10 July 2007

ME and me

with MS, it is better to concentrate on what you are able to achieve with
relative ease and leave to others those things that will only make matters worse

Shirl

I have put the quote from Shirl above because, although its about MS, it is also very applicable to ME.

Probably most of you know that I have ME. Probably most of you don't know what ME actually is. Please forgive me if I seem to be patronising, but nine times out of ten people think that ME is "just being tired".

When you're ill t's like having the worst flu of your life. Every single cell of your body (no joke) feels like its on fire. If you stand up you're dizzy. If you lie down you feel sick. Your body aches with fatigue, your brain is made of cotton wool. If you can get to sleep you're lucky - and if you do you won't feel any better for it. There is only one thing to do, and that's wait for it to pass.

I am one of the lucky ones. I can study full time, I can work full time (ish), I have an active and (possibly too) busy social life. I have friends and relations who look after me, and almost understand what's going on when I say "sorry, I can't come out, I'm too tired". Because being too tired on a normal day means being dizzy and feeling sick. Being too tired on a bad day means retreating to bed and trying not to think. I often have "brain fog" - not being able to string a sentence together, or getting halfway through a sentence and having to leave it because I can't remember what I was saying. This makes me come across as very stupid, which is incredibly frustrating.

You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this. In September I am running 5k for Action for ME, the national ME charity. I would dearly like to raise a lot of money for this wonderful charity who make life worth living for people who are severly affected by ME. This is another cheeky request for sponsorship. You can sponsor me here:



I will be incredibly grateful for the smallest amount to help me reach my target.

Thank you xx


3 comments:

Chris said...

Happy to oblige

chux said...

Sorry about the ME mate, I understand to a degree. I have had Fibromyalgia for the last 3 years (same family-ish). I caught a bug from the kids last week. to them it was a cold. For me it was 'pain', in my arms, hands, wrist, shoulders, back, chest hips legs and feet. Bed is all I can do in that situation.
I find myself thinking about where I can sit down for a rest a lot more. Like an old man!
Brain Fog, constructing a sentence can be tough. i find I get it typing too.

I do feel for ya honey - nasty

Anonymous said...

Thanks for explaining this Clare. The more those with diseases speak up, the easier it is for others to understand the truth.