Welcome Alice :) it seems very common for parents with these illnesses to have children with ASD. Staggeringly so - I've noticed it in all the other support groups I've been in. There are surprising links between the two - CFS has even been described as the physical manifestation of autism. Bizarre but actually kind of makes sense to me - when I saw a psychiatrist he said that my anxiety and rituals had literally exhausted me into chronic illness. Sorry a bit of a bizarre way of saying hello to you! 
But it's on my mind - I have my own autism assessment in a couple of weeks. I hope your tests are done soon and that MS is ruled out. 
Pacific I wish I knew. This is the longest by far that I've been off in one stretch. When I had a big relapse before, we had the obvious solution of reducing my hours (I had just started FT when the illness really kicked off - not a coincidence of course), which they allowed. We first went to 16 hours - 4x 4hr shifts - but found that 3 consecutive shifts still knocked me out. So I then went permanently down to 12, and that worked really well for well over a year. But then I flared up massively earlier this year - I think probably another virus tipped me over - and it's just not going anywhere. They can't reduce my hours again, and they can't give me any more 'reasonable adjustments' without me basically not fulfilling my job description anymore. So there's nowhere left to go with it.
I am very lucky that I work for the council so being public sector I've had more protection in terms of sick pay etc. My DH had to be signed off long term when he had a prolapsed disc and he (retail manager) was out on his ear by this time. I'm horrified (but sadly, not all that shocked IYSWIM) that CFS isn't covered under income protection. That's awful, and yet another indication of how this illness is STILL viewed by many :( 
Anyway, I really don't know if this long term leave is going to make a blind bit of difference. I am just so... done. I love my work but the physical aspect means that even when I'm not in relapse mode, I am sore and exhausted - often to the point of tears - after 4 measly hours. They were very surprised when I told them that because as you all know, you put a brave face on and when someone casually asks 'how are you' you just say 'good' even when you're far from it, because you don't want to be seen as a grumpy, negative person all the time, and you aren't sure if anyone actually cares about the real answer anyway, it's just small talk.
Oh heck I'm waffling now sorry. Ranting, rather. I just feel like I can't keep fighting to work anymore, it's wearing me down. In particular - I stay off for another 2 months or whatever, maybe I get better and recover enough to go back. But what about next time? Because there WILL be a next time. And another, and another. As Hey said, we can only predict that it will be unpredictable. And it just goes round again, me feeling like shit for letting the team down, feeling embarrassed and scared of what they're all saying about me because I'm off AGAIN, wondering if anyone would actually even notice if I left. Going through meeting after meeting.
I'm not going to quit but TBH I'm not going to fight anymore either. I wouldn't blame them in the slightest for letting me go. I have options - not to earn a big wage, but basically I can teach a bit from home. So it depends on getting enough pupils. But the hourly rate is actually more than double what I earn in my day job, and it's totally flexible which is worth even more than that, I think. But of course no protection.
Thank you all for the kind words about my previous post BTW. It's much appreciated. I did consider talking about it with the GP but got sidetracked in my appointment as we had so many other things to get sorted. I am waiting for a meeting with the local CFS clinic anyway and I know that involves therapy so I will talk about it there. I did see though that in this clinic, they seem to use a different criteria, and imply that a history of severe mental health issues rules out CFS 
I'm pretty sure that's why my previous GP refused to refer me there when I was first ill, and insisted on sending me to St Barts instead - he knew I wouldn't have had any help from the local one.
I'm waffling again, sorry. Been resting, going to try and play piano a bit although my hands are cold - need to dig out the fingerless gloves again. Although I am also tempted by pressure gloves (often used for arthritis) has anyone tried that?