20 Signs Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Isn’t Going Away

How Severe Is Your Lack Of Energy?TAKE OUR QUIZ

Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real?

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating illness that takes many forms, has numerous symptoms and no known cure available from the standard medical community.

You might have some skeptical friends who doubt you are actually ill, perhaps they think you are simply malingering. However, chronic fatigue syndrome is a very real disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Yet often patients can be told ‘it’s all in your head’, or suffer comments from family and friends like ‘oh yes I get really tired too’, both of which show a complete lack of understanding that the illness is in fact very real.

Unfortunately, its common name, ‘chronic fatigue syndrome doesn’t help people’s perception that it’s not a real illness and it’s simply tiredness. The illness has two other names, Myalgic Encephalitis (ME) and Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID). Perhaps SEID helps describe the illness best as it does state a key feature of the illness i.e., the inability to tolerate exertion either mental or physical.

Whatever you decide to call the illness, it is DEFINITELY real.

Fatigue is not the only symptom, although it is the one that most often typifies the disorder. And, this fatigue isn’t simply a feeling of being a bit tired or sluggish. A good night’s sleep doesn’t help the fatigue which gets worse after mental exhaustion or physical activity and can take several days of bed rest to recover from.

Several other symptoms accompany the overwhelming and unrelenting fatigue including:

  • Brain fog and cognitive impairment.
  • Muscle aches and pains.
  • Post exertional malaise.
  • Unrefreshing sleep.
  • Insomnia.
  • Recurring sore throat and swollen glands.

Is There A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Test?

There is no available test or bio marker for the illness. And, what makes this disorder baffling is the severity, type and number of symptoms individuals suffer from.

testing

No single cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is known, and in fact it can be caused by multiple things, but it is likely that a trauma or several traumas of some description triggered it.

For example, trauma can come from one or more of the following:

  • Hormone imbalance, such as adrenal fatigue.
  • Bacterial infections, such as pneumonia.
  • Immune system problems.
  • Mental health issues, such as stress and emotional trauma.
  • Gene mutations.
  • Viral infections, such as glandular fever.
  • Trauma from physical accidents.

How Long Does Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Last?

Because there is no test available, a diagnosis from your doctor is generally only arrived at by ruling out other illnesses such as hypothyroid, sleep disorders, kidney problems etc. Additionally a diagnosis can only be given after you have had the symptoms for at least 6 months.

Unfortunately from a naturopathic point of view, this is 6 months during which time you could have already started testing to find out what lies at the root cause(s) of your chronic fatigue syndrome. It’s also 6 months during which time your symptoms and illness may be getting worse.

Some people mistakenly believe that they cannot recover from chronic fatigue syndrome because standard allopathic medicine has no ‘cure’, there’s no ‘pill’ they can be given to make chronic fatigue syndrome go away.

At the other end of the spectrum, others think if they just wait it out, chronic fatigue syndrome will disappear of it’s own accord. While this might happen, if you are lucky, it’s pretty unlikely. Without getting proper treatment, which gets to the root cause(s) of your particular form of chronic fatigue syndrome it can not only last for many years, but during that time, gradually get worse.

Time can pass without your symptoms worsening, or new symptoms making an appearance. There can even be periods of time when you start to feel a little better. But there will be times too when you relapse and get worse. This is the point when your health declines even further.

You may be the type of person who is willing to wait it out to see if you can recover by yourself. However, I know from my experience that had I found the right naturopathic help and treatment sooner, my health would not have declined to the extent it did.

Chronic fatigue syndrome rarely develops overnight, but there is usually an event or series of events that lead up to it. The tricky thing is that it’s often not until you start getting treatment do you realize what those triggering events were.

During your journey with the illness you’ll get many signs chronic fatigue syndrome isn’t going away. Most of the signs sneak up on you slowly. You adapt your life around your illness which can mask the reality of your worsening health condition.

The signs show themselves in various forms, some are physical, some mental, some behavioral and some environmental. Many you may think do not relate to your illness at all. However, even the signs that show up in your home and work environment are rooted in your illness.

