CFS Returning, Advice?

[mumineedawee]

Hi.

Got great advice and support here last year when dealing with ds's CFS. Big thanks to everyone, it really helped.

We've been fine for over 6 months, mostly back to just being a typical 11 year old.

School has been stressful, for a variety of reasons, and not likely to improve in the short term (a series of temp/sub teachers, local wrangling over teaching appointments, and so on).

Almost suddenly, but it could be that I just haven't noticed it creeping up, he seems to be suffering bouts of exhaustion. He's started to be too tired (or having diarrhea/sore head/throat) to get through a full week, not helped by the fact that its a different teacher every week.

Do ye think that it is the return of CFS? He's not due back to see his consultant until January.

It's possible but, equally there's a lot of bugs going round in schools at this time of year. Diarrhoea isn't usually a sign of CFS/ME, although everything else could be. There is no easy way of knowing, lots of people with CFS/ME only start getting the normal illnesses again once they are on the mend. Equally, CFS/Me is likely to flare up at times of stress. Is he Year 6 at the moment and still in the same school as when he was ill before? If he hasn't had a regular teacher for some time, I would ask for an appointment with the Head. Make sure he/she is fully aware that your DS is not too great at the moment. If you are worried, phone your consultant and ask if the appointment can be brought forward. At the very least, maybe he can speak to you by phone? It really depends how long this has been going on for and how bad your DS is. The education system will push and push for school attendance and it is easy to think that that is the most important thing whe, really, for a child with CFS/ME their health is the most important thing. If things are bad, you may need to reduce his school hours. Good luck.