About M.E.

 Created by Brian Exton , used with permission.

M.E is a chronically debilitating illness.The idea that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a 'fatiguing' illness is not fact based. In fact to suggest that an M.E. patient is 'fatigued' is incredibly insulting because of the wide range of symptoms experienced by the patient.These vary in intensity and in range but a common factor for most patients is that the symptoms begin with a viral infection that simply doesn't seem to clear up.Simply being tired all the time does not mean you have M.E. ! The illness itself first became recognised by the World Health Organisation in 1969 and was classified as an organic(physical) neurological(nervous system) disorder.Clinical trials and tests have shown that the brain stem in M.E. patients is invariably damaged.

So far sixty four different symptoms have been documented in M.E.These include having a sore throat and/or swollen glands, sore eyes,(I personally can liken this to not having enough liquid between the eye and the socket so this one feels like light scraping of the eyes which,by the end of the day,can be almost unbearable),headaches,nausea,painful joints and muscles,feeling faint which can be caused by both feeling dizzy or extremely lightheaded,poor temperature control,a terrible memory and slurred speech.Concentration can become almost nonexistant and so even holding a conversation can simply be too much at times.

The list could go on and on however I am adding links to good,informative sites on M.E. for anyone who may have the illness,for carers,for those who know someone with M.E. and would like to know more so as to offer support and also for those who know little or nothing and would like a better understanding of this much maligned illness.

For those who feel that this illness may be starting I advise an immediate visit to the doctors surgery so anything else may be ruled out.I also recommend taking 3000mg of vitamin C to boost the immune system, plenty of water and rest.Another suggestion would be to get Vega (intolerance to foods) Testing done,if your GP won't fund that pay for it,it's well worth the money because a lot of supposed M.E. patients are actually hugely intolerant to certain foods and once they clear them from their systems they feel better. Holistically I recommend healing to clear damage done to the energetic and emotional bodies because any damage there eventually does impact onto the physical self.It certainly helped me.

  A Hummingbirds Guide to M.E. , this site is incredible and has a huge resource of information.

The M.E. Association, an association which can be joined it also offers plenty of information and help too.

Action for M.E. , an charity organisation to help those with M.E. and their carers

The 25% M.E. Group, for those most severely affected by this disease