One thing that is often recommended for those of us living with chronic disabilities such as M.E. is to keep an 'energy diary'. Basically this means staying aware of how much we are resting, and how much low/medium/high activity we are doing. Of course, this varies from person to person, as everyone's energy level is different - for example, taking a shower is a high-level activity for me now, but I know that for many people showering isn't something they would classify as difficult.
Anyway, I was advised to do an energy diary when I was first diagnosed; and I did, for a couple of weeks. Honestly though, I found it annoying having to remember to write things down and highlight the colour etc. Recently I became aware that as my health has changed so much, I should start keeping an energy diary again. I resisted starting one, as it's not a 'fun' thing to do, and if done on paper, it does cut into my available energy. So I Googled to see if there were any apps I could use to keep track of what I'm doing, and was amazed to discover one that is actually designed for people in the same situation as myself.
M.E./C.F.S. Diary Pro is an app where writing down what kind of activity I'm doing is as easy as pressing a colour-code button and then tapping the half hour block it correlates to. Not only can you then easily see how much of each thing you've been doing (for example, I can see I need to rest more often), you can add in how bad your symptoms are and access graphs showing the data over time. Of course, I wish the app was a little more adjustable to the individual case, but it is still definitely worth the £4.99 (though it's on offer this month as the new, updated version has only just been released). I am certain I will be using this app for quite a while, and it's much easier than having to map out what I'm doing via pen and paper, as it requires very little effort for me to just press a few buttons instead.
Do you keep an energy diary? Have you found it useful? I would also love to know if there are any other apps other spoonies have found useful.
3 comments:
I use the app 'symple' which sounds pretty similar, but it's free. I have found in the past symptom diaries hard to keep on top on but using the apps makes it much easier :)
Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely look into it when it becomes available on Android.
Hello Tamara
I've been using an app called OptimizeMe for a few weeks. It looks similar to the Diary Pro one, but it isn't geared towards ME/CFS and is only available for IOS devices at the moment, but I believe there is an Android version on the way.
I am finding using an app a much better way of keeping an energy diary. Just the act of recording what I'm doing make me much more aware of what I'm doing.
PS Thank you VERY much for the postcard.
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