Fibro/CFS/ME Foothold
I Wish I Could Dance …
Maybe it’s grief. Maybe it’s envy. Maybe it’s hurt. Maybe it’s anger. Maybe it’s jealousy. Maybe it’s pain. Maybe it’s mourning. Maybe it’s a mixture. Maybe it’s all of them. Maybe it’s something else, something with no name. I don’t know what it is, but just hits out of the blue sometimes. Watching teenagers ride [...]
Acronyms Galore: My Fight With Illness & Disability
Not updated since 2004. The Situation I have multiple disabilities and chronic illnesses – the main diagnoses are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia but I have a double-handful of other ones to accompany these. The doctors say I will probably never recover completely from my diseases, especially as some of them are genetic and therefore [...]
An Exercise In Helplessness
Written: February, 2001 My attendant carer didn’t turn up tonight. I phoned the agency this morning and they said I was listed for a carer at 4:30pm. Not only do I prefer my carers to come in the morning, but they have a history of being unreliable and that only gave me a half hour [...]
Self-Hypnosis For Pain Control
Having been on serious prescription-level painkillers for years, and still being in pain which spiked at 9.8 on the usual 0-10 scale, I have been fairly desperate for some pain control which actually works. I joined a chronic pain mailing list to get some ideas about what alternative methods people were using to control pain [...]
CFS Fatigue
This piece was written by Jenn Vesperman. Used with permission. CFS fatigue differs from healthy fatigue not only in the severity, but in the quality. Normal fatigue is tiredness. CFS fatigue is painful. Normal fatigue occurs when you’ve put in a full day’s work, or extensive exercise, and you can recover quickly. I am now [...]
Ten Commandments For Unwell Beings
This was originally sent to me as a document entitled “Ten Commandments For Wellbeing”, but, interestingly, I only had to change it a little bit to fit people with Fibro, CFS, and even other invisible disabilities. I guess we just all need the same things to be as well as possible! 1. Thou shalt not [...]
CFS And ‘Stress Allergy’
This piece was written by Jenn Vesperman in the form of an email to me. Used with permission. Dear? You are allergic to stress. Let’s see if I can explain. Everyone has a certain capacity for stress – a point at which they get irritable (or some other reaction), then a greater point at which [...]
Diary Of A Voice Amplifier
December, 2003 The words nearly jumped off the screen as I read them: The voice amplifier is a small portable aid that is worn on the body. It is useful for people who have quiet speech … Only outgoing breath, such as a whisper, is necessary to enable the voice amplifier to provide amplification. And [...]
CFS And Exercise: The Biochemical Reasons
From a message I sent to the CFS-20s mailing list in May, 1997. The quoted parts are Roger’s and have been used with permission. Please note that I am NOT a biochemist or a doctor or anybody else who’s qualified about this stuff! What’s written below is my understanding from what doctors and biochemists have [...]
CFS -> Osteoporosis?
If you’ve had CFS for a few years, but are still under fifty, osteoporosis is probably the last thing on your mind. After all, it’s not as if CFS doesn’t present enough problems on its own! But like it or not, you may need to give it some thought. My doctor sent me off for [...]
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