Less than two months after graduating from university I started to feel ill. I had commuted from home during my last year at university and worked part time as a nanny and helping out with the family business. I had been busy. My body decided it needed a rest. It had a massive strop! It is still protesting after years of constantly being on the go.
In early September 2010 my vision went funny. I have worn glasses since I was 7 years old but this was different. Everything was blurry, out of focus and swimming like you used to get on old television screens. The opticians found nothing wrong. I felt pressure behind my right eye. I had hideous headaches, different from the migraines I was used to. Neuralgia. By the end of the month I was hit by such awful fatigue that I would sleep whenever I wasn’t at work. I was still working as a nanny and job hunting for a full time, ‘proper’ job. By October I was unable to drive. I had to stop working and cancel upcoming interviews. My arms and legs could not manage it, nor could my brain. It was as if it full of cotton wool. My concentration levels and memory had become awful. I was a zombie. I could barely walk. I could no longer manage the stairs. I slept in the dining room. My body was full of concrete. My arms and particularly my legs felt incredibly heavy. My speech was slurred. I was dizzy and faint and felt drunk. I was in pain and my muscles and joints ached in a way I had not experienced despite my years of sport. I will spare you the rest…
I made a nuisance of myself at the doctors throughout September and October. Something was obviously terribly wrong. Queasy at the best of times, I was so desperate I braved my first ever blood test. All results came back clear. I can remember ‘brain tumour’ being mentioned. I was referred to a neurologist. My appointment was only two months away in mid-December but we could not even wait that long. My grandparents wanted me to have answers NOW and paid for me to go private. It was disgusting experience with NHS patients sitting behind a screen on plastic chairs, while we had leather sofas and a coffee machine. 30 minutes cost an extortionate amount of money. I was incredibly grateful to have the help and support of my family though. On the 18th November 2010 I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
I have been ill every day since. I cannot remember what it is like not to feel so very poorly. But I am one of the lucky ones.
M.E. myself and I 