One of the things that, as a lupus spouse, I find myself having to do almost daily is telling my wife to take it easy. It appears to me that once she gets going in the morning, which is a very difficult time for her, she tries to do as much as she can before she falls apart and runs out of energy.

It’s like she’s trying to beat her illness in a sprint. The real problem with this is that she never wins this race, because the race never ends. Her illness never stops. Lupus doesn’t suddenly give up and say, “Okay, you win.”

What happens more often than not is that she will continue until she ends up getting so sick that she has to spend time in bed (if we’re lucky) and the hospital (if we’re not).

I think she needs to spread things out a bit more so that she’s not so worn down. She’s pretty sick right now, and I still have to argue with her to rest.

Does anyone else have this experience?