Additionally, there are a multitude of signs you should take careful note of to gauge if your chronic fatigue syndrome is not only hanging around, but actually becoming worse.

It is foolish to ignore any of these signs as they are signals your illness is progressing and you need to seek out the right form of treatment if you want to have any chance of recovery.

Each individual has their own unique journey with chronic fatigue syndrome. Some have a particularly debilitating form of the illness leaving them completely bedridden. Others have a less severe form that gradually deteriorates as the illness progresses. Whatever form your chronic fatigue syndrome takes, there will be signs that it’s not going away…………

Do You Recognize Any Of These Signs?

1. You Don’t Feel Like Socializing – You may have been a bit of a social butterfly in the past. Always one of the first to eagerly accept invitations to enjoy lunches, family BBQ’s, nights out with the girls, gallery openings, shopping trips, dinner out with some fine dining, invitations to parties etc. But now you realize you haven’t had an outing in months, you just declined an invitation to a close friend’s wedding too.

In fact when was the last time you enjoyed a social occasion. Come to think of it, the last time you went out you left early and couldn’t wait to get home, crawl under the covers and sleep. And now, it just all seems like way too much effort to take part in any socializing at all.

signs chronic fatigue is not going away

It’s going to take too much energy to work out what to wear for starters. Then you need to get in the car and drive half an hour to get there. Don’t even mention how exhausting it is to have to make polite chitchat to people who, if you’re honest, just drain your energy. Nope…..all too hard, you just stay home.

2. You Can’t Cope With Even The Slightest Stress – Known for your calm demeanor and your ability to just get on with things now you find you’re flying off the handle with the least provocation.

You arrive at work feeling pretty exhausted, get settled at your desk with the first coffee of the day, and proceed to open your email. Scrolling through your emails, you ask yourself when did you start getting so many emails, how are you expected to reply to all these emails in a day?

Your stress level is already rising when your colleague walks up to you and asks a simple question about a project you are both working on and you not only don’t have the answer but you want to scream at him/her to just go away.

 

It’s only 9am and already you feel completely overwhelmed and terrified that you’re going to drop the ball. Your workload hasn’t increased, in fact it’s currently the quietest time of the year in the business but it’s all too much to deal with, you just don’t have the mental energy to deal with a normal workday in your normal efficient way.

3. You Can’t Stand Noise And Bright Lights – Summoning all of your energy, you pull an outfit together from the back of the wardrobe, slap on some makeup and get in the car determined to enjoy a night out. The friends you are meeting up with are fun, you enjoy their company and you’re looking forward to a few laughs.

signs chronic fatigue - bright lights

It’ll be great to enjoy a couple of hours of lighthearted chat and catch up with everyone. Something to take your mind off how lacking in energy you are is just what you need.

As, you walk into the venue you’re hit with a wall of flashing lights above the band in the corner who are playing way too loudly. OMG, you didn’t realize there would be music and definitely didn’t expect the flashing lights. Your friends are there already, getting stuck in to a few drinks, yelling to each other to be heard above the music.

They wave to you and you realize this was a BIG mistake, you just can’t do this. The music is pounding in your head and the bright lights flashing on and off are make you feel like you’re about to throw up.

Waving to your friends and shaking your head, you start backing towards the door. All you can see is the startled looks on their faces as they see you turn on your heel and get out of there as fast as you possibly can. And now you have another problem, how on earth are you going to explain your weird behavior to your friends who you just ran out on?

4. You Don’t Sleep Well At Night – You used to be such a great sleeper. Getting between 8 or 9 hours sleep was easy for you. Now however, getting a solid 8-hour sleep seems to be a thing of the past. In fact, you can’t remember when you slept soundly through one entire night.

 

Not only that but something seems to have happened to your body clock because you can’t fall asleep easily either. Sometimes you fall asleep, only to wake up again an hour later and you’re wide awake with no hope of dropping off to sleep again.

Lately you’ve also developed a pattern of waking up at around 3.15 each morning and at that time you’re wide awake and there is absolutely no hope of getting back to sleep before the alarm goes off. And when you do wake up, you feel just as exhausted as you did before you finally got to sleep.

