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ME/CFS Stop – When we had other plans

3/27/2018

Recently we were driving along with a schedule for the day. Then bang. We had a tire blow out. We were able to safely get to the side of road but that one event shot holes in the plan for the day. As we began to assess the condition of our spare tire and whether all the parts of the jack were in the truck, I was reminded of how ME/CFS suddenly forced me to change my plans.

There I was, tooling along with my life plan and then suddenly – bang – I was so ill that I was bedridden. And after going through the seemingly endless screening process, I was diagnosed with ME/CFS. Not great news.

Back on the side of the road, we thought we had everything to change the tire and started in. Then we realized that the jack crank was missing. Great – that meant that we had to raise up the car one half turn at a time. As I knelt by the car, inserting the lug wrench, turning a half turn, removing the lug wrench, moving it back to the other side, then reinserting and turning a half turn – over and over and over – I kept thinking about how ME/CFS required me to invent tools to get well because the normal methods didn’t work. And getting well was agonizingly slow. And repetitive. And repetitive. And really repetitive.

So having that flat tire abruptly changed my plans and it took more time than it should have because we didn’t have the right tools. And getting ME/CFS abruptly changed my life plans and it took more time to get well from ME/CFS because we needed to invent the right tools. What tools are you inventing? What tools are you learning from others? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS Recovery – Take Control

2/27/2018

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Have you had the experience of being introduced to a new perspective or way of looking at something and then suddenly you see it everywhere? Is it something new that’s popping up everywhere or had it been there all the time? Is it you who has changed by being aware or more open? From my own experience, I think it’s me. And when I truly grasp a new perspective, it seems to apply to everything.

My latest perspective is about control versus out of control. So much of our lives are controlled from somewhere else. But there is much that we can control. Not everything and not all of a certain thing, but there is much that we can tweak, reinforce and push for. Lately I’ve heard many people express to me and wring their hands about how things are happening in their lives. And they take the perspective that they are at the mercy of whatever it is. And as I hear this, my mind is saying take control. Make some intentional changes and be proactive. And of course it’s gotten me thinking about my struggle with ME/CFS.

At first, I turned over control of my illness to my doctors. But after much wasted time and energy, I finally admitted to myself that not only did they not have the answers, they ultimately just didn’t get it. A few were compassionate but that just felt good. It didn’t get me well. Finally I started to carve out pieces that I could control. I was sick of being sick and I was sick of getting nowhere. So, even though I wasn’t convinced that I really could change my SEID/CFS illness, I was so ticked off about having no answers to this cruel disease that I just started recording and tweaking. Recording and tweaking. Recording and tweaking ad nauseum.

So I just took action. I didn’t know what I was doing. But I was doing and it felt good. Would I get anywhere? I didn’t know but it felt better exerting some control. Eventually it became my path back to wellness but I didn’t know that when I started. I just needed to take some control. And it was good for my mental health. Are you taking some control of your version of ME/CFS? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome.

Look for my next posting on Tuesday, March 13th. And consider being part of the conversation.
Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS Attitude – Highs and Lows

2/6/2018

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Like most people, post the holiday rush and glitz, I’m feeling the let down. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of so much busyness followed by so much quiet. When I was struggling with ME/CFS, the contrast was starker. Other people went back to their normal, active lives and I went back to my forced slow recovery pace. It was a tough reality to accept.

Handling your ME/CFS attitude is key to finding a path back to wellness. It’s hard to keep yourself up and motivated when you compare yourself to the others around you. And in addition to the physical illness which you are struggling to understand and heal, you have to deal with all the negative judgments and assumptions made about you by others. And don’t forget how harsh and judgmental we can be on ourselves which is completely counter productive.

The only attitude we have control over is our own. So cut yourself some serious slack and jettison the self recrimination. And decide to ignore everyone else’s judgments. It’s a waste of precious energy fretting about it. Focus on what you CAN do to heal and recover. And let all the rest of that negative fodder go.

How do you screen out the negative attitudes of others? Of your self? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS Plan – Only Keep Your Successful Strategies

1/16/2018

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I learned a new card game over the weekend with a specific deck that contained resource, action and reward cards. The premise of the game was to start with a few cards and then slowly, through the gameplay, build a personal deck of select cards that you thought would be successful in winning the game. On every turn you had to make choices about what to keep, what to acquire and what to aim for. After playing three hands, of course I began to think about ME/CFS and how I had used a similar plan to get well.

