Handling the chores when I feel like crap, but I’m not that sick

I feel like crap, but I’m not badly sick. I decide I might as well get busy so I can feel accomplished at the end of the day. I make this decision often, but it’s a little more challenging with my chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Sometimes my decision is to go back to bed. What do I base that on? Here my action plan comes into play: I check in with myself and review the plan daily. If I’ve had no fever and no change in mucus, have slept well, and have good oxygen saturation, I’ll stay up and try to make the best of the day.

On those crappy days, I’ll probably take it a bit easy unless I get a boost of energy after my morning exercises. That boost occurs often, thankfully, which reinforces the benefits of exercise.

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Tackling the day’s duties

OK, so the day isn’t off to a great start because I didn’t get the carafe under the coffee maker correctly. Now I must clean the countertop, where the coffee spilled, and the floor, where the coffee ran off the countertop. Oh, well, I was planning to mop the floor anyway.

Once that’s cleaned up, let’s see if the Howard Restor-A-Finish will work on my kitchen cabinets or if I’ll have to take another route. Yes! The stuff appears as magical as advertised, making the chore a lot easier.

So now what’s on my list? Oh, yes, time to vacuum and change the bedding. I have to empty the vacuum first, so I go to the garage, put on an N95 mask, and dump the dirt into the garbage can. I leave the garage door open so the dust doesn’t end up in my house or my lungs.

Changing linens on the bed requires considerable energy, so I monitor my breathing and oxygen and take breaks as necessary. That’s a far cry from how I used to rush through this chore to see how fast I could complete it.

Changing the bed demonstrates how COPD has changed my life, though I try not to dwell on it. Instead, I do my best at the task while ensuring my oxygen saturation stays above 88%.

Once I finish my house chores, I slow down and conserve energy for a while. The remainder of the day will involve much less strenuous tasks, such as attending my monthly meeting of the peer coaching group and then going out with a couple of my old friends for ice cream and maybe something else to eat.

There’s one more task on my list: folding the laundry and putting it away. But I’ll see how I feel once I complete my evening walk. That’s another way COPD has changed me; before my disease, I would’ve folded the laundry and put it away no matter how tired I was.

Since being diagnosed with COPD, I’ve learned not to push myself to the point of being too tired. If I do, I need more than a good night’s sleep to recuperate, so another day will be ruined by needing to spend time resting. It’s worth it to take things a little slower so I can enjoy having more energy each day.

We need to learn our limitations, follow the new rules that come with COPD, and try to live the best lives that we can.

Note: COPD News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of COPD News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.