h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So.. I book my ticket down to London for Friday, all set to make the h2g2 meet up. My dad's even going to be home that weekend, so I'll get to see him too.

Wake up on Saturday, tired, and aching all over. Stay in bed all morning, hoping that it'll lift. It doesn't.

So do I make the h2g2 meet? No.

I /hate/ this fatigue. I /hate/ that it still hits me. That I still have days that are so bad. That being back at work seems to have made things worse.

I'm now allowed to use the disabled minibus to get to and from the university and home. Which is good - because walking was really really exhausting me, even though it's only 20 mins each way, and taxis were too expensive. But psychologically, it's still really tough.

*sigh*. I just want to be back to normal again.

Inanna ... what's causing your chronic fatigue? When did it start? I think I can give you some support and encouragement and perhaps even a bit of advice.

I wish there was something I could do, but you know I'm good for an endless supply of s

Pillowcase too!

for Pillowcase and SMoB.

I've no idea why I have this. Neither does the , who's done all kinds of tests, on thyroid function, and diabetes, and blood counts and so on, all of which come back normal.

It started back in January, after my having a really bad cough/chest infection for most of November/December. AT its worst, I'd get dressed and then have to lie down for half an hour to recover.

It's somewhat better now - I can work perhaps 4 days a week, from 11 til 4.. but I still have days like today, where my leg muscles ache, and twitch, and my whole body feels exhausted.

Any hints/advice more than welcome. I'm currently taking handfuls of vitamins, ginko, ginseng, Co-enzymeQ10, L-tyrosine (thyroid-based amino acid) etc etc...

OK Inanna, I'm going to sit down and write a bit and post it to this forum sometime! Alternative ways of coping with CFD in addition to, not replacing, other treatments. I hope I'll have something for you tomorrow!

Eh, I have no great wisdom to share.

But I do have lots of s for you!

Hello Inanna!

This is just my own opinion, but read it and see if any of it makes sense.

I say that CFS is caused by the strain of the modern lifestyle on people. Consider: we all have problems and traumas; you have been open about many of yours - things that place a burden on your mind and oppress and depress you for much of the time, making you unhappy. But we are expected to 'perform', we need to rush to do all those things that 'society' demands of us. You have been studying, and studying can be hard on a person. I know - my own attempts at gaining a qualification came very close to killing me. Now, you are under great strain - your emotional traumas that are still not fully resolved yet, and also the tough schedule you have to keep up with. You also don't live in a healthy environment (hardly anybody does) and probably do not eat as well as you could under optimal conditions (again, hardly anybody does). Any one of those factors alone is not too bad, but put them together and you have a bit of a problem - people are not designed to cope easily with such things. Our lifestyle today is too out of whack compared to what we have been designed to cope with over the few million years previous to the most recent two millennia.

So your nervous system gets worn down, your immune system gets worn down. Set-up for what happens next.

Inevitably you get sick. We all get sick, we get colds and 'flu's and other mild afflictions. Because you are worn down to begin with you get sick more easily and the sickness also affects you worse.

And now? Your immune system is impaired more by having to deal with the 'flu or whatever. This opportunity is seized and other bacteria and viruses invade your body. Even bacteria already inside your body, natural and beneficial kinds, can increase to the point where they're a problem. Your body chemistry gets thrown out of balance. Your internal set-points get shifted.

That all is still not too bad. If you could really rest and recuperate for a good long time your body would be able to overcome all this, it would be able to fight off all the new nasty microbes, and restore its chemistry to what it used to be before.

But that is not allowed to happen. Instead you are expected to return to work, your already-too-hectic schedule, as soon as possible. Consequence? You may recover from the original 'flu but you are still stuck with all or most of those 'accessory' microbes and attendant internal chemical imbalances.

Also, your mood stays depressed. It is largely because of unhappiness that this started, because of unhappiness that it got so bad, and now it is making you unhappier still, which makes it even harder to recover from.

The end result: a condition that is an extremely complex interplay involving your outside environment and life circumstances, your moods and emotions, the internal chemistry of your body, and a host of invading foreign organisms. The deck is stacked against you, the condition creates the conditions that sustain itself. Your life becomes an uphill struggle against these overwhelming, invisible, ever-present forces.

