Hi everyone, checking in on day 28 (I think!).
I’m feeling a bit better as though the antibiotics are kicking in - certainly breathing better.
tangledyarn, letsbesensible, stayathomegardener and anyone else I missed with CFS, this is my next big worry. I am so weak. My legs are like jelly, I can barely get beyond the bathroom and even my arms ache if I type or hold a book. Im looking at the garden longingly because I can’t even begin to get down there.
I was diagnosed with ME in my 20s at a time when a lot of people still dismissed it. My doctor at the time said “a lot of doctors will dismiss you as if it’s not a real illness but I think you have something very real which we don’t yet understand called ME”. I’d had a pneumonia and I just could not recover. I remember the first time I managed to walk to the corner shop at the end of my road - 6 months later - and I was triumphant. Then I started to improve a lot and, in a move people thought was utter stupidity at the time, got pregnant with DD1. After the first trimester everything suddenly felt miles better, possibly due to pregnancy hormones!
In the years since I’ve definitely had relapsing remitting episodes, usually brought on by viruses and autoimmune diseases. Last time was three years ago when I got viral meningitis which in turn triggered coeliac disease. I was so ill with that it was 6 months of a gluten free diet before I was able to go out properly and live a “normal” life. The doctors have termed it as bouts of Post viral fatigue rather than CFS but it’s nothing for me to be 6 months after these episodes to even begin to get back to any kind of normality.
Since the coeliac I’ve worked really hard to gently build my fitness and health and I was doing pretty well before this, though I’ve never been up to working more than 3 days a week since (which is a worry as DH has lost his job and daren’t get a new one until I get an antibody test).
In some ways I’ve done this before and so I know I can do it again. In other ways I know exactly what the next few months might look like and that’s scary. I desperately need to get back to teaching and earn some money. At least the government self employment scheme will help for a couple of months.
In some lovely news I told my pupils I couldn’t teach them online this week as I was on antibiotics now and too weak. This is the fourth week and I know a lot have been very concerned for me. One of my lovely pupils makes kefir for a living and as it’s probiotic I asked if she had some spare she could sell me. She came round and dropped two bottles off as a gift. This is just one example of how amazing people have been during this.
JackJackIncredible that was a lovely picture and much needed.
Love to everyone still suffering and all those I haven’t mentioned. I’m keeping up with all your stories. You can beat this! 