How do I combat mental fatigue during neutropenia?
During my neutropenic moments, I went a little stir-crazy. While I didn't feel that great and didn't feel like going out and doing normal activities, I still go tired of staring at the walls. Ways that I combated this fatigue were:
- Movies: This was a great time to catch up on movies that I never got around to seeing when I was healthy. I also got seasons of TV shows and watched them all. Lost, one of my all-time favorite series, got my full attention during transplant.
- Books and magazines: I actually preferred reading magazines because my attention span was short. I read a lot.
- Cooking: I started cooking up my favorite healthy meals. I started getting really creative, especially during transplant. Some of my favorites were fresh fruit compote where I took berries, bananas and apples, added a little butter, cinnamon and lemon and sauteed them up thoroughly. I added that over waffles and yum! I also grilled up veggies, steamed spinach and made soups.
- Drives: My dad, who was my caregiver during my second transplant, took me on long drives up the Utah canyons in the fall. It was beautiful and I just needed to get out of the house. It was a nice mental break.
- Journaling: I kept an online journal. I enjoyed writing.
- Hangin' at clinic: During those long clinic appointments, I encouraged my dad to take a break for himself. I was being well taken care of by my nurses and he could go do something for himself.
- Rest: My body just needed the sleep so lying in bed and doing absolutely nothing was an important part of the healing process. I needed to give my body that time and attention, even if I mentally didn't feel like it.
