ME Awareness Day is very important to me. Here’s why.
At the end of 2001, I was teaching in secondary education. And I was exhausted.
“All teachers are exhausted!” I hear you cry. And yes, Yes, they are.
But this was a different kind of exhausted. The kind that no amount of rest can diminish
I went to the doctors, which is a hazard all on its own as, at the time, many didn’t even believe in ME as it hadn’t been recognised by the NHS as an illness. ANd to be honest, I’m not sure how much this has changed since my experience.
Luckily my GP was not one of these and sent me for the raft of tests that allow them to rule out all other conditions. All were negative.
Then I had to wait.
In order to be diagnosed with ME, which we all thought it was by this point, I had to have had the symptoms constantly and consistently for 6 months and for tests for all other causes to be negative.
I was diagnosed in 2002. My illness lasted for 8 years.
The Details of me and my M.E.
From diagnosis, it gradually got worse – I was unable to work full time, then unable to work part-time, then unable to do anything (even crochet!) and was pretty much in bed all the time.
Some days, I wasn’t even able to prepare my own food and my hubby would come home with a meal for me.
M.E. is one of the most frustrating illnesses as it is so much more than being simply ‘tired’, as many people wrongly think.
The list of symptoms is massive, with some more impacting than others.
My personal favourite was the brain fog! It is like trying to think through a treacle sludge.
And sadly, even though I am now well, I have never recovered from it and it still frustrates the hell out of me – I’m Libran: I don’t need any help with being indecisive!
Add to that my depression and anxiety, you can imagine that my brain processes look a little like an unravelled ball of wool! Fitting for me, yes?!
But it makes the role of crochet even more important to me, especially in maintaining my mental functions and overall mental health.
No Sympathy
This could relate to many areas of my experience (the medical establishment, the Government, friends and even family), but in this instance, it relates to the fact that I don’t want or need sympathy around this. I never did.
But what I needed, and what everyone else with this illness still needs is support, understanding and RESEARCH!
It has always felt to me that M.E. is one of those illnesses that is put to the bottom of the pile when it comes to getting the attention it deserves from the medical world, especially around research into what it is, what causes it, and how it can be treated. And that hasn’t changed in the 15 years since I recovered.
So, no sympathy, thank you.
Support, please.
