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M.E Awareness
As May is M.E Awareness month, I decided to do a blog post which explains what M.E is, some of the symptoms, stigma and what it's like to live with. Although I don't have M.E as severe as others, it still has a huge effect on my life and what I'm capable of doing.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis more commonly known as M.E or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a long-term illness that effects around 250,000 people in the UK. Anyone can suffer from this condition although it's more common in women than men.
M.E is the constant feeling of exhaustion that never goes away no matter how much you sleep or rest which has a huge impact on everyday life making basic tasks a lot more challenging and difficult to complete.
In the cases of severe M.E, people are often unable to do any activities themselves or can only carry out simple tasks. Some of those that have severe M.E are confined to their bed or are unable to leave the house. Not all cases are this way, in other cases of M.E people are able to do more but need days to rest and recover and are hit with 'payback.'
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I have suffered with M.E since I was 10/11 years old, I was newly in high school when my paediatrician came to the conclusion that was what played a huge part in my exhaustion and that it wasn't just the lengthening's of my spinal rods, recent spinal fusion and general poor health. For me, I have to keep my body as routine as possible with regular times of rest or my symptoms become much worse and difficult to manage.
This condition is something that is really difficult to live with, it feels as if it controls every aspect of my life. I have missed out on many things because of it. I wanted to go to university but due to the M.E and other conditions that doesn't seem possible anytime soon and although I work, I only managed five hour shifts.
As if suffering from a condition such as M.E isn't enough there is a huge stigma surrounding it, little understanding and awareness which is something that needs to change.