Medical science looks at the pieces of the puzzle, but cannot see the big picture. They may see certain microbes, or imbalances in certain chemicals, but the whole thing is way too complex - there are too many separate elements, too many different imbalances - in every individual the particular manifestation will be unique, and no medications can be effectively applied to treat people across-the-board. Yes, some medications and therapies can help for some of the aspects, but for real healing you have to look at the root causes, you have to look at the whole.

So what do you do?

1. You need to rush less. This does not necessarily involve scaling down your workload - but if you could, it would help. But if you can get yourself to feel less rushed it will already help. You should worry less about time, about deadlines - take some time to experience timelessness. Do you know of relaxation techniques? Try some. Do you listen to music? Do so. Seek out things that you can enjoy in peace, with no pressure.

2. Improve your diet. It's not enough just to take supplements. A good diet cannot be separated into its constituent parts. In natural foods you find the nutrients that you need in the amounts that you need and in the right combinations with the right other nutrients, and in forms your body can best digest and utilise. Just make sure that you do not eat any foods that you are allergic to.

3. Avoid poisons and pollutants in your environment. Try to find time to go to places that are clean, natural and healthy such as parks, and spend some time there, breathing in the air and feeling a sense of belonging to nature.

4. Be with friends that are caring, gentle and sensitive.

5. Use visualisation techniques. Firstly, use them for relaxation. Visualise situations that relax you and make you happy - beautiful, peaceful, natural situations. Be creative, fantasise!

Secondly, use visualisation to strengthen yourself and build yourself back up. Visualise yourself becoming strong and full of energy, visualise yourself accomplishing the things you would like to accomplish, imagine the thrill and enjoyment that this would give you, and believe in your ability to do it.

Visualise your body's internal mechanisms improving in their function. Visualise your immune system - your white blood cells, antibodies and so forth - fighting against the invading microbes. Visualise them winning, driving out all the bad invading little critters. Visualise the chemistry of your cells getting back to normal - use a naïve and childish image of the way this might happen, for instance cells filled with smoke and sludge and dirt; visualise little people in your cells going to work to pump all of this pollution out so that your cells then gradually clear up and become healthy-looking and efficient-working. Visualise all the poisons leaving your body. If you want you can do this realistically by imagining the actual physiological processes at work. I think this can work but a more 'naïve' vision can also work. Positive visualisation really does work! Try it - every night before you fall asleep, or in the morning for a few minutes after you've awoken, or when you're taking a bath, or when you're eating.

6. Cut down on television, or best of all, cut it out alltogether! TV is poison! If you want to know what's happening in the world, read newspaper - but not too much because it can be depressing! If you want visual entertainment, go to the movies with friends.

7. Be happy whatever happens! Learn to appreciate, or better yet love, as much of yourself, your life, the people, the circumstances around you as possible, even despite what problems there might be. Don't worry. Expect the best, but accept whatever comes your way. Have a sense of inner peace. Cultivate this peace and happiness - deliberately decide that you are going to feel happy, and think of nice things that make you feel happy. Do this regularly every day.

8. Still use prescribed medical treatments, but add all these elements to them, and be sensitive to whether the medical treatments are really helping. Mainstream medical science is dismal - treatments could hinder instead of helping.

Okay Inanna - what do you think of that - anything useful there? Please talk more, because I have even more suggestions! You might also want to hear what some of my inner people have to say! These things I mention here I have learnt from personal experience, but my inner people have also added their own perspectives, and many of them actively help me out with my own problems!

Hey Inanna - come in please! It sounds like you're having a bad time. Please come talk just a little, maybe I can help you feel better! I really would like to know if you think any of the above could be useful. I know it can be painful for you even to sit in front of a computer - so why don't you print this out and read it while lying down nice and relaxed?

Hey Willem

I'll take longer to reply at some point when I have more energy - this week's been a really bad one.

I don't have a television.. but otherwise, there's some good stuff in what you said. Part of the problem is finding the energy to /do/ some of it - eat properly, etc ...

I've got an appointment with an acupuncturist next Friday. See if that helps any.

Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom. I do appreciate it.


Inanna

Okay Inanna!

Don't worry about what you *can't* do! But try and see what you can! I hope the acupuncture works!

Hope to hear from you again soon!

Willem

It must be very hard to feel so bad, hon.

I know it doesn't make up for it, but I wanted to remind you that no matter what you can do, it's who you are that makes you so wonderful.

Hey Inanna! Wherever you are right now: powerful positive thoughts are being sent out to you and you will feel better, period.