Flaring Through Life

• ME/CFS

Otherwise known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Sydrome. Throughout my daily life and my blog, I will always refer to this condition as ME. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve mentioned CFS and people have said,

“What? So you’re just tired? Isn’t everyone?”

They have no idea that it involves an endless list of debilitating symptoms. Yet if I say ME, some people know what it involves and others outright ask. I much prefer it to the ‘just tired’ brigade.

Some symptoms include – Pain, fatigue, insomnia, cognitive dysfunction (brain fog) causing memory loss, struggling to form sentences, and slow processing. Post-exertional malaise, dizziness, palpitations, hot flushes, chills, intolerance to light, sound. touch, taste and smell, sensitive skin, digestive problems, headaches.

• Fibromyalgia

A condition similar to ME but there are some differences between the two. The most dominate feature of ME is fatigue and post-exertional malaise, whereas pain is the more dominate in Fibromyagia.

• Dissociative Seizures

For 5 years I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and then came a change is diagnosis to dissociative seizures. I get what are known as ‘auras’, during these times I feel disorientated, like a drunken feeling. These can sometimes stop at just an aura or turn into a seizure.

The seizure itself can lead to a variety of symptoms including – loss of awareness/consciousness, involuntary movements in body/face, involuntary noises, breathing changes, and is followed by post-seizure fatigue. The reason for these seizures in short, is that when dealing with stress, difficult emotions or trauma, my brain protects itself by ‘shutting down’. Quite clever really but also very scary!

• Femoroacetabular Impingement

This is where the hip ball/socket rub together due to extra bone growth. It causes pain in the front of the hip and lower back, stiffness, reduced movement, clicking/pinching sensation, instability and difficulty walking or sitting for long periods.

• Dehydrated/bulging discs in neck and spine

Causes me to have neck and back pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in arms/legs/hands/feet, stiffness, difficulty walking or sitting for long periods.

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

This condition causes numbness, tingling, pins and needles, weakness, lack of grip, pain in thumb/fingers/palm/wrist/forearm and is caused by the media nerve in the wrist being compressed.

• Atopic Eczema

Symptoms include – itching, dry/cracked skin and a red rash.

• Pompholyx Eczema

Symptoms include – burning sensation on hands, itchy blisters that cover the hands and/or fingers, and leads to dry, cracked, painful skin.

• Allergies

Contact dermatitis (both types of eczema) – certains foods, metals, detergents.

Hayfever – watery/swollen eyes, runny nose or congestion, throat irritation, cough, prickly rash if there’s skin contact.

Food allergies – lactose, fish, certain fats/oils.

• Gastric Issues

This causes acid reflux, indigestion, heartburn, bloating, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and trapped wind that causes intense pain in chest and back and excessive burping.

• Unknown Gynae Issues

This is an unexplained condition I’ve had since my early teens years (any males may want to stop reading here). Symptoms include – painful, heavy periods, periods that vary in colour: red, brown, purple, pro-longed bleeding, pain/cramps in ovaries, womb, uterus, pubic bone pain, pressure in private region.

I’ve tried every form of contraception and none have made much difference other than giving me new issues. I’ve had an ultrasound and X-ray – both came back clear. I’ve also had a laparoscopy which found a cyst (which was removed) but no further concerns. I’ve been passed back and forth between doctors and gynaecologists. However, my most recent update is that I have been passed back to gynae to discuss a possible hysterectomy.