled an all-nighter.

Taking and having a moment at the New York library

 

It’s the stuff that drives me up the wall, the stuff I can’t fix. It got a lot better after liposuction and by upping vitamin B12, but I still don’t come close to the energy levels of a healthy person. It’s never enough, really. I’m full of ideas. There’s so much I want to do and all I constantly seem to do is weighing pros and cons, subtracting the estimated amount of energy per activity of the estimated total. I had to drop things along the way or conclude afterwards that a repeat of an activity may not be wise, even though I had a wonderful time. I can’t stand it.

Gem of a beach, the Algarve, Portugal - roughly 200 steps to reach it

Give me spoons*! I want to scream at the universe. Give me spoons to live my life, be there for my kids the way I would like to be there for them, to see more of the world, build my business, to help my ageing mother and actually have a social life.

It’s a little worse in fall and winter. I’m currently adjusting. Again. But I’m not motivated, because I don’t want to adjust. I just want to go about my routines as if it were spring or summer. Minimum. I would be better off going with the flow and deal with the facts, but right now I’m too busy being angry. I’ll learn. Again. And I will adjust. Again. Just not today.

*Spoon theory

Visiting San Jose Mission in San Antonio, TX

By Christina Routon

Since moving to San Antonio a month ago my life has been a whirlwind! But we've finally gotten the house (mostly) unpacked and settled into our new jobs. It's now time to do some sightseeing.

Mission San Jose is part of the National Park System. It's one of five missions set near San Antonio with the most famous mission being what's known today as the Alamo. We started our mission journey here because the visitor's center for the National Park Service is here and they have a 20 minute video about the indigenous people here and how they came to live at the missions.

Mission San Jose is known as the "Queen of the Missions" and is still an active parish today. In fact, all of the missions except the Alamo are active churches. The local diocese handles maintenance and repair on the church building while the National Park Service cares for the rest of the property.

For many of us with Lipedema, we have mobility issues or problems being on our feet for a long time. This mission is very easy to visit with a flat layout and paved trail around the courtyard in case you use a scooter or wheelchair. There are benches all around the courtyard and plenty of shade under the mesquite trees. There are about three steps going into the church if you want to go inside.

The weather was awesome the day we visited, with a nice breeze blowing through the trees. But sunscreen is definitely recommended in the Texas sun. The wind makes it feel cooler than it really is and I did come home with a bit of sunburn.

We'll be visiting the rest of the missions, including the famous Alamo, within the next month. If you want to see the rest of my photos from Mission San Jose, check out the shared album in DropBox.
_________________________________________________________________________

Every now and again we want to focus on the good things in the world. Just because we have Lipedema doesn't mean we need to give up all of our hopes and our dreams. We are a diverse group of women with awesome hobbies, jobs, families, knowledge and skills. I invite anyone who wants to participate to send in a post about how you're Living with Lipedema.

Other Lipedema lifestyle posts: Tatjana - Lipedema in the World