Pacing- what approaches have you found helpful?

To godismykeeper —

Go to the “Homepage” for this support group (post-Covid…).

In the “search bar” enter the term “pacing.”

You’ll find that folks have already provided detailed strategies for Pacing in their Comments. Links to those Comments are shown. (Note that these specific Comments were entered under a variety of Discussion topics; that’s why you have to search for them in this way.)

Developing a Pacing strategy that works for oneself requires experimentation. You’ll get better at it over time. Wishing you success with Pacing!

— friedrich

godismykeeper, Bless you. I'm a 3 year Long Hauler from COVID and I still nap every day. My body requires it. I was taking several a day having had double pneumonia with my first 'bout of COVID, so it's better, but still I have to realize napping is healing for me. It doesn't mean I'm lazy (I'm not...I'm a doer), but, to be able to function with all my other responsibilities a nap is wonderful. It refreshes me & helps energize me to get up and do more. I simply feel better after a short nap.

Pacing to me sounds like a way to relieve anxiety unless you are in a lot of pain. I have a dear friend with severe Lyme Disease that paces when he is hurting. I believe it distracts his mind from the pain. Perhaps pacing distracts you from the fatigue and is a great anxiety reliever for you? Just my thoughts.

COVID did a number on a lot of people....others not so much. Long Covid is hard to describe to people that do not have it. It's like explaining a migraine to someone who has never had a headache.

Praying for you will answers to this and what is best for you. There is hope my friend. Blessings & Prayers....

I finally realized i am no longer the same person as i was prior to getting covid and probably never will be.
I have accepted it and anything not required daily,I focus on one project at a time.
I no longer can do 3 projects that may take 45 minutes non stop.
I do one 15 minute project a day.
That is a example of course.
The days of me having a list and getting them all done in onee day are long gone.
I focus on required tasks that have to be done and the rest i sprinkle out over multiple days.
It is not easy to accept but it beats the heck out of the crash that occurs when i over do it.
Hope this helped.

I just started using the app Visible Plus with the Polar 360 arm band for pacing. This app is designed for and by people with Long Covid to help people pace effectively by continuously monitoring heart rate and providing real time feedback when your body is overexerting. It doesn’t account for emotional and cognitive exertion, but it does a great job of helping you stay within your physical energy envelope.

A neuro-PT has me rate everything I do throughout the day on an exertion scale of 1-5. I'm to stay below a 3. This includes all activities - walking up stairs, cooking dinner, emotional stuff, thinking. This was not easy. But after 3 weeks I have a bit more energy and strength, at that same low exertion level. I can do a bit more without crashing. Feeling very hopeful about this aspect of recovery.

To Colorado —

Thank you for describing the Pacing technique given you by your neuro-PT.

I’ve been trying similar rating schemes, and haven’t settled on one yet. I’ll try the 1-5 scale.

Sometimes, circumstances require me to go above a “3” and then I allocate extra time in the following days to recover.

— friedrich

I was doing the same thing. Pushing and then resting. It's when I strictly adhered to not getting up to a 3 that I started improving. I've had to readjust quite a bit in every part of life to accommodate that. I think this slowly rebuilds the energy reserve. For me, worth it.