From: Patients’ perspectives of endometriosis-related fatigue: qualitative interviews
Quotation | |
Mood and emotions | |
“I would say I’m a little more depressed during my period. A little bit more emotional. More sensitive.” | |
“I think fatigue, typically when I’m tired, I’m grouchy.” | |
“It almost makes me feel like something’s a big deal when it’s not. You can’t just like let something go. It irritates you.” | |
“[When fatigued, I am] Short tempered, irritable, less understanding and patient.” | |
“It’s more just kind of feeling disappointed because you can’t do as much as you want to do.” | |
Relationships with family or partner | |
“Well I decide not to take my children to play with friends or that type of a thing.” | |
“Sometimes I don’t want to get up and do things with my kids or take them places.” | |
“And as far as my husband, I probably just am not around him as much. I just go to my room and watch TV in my bed.” | |
“When I am at home, I’m not as interactive and playful with my kids. My husband takes more of the responsibility instead of me helping out as much as I would be.” | |
“I feel like I’m failing my kids partly like at school just because I’m like, ‘You have this due.’ And it’s one of those reminders that like I can tell myself 12 times, write it down on the calendar, and I just feel like I’m so tired that I’m forgetting until it like clicks again, oh that’s right.” | |
“Our sex life sometimes sucks. Because I’m just like, ‘I don’t feel like it.’” | |
Work or school | |
“There are days where I modify my activities, meaning I may have had plans to go install cabinets [for work] on a certain day and I might end up staying back and working in the office instead.” | |
“Like mental capacity. Like you just can’t, you’re not focusing as well. I’m not focusing as well because I can tell that I’m just tired. So … my mentality for that day will be like, ‘I just need to get home. I just need to get through this day.’ So productivity goes down, overall attitude is down, and then level of focus.” | |
“On those bad days when I’m at work, it’s hard to focus during those days, and so I would say sometimes I do leave the office early because I’m useless.” | |
“There have been days where I’ll stay home. I don’t go to work.” |