After struggling for almost two years, only getting worse, I finally decided that I needed a better plan than my daily ‘how do I feel today?’ approach with the hope that by some miracle I would walk away fully recovered. FYI – I’ve never heard of this actually working for a ME/CFS patient. I decided that I needed a real plan. One made up of a handful of strategies that had actually improved some aspect of my illness. Over time I collected a record keeping strategy, a sleep strategy, a rest schedule strategy, a provider strategy, a nutrition strategy, a supplement strategy and a network for help strategy. Each strategy alone wasn’t going to get me well by itself but as a complementary set of strategies I was able to not only make measureable progress but eventually return to full health.

In essence, I built a personal deck of strategies which I played each day much like the new card game I had learned albeit the stakes were much higher. What strategies have worked for you and are in your personal ME/CFS plan deck? What strategies have you discarded? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS New Year - Take a fresh look

1/9/2018

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It’s a hackneyed part of our culture that everyone makes New Year resolutions which we earnestly pursue for one month. Then we return to our old habitual patterns. And every year we resolve not to let that happen yet again. So here we are. For many, it’s a desire to improve one’s health. If you’re struggling with ME/CFS, the stakes and the rewards are much higher than the average person who just wants to look or feel healthier. For us, it’s about reclaiming our lives and our ability to be fully functioning and present – to be well again.

I encourage you to take a fresh look at your version of ME/CFS. Hopefully you are keeping a daily log of your activities, sleeping/resting times, symptoms and medications. Step back and take an objective look at your patterns. Look for periods of wellness. What preceded those periods? Replicate those patterns. Look for periods of ill health or crashes. What preceded those periods? Don’t repeat those patterns. Look at your symptoms. Which are the most debilitating? When do they flair up? How can you treat them in order to short circuit the flair up? Look at your sleeping patterns. How can you improve the quality of your sleep? How can you make your bedroom into your version of slumber heaven – light, sound, comfort and sleep aids. Your daily log needs to be mined for clues as you find your path back to wellness.

If you’ve made progress this year and you’ve managed to shed some of the symptoms that were masking your version of ME/CFS, awesome! As you take a fresh look, you may get a clearer view of the key or central issues which characterize your version of ME/CFS and some insight into new approaches, strategies and clues to your next steps. It was through this methodical periodic review that I eventually unraveled my version of ME/CFS and was able to be fully well again. What can you see in your patterns? What will you focus on in this New Year? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS Nutrition - Avoid Junk

10/10/2017

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Ever since we were kids, we’ve been told by nutritionists to eat healthy food. The various pyramids and food groups have come and gone but the message has been the same. And there’s really no mystery to it. Eat healthy food. When I was struggling with ME/CFS, I paid attention to everything I ate once I understood the need to feed my recovering dis-eased body.

Our biggest road block to following this simple adage is discipline. In our consumer driven economy, there’s a mega agricultural and food business that wants us to consume a lot of unhealthy cheap stuff that’s profitable. And they have the market control to make it easy for us to acquire and eat their stuff and harder to get something different. So the first challenge is to PLAN to eat healthy food. This may sound simplistic but if I’m hungry and there isn’t anything healthy to eat, I go for the shelf with the packaged food. And sometimes, even when I have healthy food in the house, I don’t feel like preparing it. Make a salad? Sometimes I’m just too tired. So as simple as it sounds to eat healthy food, we have to work at it. And when you’re struggling with ME/CFS, every ounce of energy is precious. So you need to decide to allocate some of your limited supply of energy toward providing your body with the healthy food it needs to generate even more energy. Once you look at it that way, it’s a cliché of win-win.

So what’s healthy food? This is a personal decision in terms of what you know to be true about your metabolism. In today’s culture, many people are vegetarian or vegan. Some observe various restrictions in their diets that have made a huge difference in their health – gluten free, sugar free, etc. Whether you need to be more or less restrictive can be a matter of experimentation or testing. But whatever you do, as you work your way back to health, be sure to only put positive, healthy food into your system. Don’t eat negative food – like soda and copious sweets - that your body will have to spend precious energy clearing and processing. Plan to eat healthy food. What are your strategies for eating healthy? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS/SEID Recovery – It Takes Some Dedicated Time

7/11/2017

2 Comments

Every once in a while, I drag out my soap box…. Here I go….

I frequently receive emails from people who have been struggling with ME/CFS/SEID for way too long. This is such a cruel disease. And I know that everyone’s situation is different with demands and responsibilities. But recovery from ME/CFS/SEID, at least for me, came at a price. A very high price. I literally gave up two years of my life in order to recover. And, as you already know, I hated every minute of it up until I started to taste how it used to feel to be well. And when I got that taste, I had hope that I could recover. Full disclose: I had to repeat that ‘first taste’ experience three times before I fully understood what I needed to do next which was nothing.

