Around 3 years ago I was diagnosed with M.E and my life definitely changed!

I had to give up working as a Driving Instructor and my OH then became the main breadwinner.

M.E affects my life daily, without fail it is ALWAYS there. The only way to describe it to others is RELENTLESS!! Walking normally feels like walking in a swimming pool, and every morning I wake up feeling like I have just gone 10 rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson! In short just think ‘proper’ flu without the head cold and you are on the right lines.

It’s an invisible illness in as much as people will look at you and see nothing wrong, but they do not realise that every step you walk hurts, and doing anything physical (even just walking) is unbelievably draining.

People think that M.E/ Chronic Fatigue/ Fibromyalgia just means that you get a bit tired……..WRONG.

Some of my symptoms:

Overwhelming exhaustion ( can hit you like a wall and there’s nothing you can do)

Muscular pain ( my whole body is sore to the touch….a hug can hurt!)

Nausea

Symptoms of IBS

Brain fog ( cannot think, get words out, concentrate)

Noise and light sensitive ( every noise is deafening and light just ‘pierces’ my eyes)

Inability to sleep properly ( being so exhausted you cannot sleep!)

Headaches

Numbness in my hands ( which can leave me with no grip to cook etc)

No temperature control ( either freezing or on fire but it does not regulate!)

Symptoms vary from day to day but I still lose several hours a day to my bed. Getting up, showered and dressed can exhaust me for the rest of the day. Winter is definitely worse to deal with as during the cold weather my body works harder to keep warm and therefore the exhaustion is worse.

Although there is no cure there is a management programme available at Kings College Hospital London that could possibly help me to manage the condition better and be more productive, however, my NHS borough refused to pay for treatment. I am left to live the ‘boom and bust’ way- if I feel ok I do what I can and suffer for it afterwards ( which can be for several days).

This has been a huge adjustment for both myself and my family and I still find it difficult to accept that it will not go away. I push myself as much as I can, when I can.

This is a major part of my life that I have had to come to terms with. I have no local support groups where I live and wanted to share online as much information about how this affects my family, me as a person, and any tips that I could pass on in order to help others.

Related Posts:

Top tips for keeping warm – M.E Related

Top 5 tips for saving energy levels – M.E Related

 My Newest Family Addition!

 M.E Awareness- How much do you know about it?

M.E Awareness Week starts 6th May

Why not link up below with your own experiences/posts