I'm Sara, I'm 21 years of age and from Essex in the UK.I have had M.E for just over 7 months now. I was diagnosed officially back in march this year (2006). I was lucky to get an early diagnosis, as it normally takes many sufferers years to get a diagnosis.
At the moment my symptoms vary a lot from day-to-day, but my most common symptoms are:-
*Extreme fatigue*
*Depression*
*Brain fog* *lack of concentration* *confusion*
*Loss of memory* *problems finding the right words to say*
*Mental and physical exhaustion*
*Muscle and joint aches*
*Headaches/Migraines*
*High temperature most of the time, but no control over my temperature. Goes from one extreme to the next of being really hot to really cold!*
*Muscle twitching/tingling*
*Restless legs*
*Pins and needles in arms*
*Blurred vision (most often happens if I've watched too much tv or been on the computer too long)*
*Sore throat and tender lymph nodes*
*Sleeping trouble. Either can't sleep, light sleep/frequent waking, or needing to sleep a lot.*
*Nausea*
*Loss of appetite* *IBS* *digestion problems*
*Sensitive to caffeine, gives me migraines* *Also sensitive to alcohol (found that out the hard way!)*
*Dizziness/loss of balance, resulting in falls (especially down stairs!! Not good.)*
I find that I have a certain amount of energy at the beginning of the day, and have to plan what I think I can achieve in that day and go from there. I make sure all the important and most strenuous things get done first, then take a rest, maybe nap. Then work on whats left. I very rarely get everything done in a day that I had planned to. Normally by midday my 'energy budget' has run out. It's frustrating because I used to be really active, now I just can't do it. I've had to resign from my job because I couldn't fulfill the terms of my contract, however I can re-apply for my job when I have revcovered. However long that may be. I have made many friends online who share the same illness or very similar, and it is nice to know I am not alone, and to have people that understand. I live with my wonderful fiancé Ian, in a small one bed house. We have a cat called Billy. We used to have a hamster called Harriet, but unfortunately she passed away on 25th June 2006, aged 2 years, 1 month.R.I.P. Billy is a housecat as we live too close to a main road, but it's nice because it means I have company while Ian is out at work. He's a siamese cross (we think! or rather we were told) so he is quite a talkative little man! Kinda cute really. He's just over 7 months old.
Anyway, that's all I can really say about me, but feel free to e-mail me to get to know me. My e-mail address is at the bottom of this page :)
