In July 2011 I finally decided that after ten years, it was about time I did something about the fact that I was "tired all the time". I was sleeping most of the day on my days off from work, just so that I could muster up enough energy to drag myself through the next block of 8 hour shifts.
I decided to start with the basics, so I just typed the following simple sentence into Google: "Why am I so tired all the time?" I got a heap of results all saying similar things including over-work, stress (in it's myriad forms), and then terms such as "under-active thyroid", "anaemia", coupled with the words "chronic" and "fatigue".
I was definitely chronically fatigued, but did I actually have M.E/C.F.S? More so did I want to admit this to myself? A week or so later my very understanding and empathetic GP told me that after doing a comprehensive set of blood tests that yes, that was the most likely explanation for my condition (basically it was a diagnosis of exclusion, i.e it couldn't clearly be anything else), but a neurologist would be able to confirm the diagnosis.
My GP suggested that I have some time off work there and then, but I was adamant that I would be okay and I would fight it (literally it turned out) and I would be healed by the time I was 30. This gave me 18 months to "fix" myself.
For the next six months I researched myalgic encephalomyletis, or chronic fatigue syndrome. I read a lot of books about the illness and referenced many things on the internet. I kept going to work. I felt that if I ignored the symptoms (!!!) to a certain extent, rested as much as possible on my days off, made small changes to my diet, kept up with my Perrin and acupuncture appointments, as well as changing my duties and responsibilities in my job, that would be enough to overcome the illness. It wasn't.
By November 2011 I was almost permanently suffering with a heavy cold and sinus infection, which eventually worked it's way into my digestive system so I wasn't eating properly either. I was called for jury duty, and this put extra stress on my system both physically and emotionally. No sooner was that over than I went back to work, thinking that if I could just get through the busy Christmas period (I work in retail) that I could start afresh in the new year.
I managed one shift back at work after jury duty, and then got REALLY sick, went back to the GP, who basically said (in the nicest way possible) "I told you so", and signed me off for a month.
She also recommended I start a course of anti-depressants, as I was showing almost all the symptoms of depression. I decided to take the herbal remedy route, one of the main reasons being that I cannot swallow pills, but there were myriad factors involved. This was a completely personal decision, and without getting into the politics and statistics about it, all I know is that if I hadn't started taking them, I would not be typing this now.
As I have stated before, this blog is NOT medical advice. It is a collection of tips and advice, written by someone who has personal experience of the condition known as ME/CFS. It is filled with positive, inspiring and motivational words that have helped me overcome my symptoms of ME/CFS. They may or may not work for you, but I need to share them because I want to help others.
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