To ask how much you rest when ill?

[ScrumpyBetty]

Aibu to ask how much do you rest when you are not well? Does it make a difference to how soon you feel better?

I can't be the only one who feels that they hardly ever get to rest when ill? Since having DS, being sick myself has been a nightmare. I'm currently fighting a bug, feeling totally rubbish- hot, cold, dizzy, achy- all the usual- but have not really had any time to recuperate between getting up at 6am to walk ddog and then either spending day running around after DS age 4 plus chores at home, or work. I've been going to bed early- 7pm- but don't feel like I'm getting better in over a week. I think I'm going to take about day off work tomorrow and just stay in bed all day and rest!
Do you think resting makes you get better sooner? I've become a bit obsessed with thinking about this lately- can you tell?!

I think a full 48 hours of rest can cure most bugs, but since becoming a parent 11 years ago I've rested for 48 hours exactly once after surgery last year. I get tonsillitis a few times a year and don't take time off school let alone rest. I know that it absolutely would help me recover more quickly if I did, but as you've said when you're a parent that option isn't always available.

If you have the chance to rest, do. If you have anyone available to help out til you're better, ask for their help. You only have so much energy and if you're running on empty it's important to recover properly. Hope you manage enough rest soon.

How did you keep going though whoamI when you didn't take time off school when you had tonsillitis? I mean psychologically, it is really really hard dragging yourself to work when you feel awful! I had a day off work today but had DS age4 with me and I've felt so low and tearful all day, just trying to keep going but feeling like I'm running on empty!

Resting (in bed) is the only thing that actually cures me if I'm really ill. Just "taking it easy" for a few days only makes it all drag out so much longer.

A day in bed sorts me but I reserve it only for when Im too ill to drag myself into work. The kids still go to the CM and I just sleep it off.

I got really frustrated when my chest infection wouldnt go away after a few days bed rest but it turned out it was pneumonia had to have 2 more weeks off work for that.

Day to day run down-ness I just work then have early nights. But once in a while I am unable to even drive myself to work. So bed it is. 24-48 hours and am right as rein.

Pre children I would rest and sleep through pretty much any illness. Post DS I have had to solider on through pneumonia, a miscarriage, labyrinthitis and various other things - all of which lasted much longer / were much worse by not getting any rest.

If you're ill and can rest in bed and sleep as much as possible then you should IMO.

I've never really tested when ill. I need to just get on with things or I feel worse somehow. I've never had anything serious though, I'm sure I'd rest after surgery.

Not enough.

I had a bad case of pneumonia a couple of years back, narrowly avoided hospitalisation (took a bit if persuading for them to let me go ) and still didn't rest properly - not
Good though as it took me months to recover.

I have never been good at resting and add an autistic child into the mix it becomes even harder!

Blimey catgirl you poor thing. Sorry you had to keep going through all of that. You sound like super woman!

Just getting over a chest infection (needed antibiotics) and I'm pg & have a DS (2). Dragged myself to work for the first two days then gave up & waved a white flag and took the next two off sick. DS went to CMs and I went to bed. If I hadn't gone to bed then I would have still been fighting it a week later (now).

Sometimes you just have to say "I'm ill. I give up. Everyone can go away".

If I can. DH was ill last week and is now on antibiotics, so I was looking after him and DS though my parents had DS for two nights. Then DS came down with a stomach bug. Which meant lots of cleaning up and lots of extra washing and a lot less sleep. By this point I had sore throat and ear ache.

I kept going until today when with my mum here I keeled over and spent a fair bit of the day in bed.

No time off for resting here. SAHM with small children so I can't take to my bed to recover. If I'm lucky I can suffer quietly on the edge of the sofa whilst they run about. I have dreams of being able to rest properly when I'm sick.

I always hope if I'm sick it on a weekend or my 3 works days so I can hand kids to dh (only home weekends) or call in sick and go back to bed once kids are in school/daycare. I don't know how single sahm do it

I used to be a soldier on regardless kind of person, but I did sometimes have colds and things that went on for ages. The last few years I've started taking to my bed in the manner of a Jane Austen heroine at the first sign of any kind of illness, and I'm convinced that it has been preventative in a lot of cases. Things like sore/swollen glands which for my whole life have been a warning of horrible long cold /cough /chest /ears etc... I find if I listen to my body and properly rest, I seem to be much better at fending them off.

I work full time in a fairly stressful job, but my work have an approach that if you struggle in with something for two weeks and are working at maybe 70% of your capacity, better to have one or two days properly in bed and come back in 100%.

Obviously very hard to do when you have small children, but in a balanced partnership /relationship, I would hope that in most cases the healthy partner is happy to dig in a bit to help the sick one.

If I've got a cold, I tend to dose up on medication and then rest in the evenings once DS is asleep. If it's a bad cold then I take him to nursery then take a day off work to sleep.

When I had flu at Christmas, I physically couldn't move out of bed for 4 days, then spent the next few days off work and for 2 weeks after I was going to bed at 8pm as I was so tired.

DH soldiers on and doesn't ever really rest so his colds last weeks on end and don't we all know about it

I have to say that was the thing i 'looked forward' to most when youngest started school. I thought I'd get a day off work if really bad, and 6 hours in the middle of the day to recuperate.

What actually happens is we all get ill at the same time, usually every holiday .

Hate 'resting'. I've been back at work day after discharge from hospital with pneumonia numerous times. Didn't take time off or rest during chemo. Had surgery for breast cancer on Thursday was working on Monday. Get irritated that people take to their beds with a bit of a cold. Very intolerant of illness generally.

Don't get much of a chance to rest.
I do have the option of phoning my mum to help, but its not something I'd do unless serious.
I was laid up with flu when pg with #2 and needed help then, and once when I had a nasty d&v bug and kept passing out.
When ds1 started preschool he brought home a new bug every week. I shrugged them off as just colds, but each one took longer and longer to shift as I couldn't rest at all, with a child to ferry about and a baby.
After three months of it I had to go to the gp and get put back on steroids as all the bugs had seriously reignited my athsma, something I'd not had a problem with in over 15 years.
I think if I'd been able to properly rest, it wouldn't have got so bad.

Cough - cold - don't! Currently recovering from a major major surgery so been forced to. It's been hard but I have to as literally too weak

Bless you Scrumpy

Far from superwoman. I'd have liked nothing more than a week in bed with all of them - just not an option unfortunately :( Got over all of them in the end but some proper rest would have made a big difference!