Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I have started this blog because I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

In September 2014 I was diagnosed with M.E./CFS (Myalgic Encephalitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). It wasn't that much of a surprise to me.

In 2009 I started with pins and needles in my hands. I was a regular knitter and crocheter, so it was believed that I had carpel tunnel, but after seeing a nerve specialist I was diagnosed with paresthesia.

My pins and needles remained the same up until 2013. My youngest son had just been discharged from a 5 month stay at hospital, and I had admittedly been comfort eating and put an awful lot of weight on.

One of my friends is a homeopath, so I went to her as my first port of call as I believe in treating things as natural as possible. I was given a few different homeopathic remedies, and was encouraged to do E.F.T. (Emotional freedom techniques) but the latter made me feel like an idiot, and I began to dread my sessions, so after deciding it wasn't for me, I gave up on my treatment.

I had started getting regular migraines and my pins and needles were becoming more noticeable and had begun to spread up to my elbows, and had started in my feet and were up to my knees.

I began seeing an Osteopath in hopes that they would find a trapped nerve and help release it.

The Oesteopath couldn't find anything that could be causing a problem, so I went back to my doctor, who said my symptoms sound like I was lacking in my B vitamins, so gave me a blood test to check. My blood test came back normal, but said that although my iron and folic acid levels were 'normal', that they were on the low side, so gave me 3 months worth of tablets to take.

My symptoms began to get worse, I was now having irregular periods, severe mood swings, becoming easily fatigued, sounds were becoming 'louder' and smells were getting more obvious, and all meat was smelling rotten, no matter how fresh, and I started suffering with insomnia.

The doctor referred me to see an orthopaedic consultant and an audiologist.

The orthopaedic agreed with the osteopath, but sent me for electrical nerve testing, which all came back fine.

The audiologist diagnosed me with hyperacusis, and I was adviced to 'ignore' the overbearing sounds, which were causing me sensory overloads, and to 'just get on with life'... Easier said than done when you have 4 kids and 2 dogs...

It was now early in 2014, and I had just had an umbilical hernia repair done. I remember the operation took much longer to complete than was expected, and I woke up with an oxygen mask on a few hours later. As to why I had the oxygen mask on was unclear, and I was never told the reason why.

The operation took it out of me a lot more than I was expecting, and I struggled for quite a while afterwards, needing to take regular pain relief, and a lot of bed rest.

My worst time was when I went away for the weekend, shortly after my operation, and I became very unwell. As soon as I got out of the car I began to feel very dizzy and like the room was spinning. I spent the rest of the day in bed.

The next day we went to a theme park, and I felt very weak and like I was struggling to stand. I started with bad diarrhoea, and again spent most of the day in bed feeling rotten.

The next day I remember going to the onsite shop to get some tablets to help my tummy, and I started slurring really badly and staggering like I was drunk! I was embarrassed because people were staring at me like I was drunk!

When I got home from holiday I went to the doctors, where I was rushed to the hospital, to a stroke clinic, for assessment.

The consultant said that I didn't appear to have had a stroke, but was showing sluggish movements in my reflexes.

I managed to get an MRI of my brain and neck, and after waiting for a while, I was told that apart from a couple of slightly bulging disks, everything was 'normal'.

I was then referred for a neurologist.

In the meantime I had started to get swollen and painful joints, and my bones sometimes felt like I had knives running down them, scrapping them.... I was becoming even more fatigued by the slightest things. The pins and needles was now in my entire body and I often felt like bugs were crawling on me and in my hair...

In September 2014 I finally got my M.E. Diagnosis, and began an assortment of different pills to try and help my symptoms....

It's now May 2015 and, although my health has improved slightly, I have decided that enough is enough, and I am going to try and find my own cure, starting with my diet.

My weight is currently 12 stone 7.8 pounds and my waist is 42 inches!