Medical Has Anyone Here Survived Severe Me?

[reddy4765]

spent three years being bedridden barely able to cook, clean, run errands, often not able to at all. was abused thru a period of this time. I'm going on nearly a decade of being sick, and it's had a profound impact on my life, and yet there are entire years which are gone for me; I am unable to access them. of course there's some ptsd, but some things are not worth remembering imo. my vague recollection of it was that was nothing more than giant void, a great period of nothingness.

 

[Deleted member 29920]

I don't have ME but I can relate to what you said about entire years being gone. I have a severe eating phobia and have felt like I'm not me for the past 10 years I've had it. My mother had severe ME for 7 years she tried lots of different things but what made her well was eating foods that boost the immune system and taking chinese medicine that specifically boosted the spleen/liver-im not sure the name of the medicine, it was 18 years ago. I am no longer in touch with her for various reasons but I remember her saying they told her her spleen/liver needed that boost to help fight it. It took about a year for her taking the medicine and eating an immune system boosting diet to pretty much fully recover and as far as I know has been in good health ever since 18 years ago. Do you have support from friends/family?

 

[Chava]

I have not had ME, but my life has been very limited by chronic pain and need to keep working because there is nobody else for me to depend on (so I'm always behind, depressed, and there is no such thing as a social life). I know chronic health problems can be exhausting, isolating, and depressing. My medical stuff was life-threatening ICU stays as a kid, which was pretty traumatic, though happened over a relatively short time period. The chronic pain that keeps going on and on through the months and years is pretty life-sucking though. And the depression feeds back into the pain.

Have you had PTSD diagnosed? Are you working with a therapist or any support for coping through this?

 

[joeylittle]

ME = Myalgic Encephalopathy, also Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS), Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS)

(I know people with these diagnoses will recognize 'ME', but just for others who may not)

 

[reddy4765]

@Chava, that's hilarious! as if! therapy is for rich people. so, apparently, is seeing the doc.

 

[Chava]

Why would I joke about therapy or seeing a doctor?

I'm not rich. But I see a doctor. And a therapist.

 

[cherryblossom]

there's some PTSD

What does that mean? Either you have PTSD or you don't.

I also think it's quite disrespectful to laugh off @Chava ,

that's hilarious!

who was only asking a few questions to perhaps better understand your situation. You could just say that you can't afford doctors/therapists, without making a blanket statement that they are only available to rich people, which is not true.

You presumably posted in order to get some help and support, so why be so disrespectful to someone who has taken time to answer your post?

 

[reddy4765]

I'm not rich. But I see a doctor. And a therapist....

I'm clearly very not-not-rich then. looking forward to sequestration whenever that kicks in. how nice it must be to be able to treat your medical and psychological problems!

 

[reddy4765]

I think I'm supposed to respond to this

so why be so disrespectful to someone who has taken time to answer your post?

why read that post as disrespectful when it clearly isn't?

You could just say that you can't afford doctors/therapists, without making a blanket statement that they are only available to rich people, which is not true.

but let's be honest, this is what's really offending you.

why are you picking on someone who has been forced to grapple with the same situation without your own resources? I find that abominable. what's really going on: no one wants to hear about how poor people, esp the disabled are being starved, physically, verbally, medically abused in this country. and it's systemic.