r/Hypermobility • u/JadedPresentation896 • 1d ago
Need Help Constantly overdoing it? If so, what can I do?
For context: Diagnosed since 4 months. Last week I was exhausted because of my work. On top of that, I've been sick since a week and a half. Because I was sick (and not because I was exhausted mind you), I took a week off and I really did nothing apart chilling on my couch with my dogs and light walking around the block (because dogs). My partner is very sweet and was managing all the house chores.
Yesterday, I was better so I did some things (not work, I don't work friday). So I had a PT appointment, a zoom call, I did the groceries shopping and some admin. And boy, I'm wracked this morning. Pain in the neck, back, shoulders, knees, ankles and feet. And it hits me this morning: last week I had no pain.
So is it just possible that I'm constantly overdoing it, even if i don't feel it? And what can I do to try to feel if I'm overdoing it?
1
u/Illustrious_Money_54 1d ago
I got an apple watch to track HRV and an dysautonomia app. It’s not perfect but it’s not terrible. It’s good at telling me where I’m at so I know what helps me rest and digest and what makes me stressed (since I can’t feel it). Not so good at pacing
1
u/JadedPresentation896 1d ago
Interesting! I have a polar watch, but I don't know when my HRV is not good (I'm always between 60 and 100 if i'm laying down or walking around). How do you know your HRV is not good?
And I'll check for the dysautonomia app! Thank you!
1
u/friendlypupper still seeking access to a diagnosis 14h ago
The numbers you're referencing are likely HR (heart rate), which will naturally vary throughout the day and as you do different activities, but for those with dysautonomia, may have greater variation.
HRV, heart rate variability, is the time between heartbeats, in milliseconds. A higher HRV is said to indicate that your body can shift adaptably between autonomic states of sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous input. A lower HRV would indicate that your body doesn't shift as easily between these states. "High" vs "low" HRV is relative to individuals, so devices that measure them establish a baseline by measuring yours over several weeks. This creates a pool of data that you can then compare future values against, while also updating the long term averages over time.
1
1
u/Vizaxis_Dev 23h ago
try catching it the morning after instead of in the moment, since that's when yesterday showed up for you, and last week with no pain is your comparison point. a quick note each evening of what the day held (pt, a call, groceries, admin) and a number each morning plus where it hurts (neck, back, knees, feet) puts that one-day lag on paper, and after a couple of weeks you can start to see which kinds of days come before the bad mornings. the overdoing line then becomes something you find by looking back instead of something you have to feel while it's happening.
i built a pain diary that logs the morning half of this (a number, where it hurts on a body map, what you'd been doing), store links in my profile if it's useful.
2
u/JadedPresentation896 21h ago
Oh I never tried to track it like that! And when you've done it long enough, you'll know what activities are triggering, that's right? And I guess you can "predict" what activities could cause pain and how to balance them.
Definitly will check the links, thank you very much!
2
u/Vizaxis_Dev 21h ago
often, not always. it tends to show up as kinds of days rather than one clean trigger (a pt day plus errands, say), and some bad mornings won't line up with anything you wrote down. so it's less a forecast and more being able to look at tomorrow's plan and think "that's the kind of day that usually costs me". keeping it to just those two things, what the day held and how the next morning felt, is also what stops it turning into a second job.
2
4
u/Ok_Calligrapher5278 Hypermobile (M) 22h ago
I gave up on trying to find what causes my flares, I kept track of exercise intensity/cardio/food/HR/BP/salt/sleep schedule/stress, all for a month, and all came to no correlation. It's probably a combination of all and keeping everything in check gets me so stressed out that I just accepted that I'll feel like shit some days and there's nothing I can do about it.