5. You Develop Feelings Of Isolation – You seem to have lost touch with family and friends. And, it seems as if nobody understands what you are going through with this illness.

Isolatetion

It doesn’t help that you’ve been on the receiving end of comments that suggest ‘you’re just being lazy’ or that ‘everyone gets tired from time to time, after all we all have such busy lives’. Nobody seems to understand what you’re going through.

Your doctor can’t help you and you don’t know where to turn for help. It feels as if you are truly alone and nobody understands that you are actually ill.

6. You Are No Longer Able To Work Full Time – It hurts, you were at the top of your game, climbing the corporate ladder, doing great and the future was looking very bright indeed. Thinking you could recover you kept on pushing through, ignoring the signs your body was giving that it was all too much for you.

no longer able to work

Now you’ve arrived at the heartbreaking realization that you no longer have the capability to continue on your present career path because you simply cannot work a full day. You are seriously considering giving up your full time position and looking for a job that is less taxing. It seems that working a few hours a week is all you can manage with your current state of fatigue.

7. You Dread Being Asked To A Function – Once the life and soul of the party you now cringe if someone asks you to a function as you simply don’t have enough energy to work AND socialize. Your well-meaning friend doesn’t understand you are ill, after all you look OK on the outside, you definitely don’t look sick and you work full time in your career. So what could possibly be wrong with you?

invitation

Not only that, but you declined the last couple of invitations they gave you. It’s beginning to look as though you just don’t want to spend time with them and you know that pretty soon the invitations will stop arriving if you don’t attend something soon.

8. You Develop Intolerance For An Increasing Number Of Food Types – Lately you’ve noticed everything you eat seems to set off a reaction and you start sneezing, your eyes water and your nose runs uncontrollably. Only by taking an antihistamine can you get it to let up. And what’s with that strange blotchy rash on your chest?

 

But yesterday the glass of wine, latte, and cheese sandwich you had were all OK , today….. not so much. Now you need to work out which one of those items is causing you to react, or is it all of them, yikes? Eliminating several foods from your diet has already been carried out, but it seems the list of your food sensitivities just keeps getting longer. Soon it will be very difficult to choose food that you won’t react to.

9. You Feel Depressed – You feel utterly helpless, and don’t know where to turn for help with your illness. Everyone around you seems to be enjoying a happy and healthy fun filled life.

 

But you are trapped and unable to move. Lately you’ve started feeling angry that people seem oblivious to your condition. All you want to do is stay curled up in bed all day while your thoughts just keep dragging you down further and further. You are considering a visit to the doctor for some medication. Perhaps he can give you something to lift your mood, some ‘happy pills’. But your not sure if you want to start medicating your feelings away, doesn’t seem right somehow.

10. You Suffer An Increasing Number Of Crashes – Lately it seems like the amount of activity you are able to carry out is becoming less and less before you crash. You used to be able to work part-time, carry out normal domestic chores and shopping each day.

can't do household chores

However, lately you can’t do all the cleaning and shopping you used to do before you have to take to your bed to recover. Experiencing a crash used to happen maybe once a month when you over did it with the cleaning and you’d spend the next two days in bed. Lately you seem to spend more time in bed during the week and less time on chores and activities.

11. You Take Longer To Recover From A Crash – During the last month you’ve spent more days in bed than out of bed. Recovering from a crash normally takes a couple of days, then you can get up and resume your semi normal life.

 

Lately though it seems each crash takes four or more days in bed before you recover sufficient energy to just get up and sit on the sofa. You feel scared that soon you will become completely bedridden if things keep on going this way. Your life is becoming increasing abnormal with more of it spent in bed as you have no energy to do anything else.

12. Your Home Environment Is A Cluttered Mess – As, you look around your home you realize it looks like a horrible mess. It hasn’t been cleaned properly for ages but, more than that there is clutter everywhere. The kitchen is full of dirty dishes and half empty food containers and there’s a coating of dust over all the furniture. Dirty laundry has piled up, you’re running out of clean clothes to wear and the laundry basket is overflowing.

clutter

There are old newspapers, magazines and garbage everywhere, and every surface is cluttered with ‘stuff’ everywhere. Your home used to be so orderly, you took pride in your organizational and housekeeping skills.

