Welcome
This site is intended to provide up-to-date, relevant information on the condition Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalopathy and help raise awareness of this debilitating illness. Please help me to do this by sending the link to anyone who is or might be suffering with ME/CFS.
Please note that I am not a medical doctor but a sufferer of ME/CFS; you are advised to contact your own practitioner if you are at all concerned with your health. The information I provide is gathered from my own experience and research and I ask the reader to look into things themselves before embarking on any new regimes. Please be aware that I cannot accept any responsibility for damage arising as a result of readers accessing this website and using the information I provide. Thank you.
If you wish to contact me personally my email address is: wordsworth99@hotmail.com.
WHAT EXACTLY IS CFS?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalopathy, Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, is a poorly understood condition that is characterised by profound fatigue and exhaustion - with loss of muscle power, pain and tenderness following normal physical or mental activity - and a range of neurological, endocrine and cognitive disturbances. CFS is classified as a neurological disorder by the World Health Organisation (International Classification of Disease 10: G93.3).
Affecting all social classes and ethnic backgrounds, it is estimated that between 0.2% and 0.4% of the population have the illness. It can occur at any age with the greatest incidence being between the early twenties and mid forties. Women are most commonly affected.
Often sufferers are unable to work, with 25% acutely disabled. It impacts severely on the lives of sufferers and carers. Very little support is available and isolation and loss of hope often follow years of suffering.
It most commonly occurs in a sporadic form but there have been epidemic cases, such as the outbreak in the Royal Free Hospital, London, 1955.
Very little is known or understood about the illness and its causes and as yet no universal cure or treatment has been found.
There are many out there who claim to be able to cure ME/CFS but I think that most sufferers would say that there is no cure; they merely learn to cope with the symptoms one by one, with whatever means necessary.
But, maybe things have changed and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I recently began a new drug program, initiated by my GP. The drug, known as Pregabalin, is an anti-epileptic that has had some success with sufferers, even reducing the majority of symptoms in a lucky few. The key with the drug is to titrate it slowly to a level where it is effective. I have been on the lowest dose of 150 mg a day, for a month now and have just been given the go ahead to increase it to the next level.
Within a few days of initially taking the drug I noticed an improvement and even managed to go shopping with my sister for an hour. Something that I haven't been able to do for over a year. Sadly, the improvement only lasted for about a week, but I am optimistic that this initial improvement indicates that the drug will be effective when set at the correct level for me.
I will keep you informed of my progress. If there are any other sufferers out there on this drug program, please feel free to pass on your own review.
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