Welcome

First of all welcome to my blog. This blog is all about my experiences with M.E or to give it it's difficult to pronounce medical name myalgic encephalomyelitis (told you so), otherwise known as CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) although in no way does chronic fatigue syndrome describe the whole host of other symptoms that encapsulate this condition. I was first diagnosed with M.E about 5 years ago and since then my life has changed dramatically. It's definitely been an experience and one that is still as prevelant today.


M.E is not a condition that has many answers, there is no cure, no set timescale nor is there much conclusive as to why an individual will develop the condition. No medical test will tell you that you have M.E; infact they will probably come back "fine" or "clear," now how many times have you heard that fellow sufferers? Yet physically you are dragging your self around, if not being dragged around by someone else, trying to keep your eyes open whilst in chronic pain and mentally you're calling a straw a fork (true story). That's when you're not fast asleep on the nearest flat surface. It's extremely frustrating. I know a lot of people would say "oh I'd love to be able to sleep anywhere" or "I'd love to be able to sleep all day" but trust me after a while it becomes well to use a bad word, tiresome. Would they also like the insomnia, muscle aches, head aches, gastro problems etc etc?  The only relief as such can come from managing individual symptoms, such as taking pain relief or massage and learning to somehow live within your means.

With this blog I hope to reach out to others who are suffering from M.E or their friends and family and let them know that they're not alone in this. We might not have many answers or even be able to get out and go to a support group but there is always information to be accessed. Other people suffering from chronic illnesses may also find this blog useful. In particular I believe that it's really important to talk about mental health issues and how prevalent this can be with sufferers of chronic illnesses. Hopefully this blog will provide some handy hints or as I mentioned to help reduce that feeling of isolation. It's always nice to know that you're not the only one looking like a drunk and falling asleep on buses. Plus I hope it will be cathartic and help me appreciate my own progress. So I hope you enjoy reading my posts and if you fall asleep reading them I won't get too offended.

For more information about M.E or to find a local support group visit; www.meassociation.org.uk
Or for more information on mental health issues visit www.mind.org.uk