But now that you take a good look around, your home is in disorganized chaos reflecting the chores you haven’t managed to do due to your lack of mental and physical energy. Gazing around, you realize it’s pretty disgusting. You knew you were letting things slip as your energy disappeared. But how did it get this bad?

13. Your Brain Fog Is Getting Worse – This morning you can’t find your purse. Rushing to get breakfast ready, your mind is racing. How can you have lost your purse? Trying to frantically retrace yesterday’s steps you think about where you could have left it. Maybe it’s still in the car? You turn to get the milk from the fridge, open the door and Bingo! There’s your purse, on the top shelf of the fridge. It’s been there all night so at least you didn’t lose it.

 

The only harm done seems to be that your lipstick is now a bit frozen and too solid to put on. But why on earth would you have put your purse in the fridge?

Oh well, all’s well that ends well, you go upstairs to get some documents you need for work and at the top of the stairs can’t remember what you came up for. Down you go again, then you remember…… the documents!

People at work are starting to notice you seem to be a bit forgetful and a couple of comments have been made about your lateness getting reports in on time. Actually, it’s starting to become a bit embarrassing, you used to be the one everyone could rely on.

14. You Are Unable To Exercise – Your weekly routine for years was always to exercise about 3 or 4 times each week. You didn’t go mad, just some cardio or weights and the odd class to break up the monotony, it’s always been a great way to keep your weight under control.

no longer exercise

You’ve kept your exercise routine pretty steady for years and enjoy a good fitness level. So you know that motivation isn’t a problem for you.

But last time you did 20 minutes on the treadmill you spent 4 days in bed recovering. Always a regular exerciser, now it seems that even a gentle 10-minute walk in the park is too much for you. But you know if you push it beyond 10 minutes, you’ll end up in bed for days recovering.

15. You Seem To Be Suffering From Anxiety – Never normally an anxious type of person, you’ve noticed strange feelings surface that you realize could be symptoms of anxiety. That weird churning feeling in your stomach that you know is not indigestion.

anxiety

Often you feel dizzy and light-headed, but sort of restless at the same time. The other day you couldn’t find a space to park the car and your heart started beating out of control and you felt as if you were going to pass out or vomit, or all three at the same time.

In situations, you can normally handle you now feel completely out of control. The slightest upset seems to trigger many of these weird symptoms and feelings.

16. Your Eating Habits Are Out Of Control – Having always been conscious of maintaining a healthy diet, why on earth are you craving french fries and sweets every single day? Come mid-afternoon the lure of all that fat and sugary wrapped goodness luring you from the vending machine becomes too hard to ignore.

 

Watching TV in the evening you’ve just eaten an entire container of ice cream on your own. Healthy salads, fresh lightly steamed vegetables, salmon and free-range chicken have lost their appeal. All you want now is fatty oily pastries, deep-fried food and chocolate.

17. Your Hair Starts Falling Out – People have always commented on your crowning glory, your gloriously shiny healthy looking lustrous hair. During your shower this morning the water stops draining away and on closer inspection you find the reason. hair falling out

No need to call the plumber, it’s just your fallen hair clogging the drain. As, you start to dry your hair you notice lots of hair in the brush. Your once thick hair is thinning and the texture is wiry and it’s kind of frizzy too. Unfortunately it can no longer be described as a crowing glory so thin and straggly has it become.

18. You Develop An Irritated Bladder – It seems you can no longer get a full night’s sleep as you are constantly awake with the need to pee. Not only that, but when you pee it burns badly.

 

After checking with the doctor you find there is no infection, however, it seems you have developed an irritated bladder. Your stomach feels a little tender and you have the annoying need to go to the toilet several times a day. It’s not only annoying but makes many activities impossible. For example going to see a movie is now completely out of the question as you’ll miss half the movie while you spend so much time in the toilet.

19. You Experience Balance Issues And Muscle Weakness – Realizing your normal exercise routine is out of the question you try some simple yoga. However, it seems that even the relatively simple tree pose is too much for you.

