Let me start my first blog of 2018 in wishing you Bonne Année and Bonne Santé.
It's at this time of year that I'm reminded of when I became seriously ill in 2003. I had no idea what was happening to me and was very worried. I had started to realise that something was not quite right when in 2002 I had what seemed like bouts of flu. I would take time off work and rested. Then I would start to feel a little better and would try to go back to work. This pattern repeated several times throughout the year. I'd never had flu before in my life and couldn't understand why I suddenly had the flu that Summer. My doctor was not much help and suggested that I have the flu jab in September. I think that only made me worse. So by the end of the year I completely collapsed and was unable to go back to work in the January of 2003. In fact I never went back and remained severely ill. I despaired of my doctor who was clueless and so changed my doctor. I was eventually sent for lots of tests and of course nothing showed up. However with my history and symptoms I was told that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ( I was also told that the name had recently changed from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). It was not the flu!!!
The cause of M.E./CFS is not clear and there are many theories. Although the dominant theory seems to be that it's caused by a virus.
Some people seem to become ill suddenly overnight and can in fact recall the very date when that happened. They may even celebrate their 'sickaversary' - a term coined to celebrate one's anniversary of becoming sick.
Others like myself seem to become gradually ill over a period of time. I cannot forget the years 2002 and 2003 when slowly everything changed. The activities and the life I loved bit by bit disappeared. In place I became a sick person with a multitude of symptoms.
I'm still that person today.
However I won't be celebrating. The champagne is on ice until the day when the definite cause of this dreadful, life destroying illness is discovered and a cure is found.
I hope it's in my lifetime.
A bientot
from the French Femme
xxx
How
it started
It
started
like
the flu
that
never
went
away.
I
wanted
to sleep not
just
at night
but
by day.
Yet
I still
felt
tired
despite
of
all
that sleep.
Energy
was
all gone
and
I felt
very
weak.
My
throat was
very
sore
and
my glands
seemed
to swell.
There
was pain
in
my legs
and
I felt
so
unwell.
A
fog came
in
my head.
Everything
spun
around.
It
became
hard
to think
and
words could
not
be found.
Yet
since then
I’ve
suffered
more
symptoms
that
are new.
I
think that
it
was more
than
the worst
case
of flu!
It
started
like
the flu
that
never
went away.
I
still have
most
symptoms
and
suffer
to
this day.
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