I needed to stick with the protocol and rest. I needed to stay right where I was and continue to do all the self-care that had gotten me that far. And that’s when I truly began to hate the protocol. As I felt better and better, I continued with the restrictive protocol. Ad nauseam.

So here are my questions to you. How long have you been struggling with ME/CFS/SEID? What quality of life are you living? How much time would two years be compared with all the years you’ve already been struggling? What would you lose? Could you dedicate One year to only being a Patient? I know. It’s a very high price. This is a cruel disease. Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS/SEID Selectivity – A Time to be Picky

6/27/2017

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I recently took a fresh look around my home and saw a lot of stuff. Much of it felt like clutter. And then there were the boxes. Although I think that we have divested of a lot of material things, we have boxes - in the basement, in the garage, in the closets. I know what’s in some of them but honestly, whatever is in the rest, I clearly don’t need. So of course it reminded me of my struggle with ME/CFS/SEID and how much I was ‘doing’ that wasn’t fruitful personally – things that seemed important at the time but were really just fillers and ‘invented’ priorities by a Type A personality. I needed to let go of activities in my life that I could no longer handle – at least while I was healing.

At the time, I couldn’t image life without some of those activities and I allowed their loss to depress me. For a while, I valued them more than my health. But in time, as I focused on getting well, I let them all go. When I began to see solid improvement, I had the first real opportunity to add one thing back into my recovery plan. What would I chose? What had I missed most that would fit in with my improving energy levels without compromising my progress?

Now, as I look around my home and make choices about what to keep, it’s like clearing everything off the kitchen counter and then making intentional decisions about what to prioritize and put back. And as I experienced back then, I liked the selectivity of what to include in my life. I finally began to see that I needed to be selective - It was definitely a time to be picky. What picky choices are you making? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

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ME/CFS/SEID Flip Flops - One Week Later

4/4/2017

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In complete contrast to last week, we’re experiencing darker days with drizzle and rain for a bit. Temperatures have dropped into the mid-forties and it’s dank. Break out the heavy sweaters and raincoats. Many of us have been driven indoors. Time to put on the kettle and linger over a steaming cup of tea. Of course this all reminds me of my roller coaster days when I was struggling with ME/CFS/SEID.

A brief energy high would devolve into a long low. No real explanation – just overdoing. And the magic pattern of ‘just right’ seemed so elusive. When had I crossed the line into ‘too much’? Was it this or that? When should I have stopped and rested? Was there a signal that I missed? There was always lots of time to crank thru the failure questions when I was in a long low.

So just as the weather forecasters only get it right a fraction of the time, so do patients struggling with ME/CFS/SEID. What do the most successful forecasters have in common? Data, data, data and patterns, patterns, patterns. You know where this is going. If you don’t have a health log, get started. If you have one but you’ve been lax at recording, get back to it.

And if you’re a dutiful daily data gatherer then sit down with it and mine it for every clue it holds. Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

2 Comments

ME/CFS/SEID Nutrition – Avoid the Negative

2/7/2017

2 Comments

Often I’m asked what nutrition plan I followed when I was struggling with ME/CFS/SEID. Honestly, it wasn’t so much what I ate. It was what I DIDN’T eat. I simply learned to avoid the negative foods that are a standard part of our American diet. Of course none of this came about on day one. It was over time that I began to recognize the need to give my immune system a fighting chance to get well by fueling it with healthy food and drinks.

I developed the habit of asking myself, “Will my immune system thank me for eating this?” In the beginning, frequently, the answer was no. I began to eat more foods that were rich in nutrients and which could build up the strength of my immune system and less of the foods that were full of empty calories and unpronounceable ingredients.

We have learned that some patients who are diagnosed with ME/CFS/SEID are actually suffering from severe food allergies. And more and more people are restricting their diets by eliminating one or more common ingredients. Eating Organic, Gluten-free, refined sugar-free and other dietary restrictions are more common and the anecdotal evidence is showing that, for some, these dietary adjustments can generate a noticeable improvement in ones health.

For me, eating positive foods and avoiding the negative paid off. How have you adjusted your eating habits? What strategies are working for you? Please COMMENT on this blog or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them with your permission. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net. And Guest Blogs are most welcome!

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,
Martha

2 Comments

<<Previous

ME/CFS Stop – When we had other plans

ME/CFS Recovery – Take Control

ME/CFS Attitude – Highs and Lows

ME/CFS Plan – Only Keep Your Successful Strategies

ME/CFS New Year - Take a fresh look

ME/CFS Nutrition - Avoid Junk

ME/CFS/SEID Recovery – It Takes Some Dedicated Time

ME/CFS/SEID Selectivity – A Time to be Picky

ME/CFS/SEID Flip Flops - One Week Later

ME/CFS/SEID Nutrition – Avoid the Negative

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