 

Normally your balance is pretty good, but doing tree pose you find it impossible to balance on one leg. When you try cobra pose you find your arm strength has deserted you too. You simply cannot push yourself up on your arms, they are too weak. All of the simple poses you normally do are also out of the question. Looks like you’ll need to start practising restorative yoga instead.

 

20. You Try To Sit Down As Much As Possible – The thought of standing in the shower for even five minutes is too much for you. You’ve started taking a bath each morning instead.

 

You use a rolling stool to sit on while doing chores as much as possible. Cooking, ironing and laundry tasks are all carried out whilst sitting. Shopping expeditions are now a thing of the past, it’s too difficult to stand in queues and walk around stores. Instead, you’ve started ordering your groceries online so that you no longer have to make a trip to the mall.

 

Putting It All Together

By taking note of new or worsening symptoms, and changes in your work and living environment you can recognize the signs your illness is giving you that it’s here to stay. It’s not going to disappear of its own accord. Now is the time to find a naturopath/ functional medicine practitioner experienced in treating chronic fatigue syndrome who can help you recover.

Please feel free to leave a comment below.

More Posts

comments

  1. Before reading this article I was really uneducated about the Chronic fatigue syndrome. I’m glad I came to your site because you have everything I needed to know about Chronic fatigue syndrome. I learned about the causes, and the symptoms of this syndrome. 

    Thank you so much for posting such an insightful and a useful post.

    Reply
      • This is literally what I’m a going through right now. I’m mentally struggling. Any tips on overcoming chronic fatigue syndrome or recommendations as to who to see. My primary doctors just gives me upper meds to help me stay awake.

        Reply
  2. Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Real? It is certainly not a condition that I have been aware of in my working career of 43 years. The thing is that most people suffer from some of the symptoms at some stage in their working career and did ot necessarily suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Everyone seems to think that the sufferer is just avoiding work, is lazy or not worth their salt.

    Maybe a lot more needs to be done to make people in the workplace aware of the symptoms and where and how to get help.  I dare say that this condition can be devastating to both one’s career and relationships.

    Reply
    • Bryan thanks for your comment. As someone who suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 8 years, I can tell you it is VERY real. Not only is it real, but the numbers of sufferers is increasing.I agree, that  definitely more needs to be done to make people aware of this ‘invisible’ illness and that is one of the aims of my website. I recovered from this debilitating illness using all natural methods and my website was set up to let sufferers know they can do the same. 

      Reply
      • Ive had it for all my life according to my medical notes but it wasnt diagnosed until 1993. At least then I had a name for it and wasnt going mad. Mostly its under control providing I avoid stress and agrovatio. Its surprising I seem to be a magnet for hassle…builders etc. Stress seems to keep poking at me even though I take as many steps to avoid it

        Reply
        • Hi and thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. Glad to hear you are managing your CFS and yes stress was what started it all off for me too. I changed my lifestyle completely and know when I am overdoing things/getting stressed and take steps to reduce it asap.

          Reply
  3. These 20 signs that chronic fatigue syndrome isn’t going away is an eye opening one. I might have a friend who is suffering from this illness and it is so sad that we didn’t really realize how bad this is for for. She  exhibits at least 10 of those signs but I sometimes thought she was just being lazy or sometimes attribute it to a totally different illness. 

    Even though ignorance is not an excuse, a lot of us have been ignorant to the signs and  effects of this Chronic fatigue syndrome. I wish there are more awareness creation materials to be able to really educate people on this. I just hope those who suffer from it get quick diagnosis and treatment so they can begin to function as usual. 

    Reply
    • Hi Vapz, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I’m so glad my post helped create awareness of the effect the illness has on sufferers. It is a bit of an “invisible illness” and often difficult for family and friends to understand. Unfortunately diagnosis is quite tricky and can take several months as the only method is by ruling out other illnesses first. Hope your friend manages to find the right help she needs. 

      Reply
  4. I was crying my eyes out as I read this, because this is my life! Perfectly put into words, an excellent article. I love that people are reading this and commenting that it has helped them get a new look into this devastating illness.

