Trust Your Gut Instincts

I’ve always been a firm believer in trusting one’s gut instinct. I taught The Apprentice and Junior Accountant, when they were young girls, that if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t, and I’ve started teaching the younger three the same thing.

The Specialness of Specialists

(Try saying the title of this post three times really fast.)

I visited specialist doctor rooms a couple of times as a child. The quietness of the rooms was unnerving, the many empty chairs gave me the distinct impression that no one liked going there, and the cold, meticulous manner in which the specialist dealt with his patients, i.e. me, convinced me he was the reason people stayed away. 

Time To Change Doctors

When our doctor slammed the door shut on our three-week plan to help us live with my post-viral fatigue, I started thinking about our doctor’s abilities.

Our PVFS Three-week Plan

The thought of having post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) for six months depressed me. I already felt useless as a wife and mother and I struggled to continue with my online studies. I had heard of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), so when I started researching PVFS I soon discovered that PVFS, CFS, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and Fibromyalgia shared similar symptoms. The thing that scared me the most was how long some people had suffered from debilitating fatigue. 

It Began With a Virus

For anyone who has been diagnosed with post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and refuses to accept the diagnosis, this post is for you.  

I first discovered that something wasn’t right with my body in April 2010 when I fell very ill with a virus. My entire body ached for two weeks – my muscles, my bones, everything from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I couldn’t stand to be touched. It was like the all-over ache people get with the flu, but a hundred times worse. The only fever was on the first day and I didn’t have any other symptoms, except for extreme fatigue.