No two people with fibro feel exactly the same way....my symptoms will be different than someone else's. And my symptoms vary day to day....I'll have different things bother me today than yesterday, or to a greater or lesser extent.

Even following my daily regimen carefully to help control symptoms, I have to carefully pace myself to avoid flares. When I spring-clean, there is lots of stopping and starting LOL

I hope this makes sense.....I'm glad you are seeing a doctor about your symptoms, to rule out other things.

HUGS from down south :)

I am at that point now (as you described). I get very tired very fast. God blessed me over the weekend by making sure my mower did not start. I had a day I felt good and decided why should I pay the guys to come mow it when I could do it...just a small area. The mower didn't start and it's a good thing or I would have ended up in bed today.
Learn to listen to your body...it speaks loudly and we pay when we don't listen.

spring cleaning?! what's that?! haha

I'm doing good if I do the bare minimum, and it's hard for me to even do that. When I do have to clean, I can tackle one chore like cleaning the bathroom and space that out over one day.

If I have to vacuum or mop, that's another day.

I'm in the same boat as fibrolizzy! I'm killing myself just doing the bare minimum. I cleaned our bedroom and bathroom, that took me two days to complete and I didn't even complete it!! I cleaned the tub, both vanity's and the toilet and said " screw the tub!".

I hope you are able to get answers and relief.

Duh!!! Shower

yet another fibro moment!

Cleaning the house is the most upsetting issue I have! It is bad enough that I am in pain all the time but not to be able to clean my house is making me feel worse. my Fibro affects my legs and I have major trouble standing and walking so unless I can clean something while sitting I can't really do much not even cook for my kids. Luckily they are 15 and 21 so they can help themselves. But I feel so bad. love muthasad

I just do whatever I can in slow motion. I start with necessities and if I can't get to anything outside that it's left undone.

i find that i have my most energy in the morning. i'll clean for a little bit and when my back starts to hurt and i get a little tired, i will sit in front of the tv with my heating pad on my back and have a small snack. then when the pain goes away, i get up and do some more. if you do it in small batches, it is easier to recover and your energy should go further. my husband will usually do the big jobs and on very very rare occasions, my kids will help out.

I hired a cleaning service to come two times a month. I just couldn't do it get to work the next day. Plus I hate cleaning!

As I've written within other topics, I used to be very active - mowing the lawn, doing the gardening and yardwork, cleaning the entire house every week, etc. Since Fibro, my muscles tighten during sleep and it's difficult for me to touch my toes within the first hour of waking.

Additionally, my muscles seize up. For example, I've nearly collapsed into the sink while bending over to wash my face. Certain muscles become more fatigued and weak than others.

Something that has helped immensely - walking late at night, every night. Thanks to my dog's potty habits, I take them out early every morning for a walk and late every night for the final walk of the day. That has kept my muscles more flexible.

But, overuse of any sort will require a price to be paid. Having the audacity to bathe my Yorkie will result in my arms feeling as though I spent hours lifting weights. It'll be hard for hours afterward to make a fist, to hold a pen, to write, etc.

I feel so so blessed.
My sister comes once a month to help me clean.
I try to keep up the middles... no moving furniture for me.
I only hope she knows how much I apprieciate all she does.

Good Luck Ladies,
& if you can get sone help once in a while.

O how I hear and feel your pain. It has taken me two days just to clean the bedroom. Never, ever has it taken two days. I start early in the morning, about 8:00 an am done by noon. The pain in the back, shoulders, arms and neck is so severe that I have to sit on my special chair that have a messager. Cleaning is deffinately a killer for Fibro suffers.
All I can say is work in small stages, so what if it takes through the summer, Good luck and keep it up, One day at a time, one Hour at a time. Have to accept we cannot do what we use to do, this is one of the hardest things to do....accept it!!

I know how you feel. I hardly do any cleaning and there are certain jobs I just can't do like mopping and scrubbing the tub. I haven't mopped a floor in quite a few years. My boys live with me right now so I get them to clean the bathroom and do the floors. I will wash dishes sometimes and try to keep my room tidy. Even standing long enough to cook supper is not possible some evenings now, it really sucks and makes me very depressed. My nearest family (sisters) live an hour away and don't come by very often so I hate to ask them to help with cleaning. Basically for me if I can't do it and I can't get the boys to do it it doesn't get done - and I don't sweat it. Its not worth being in so much pain just to have a shiny floor. I can sweep and that's good enough. We have to learn to accept our limitations and just do what we can do comfortably.
Best of luck to you, maybe you could get some help if you feel spring cleaning is really necessary.

I hear all of you! I am a single Mom and neither of my kids are nearby-my son lives in Spain, and my daughter lives in Washington, DC. I live quite a way out on Long Island, NY. When my husband left in 1990, I was just diagnosed with fibro. and lupus, but was able to keep up pretty well. I got a job, was able to take care of the kids, and in the years that followed, was able to pay off my house. But in 2008, I was let go from my job because of memory problems messed up my paperwork. Now, though, my house is a mess, and it makes me crazy. I have to keep the first floor relatively clean because I have two kids and an adult who come here for piano lessons. But forget the upstairs-that's where everything goes when I clean. I used to keep the lights, the ceiling fan, windows, etc clean, but not now. Also, I suffered a TBI 2 years ago when I fell and hit my head on my cement basement floor. So now I have dizziness and balance problems added to the fibro. and lupus. I am not comfortable reaching up high, or standing on a chair to clean, etc. There are some days I am so angry-I prided myself in keeping up my house and yard, but now, there is so much I can't do, and don't have anybody around who can help me. And since I lost my job, and am waiting to get approved for SSD, there is not even any money to have someone come in and help with the yard. I just got a letter from the bank saying that if I don't pay $1200 in 30 days (I haven't been able to make payments on my home equity line of credit) they will foreclose on it. And about 2 months ago, I fell and tore the ligaments of my ankle, and can't do anything yet.

So I really hate that I can't do the things I used to be able to do. I guess it's just something I have to get used to (even after all these years, I am still in some kind of denial, I guess). I just get kind of embarrassed when people come into my house because it's so ratty looking-vinyl tiles missing on the floor, old worn rugs, etc. Oh well, we all have different things we have to deal with, and I always tell myself things could be worse. God Bless all of you. Kathy

Like Cajun Tiger said, no 2 people with FM feel the same way. However, I have noticed that when I feel pretty good, it becomes a day to "spring clean" and by the time that I am finished I am SO sore. One thing that I have learned, ti is ok to do things when you feel better, but don't do as much as you would if did not have FM. Be careful. Take care of yourself.