    Reply
    • Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Like you I love that people are reading my posts. My hope with this website is that people will understand the main message which is that you CAN recover from this debilitating illness. It does take considerable work to recover and the best thing you can do is find a naturopath experienced in treating chronic fatigue syndrome. You’ll finally get to the root cause of your illness and more importantly start on the road to recovery.

      Reply
    • This is my “so called” life also. At this point I don’t really have much or a life, I’m just existing.
      I pray that a cure will be found for this crazy syndrome.

      Reply
    • I too tick most of the boxes from the article. I have been only just recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia and finally got some meds to help me out with a sleep and all the every day pains. I am now slowly adjusting to my diagnosis and changing my diet and using vitamin supplements. I always check with my doctor, so it doesn’t clash with my meds. I go for yoga classes couple times a week (when my body allows it ). Overall whatever U am doing seen to work, since my pains are slowly reducing. However it took me 3years of trials and errors to figure out my body and mind requirements and still it is a constant battle. I am learning to slow down wherever I can. My two hrs house cleaning is spread over two days, otherwise I would suffer for next few weeks, as an example. Wishing you good luck and lots of strength on your journey.

      Reply
      • Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I was able to recover from CFS with the help of an experienced naturopath. It sounds like you have been able to work out how to manage your illness, but you are right it does take trial and error to work out what your body can tolerate. all the best, hope you can also get help and recover.

        Reply
  5. So much of this article makes me wonder if this should be ruled as a valid auto-immune condition, and treated correctly as such. I know my stuff is a lot more complicated (near-fatal car wreck with coma-inducing brain injury), so I know some of the answers (for me) already. I do nerve damage can have a substantial affect on fatigue, but the constant sitting – yes, that is a big one for me (even in the shower on my bath chair). Finding medical personnel who treat this seriously is a whole other thing, unfortunately.

    Reply
    • Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Unfortunately, you are correct in saying finding medical personnel who understand and treat this illness is difficult. I recovered with the help of a naturopath experienced in treating chronic fatigue syndrome. She had suffered from it herself as a teenager so I felt confident I was in good hands. I did not have any confidence in standard medicine to help me and honestly didn’t even try. I hope you can get answers for what is causing your own form of this debilitating illness and make a recovery.

      Reply
  6. Thanks for this well written article. I was diagnosed with M.E 30yrs ago and Fibromyalgia about 15yrs ago.
    Can you please suggest some of the strategies and diet; supplements etc that your Naturopath and Functional Dr gave you to get you over M.E. I’ve got a good homeopath who is willing to listen to other suggestions. Thanks again.

    Reply
    • Hi Vacelia thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and for your kind words. Happy to hear you have a homeopath who you can work with. Is he/she also a naturopath? You may need to find someone experienced in treating chronic fatigue syndrome. I found that alone to be the turning point for me.
      The thing with chronic fatigue syndrome is that it is a multifactorial illness and you really need someone who can help you get to the root cause(s) of your particular form of the illness. The cause(s) of my chronic fatigue syndrome is probably different to yours. For this reason I purposely don’t write about any specific ‘chronic fatigue syndrome supplements’. Your naturopath will suggest supplements specifically for your case after testing is carried out. As far as diet goes, mine was already pretty healthy, but as I had food sensitivities several foods were dropped for a while. I also had a lot of gut issues, so I followed a modified GAPS diet for several months too.
      I wish you the best in getting to the bottom of what is causing your chronic fatigue syndrome.

      Reply
  7. This is a wonderful article. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I also suffer from CFS and Fibromyaglia. I hate telling people that is what is wrong with me when they ask why I went out of work. I just usually get a stare from them. My own family doesn’t understand except for my husband and maybe my kiddos (they are adults). I know people think I just don’t want to work and that I’m lazy and trying to work the system (Social Security and Long Term Disability). I want nothing more than to have my life back the way it was. I miss working, I miss helping people, I miss feeling important. Now, I just can’t wait for my next nap. I’ve started a blog but I’m not good at that but that is my goal…to have a successful blog but it will be slow going as I can’t remember anything that I learn. The part about the purse in the frig…that is so me. I do some of the dumbest things and it’s very scary. I want to send this post to everyone I know so they will understand what I go through on a daily basis. I don’t want sympathy from them, I just want them to understand the illness.

    Reply
    • Julie,
      Don’t feel alone. There are so many people going through the same things, including myself. I have since I had a surgery in 99. It was a dramatic life changer for me, and I had a small child at the time. I also was a Cosmetologist, and loved my job.
      My husband is the best, but he saw how I was before, and what I was struggling with. Extreme pain (No lyrica or tramadol then), many different doctor visits, so many negative comments from family. I finally closed myself off from them for a while to keep from going insane, even though in a twisted sense they meant well. What keeps me going always, is knowing that someone always has it worse than me. You stay positive, keep that blog up, do what you can do and listen to your body. Keep trucking along, because they are researching more and more, and HOPEFULLY, they’ll come up with a cure or treatment. Take care! Jackie

      Reply
  8. Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say fantastic blog!

    Reply
  9. Thank you for writing this. It made me cry. I’ve felt so alone and so unlike myself for so long. You described everything I’ve ever felt. I hope and pray and KNOW we will all get well. God bless you

    Reply
  10. I ended up with M.E./ CFS at 19 after mercury poisoning and a flu virus I didn’t have anxiety or depression but I would collapse with exhaustion, tremble with exhaustion have periods of paralysis from neck down, terrible muscle pain, digestive issues, neurological challenges. I went from someone with technically 2 jobs and very active to struggling to do the most simple things. After trying to push against it for a few years ( especially when medical profession said 30 years ago it was all in head) I ended up mostly bed and housebound in a large part of my twenties. I see a lot of clients today with more Adrenaline Fatigue Symptoms which tends to be more exhaustion, anxiety or stress symptoms, insomnia who sometimes are diagnosed as having CFS or M.E. so this can create confusion.

    Reply
  11. Hi, thank you so much for writing this. I have dealt with CFS and Fibromyalgia since 1999. I was alway energetic, outgoing, social, and was always doing something around the house. These syndromes, diseases, or whatever absolutely ruin your life for a while. At least until you learn to accept it, and find ways to cope. To add insult to injury is when people don’t understand, tell you what you should do, are insensitive, and tell you, you’re just mental. If others would just be more empathetic, they’d understand. It’s hard to stare at 4 walls day in, day out. To look at a filthy house, and only be able to do so much. To miss special ocassions, important appointments and family gatherings. To tired to clean up. My parents are elderly and it kills me to not be able to help consistently. People who read about this and know someone, go help with something and please don’t judge. Depression runs along with CFS and other diseases, and why wouldn’t it?! It is depressing.

    Reply
  12. Hi this all sounds like me” i’ve had pains in my shoulders back and legs for years’ I also had a heart attack about six years ago’ and i have a pacemaker now” And i lost my son last year so i’m still going through hell” since then i stay in bed all day i hate going to parties as i’m always in pain sometimes the pain is so bad i feel i just want to be on my own and not talk or see anyone’ Anyway when i was told i had CFS I got upset and said to the doctor what your saying its all in my head’ but reading this i’m still not sure thats what they are saying’ and if so I don’t understand as i know the pains i’m getting are real’ and i just dont know what to do’ so i hope someone can help me” Thanking you Gwen.x

    Reply
  13. You have described me exactly. I have almost everything on this list. Please add to this article what can be done. You speak of getting help but every doctor, western and eastern trained, that I have seen has no solution for me. I’ve tried yoga, changing my lifestyle and tons of supplements by a health coach. There is improvement but its still ever present.

    Reply
  14. I have CFS and a debilitating intractable migraines with prolonged aura. IC/PBS. Anxiety /panic attacks depending on situations. I was sick 10 years ago with a bad flu that landed me in the hospital with bacterial pneumonia and sepsis. I suffer from so many of these symptoms mentioned in the article and had to quit working 9 years ago. It sucks. I wish I could work and be able to do so much more for my family. It is depressing. I do feel like I have lost touch with people. Everyone is moving on with their lives and I feel stagnant.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Table of Contents