Any tips please?

Hi caroline 74621,

I've had this struggle most days for the last few years. First off, can your body tolerate coffee/caffeine? And if so, does it give you an energy boost? My body doesn't like it when I have a coffee, but if I have a cup of tea (about 1/3 of the strength of a cup of coffee I think), then my body can tolerate that, so when I'm feeling especially tired, I just have them throughout the day to keep me awake enough to do my job. I also make a matcha latté in the morning as it contains caffeine but releases it slowly over a period of 1-3 hours.

Before getting my diagnosis from a practitioner, I'd just take the odd day off work/call in sick, but since getting it, my employer said that I can work from home sometimes/when I'm having a particularly bad day (usually about one day every one or two weeks). If you can do work from home with your job, I'd defiitely talk to your employer about the possibility of doing that.

My bladder is terrible, so I have to get up to go to the toilet about once an hour, but getting up and walking to the toilet and back helps me stay awake/keep going. If you're someone who doesn't need the toilet much, I'd say drink more water, then you'll need to go more and most people don't get anywhere near the 2-3L of water/hydrating fluid they should drink every day anyway.

Also, something you might come across online with information about CFS/ME is the difference between low effort tasks and rest. Sometimes, rather than look up stuff on the internet during my lunch break, I'll just sit and stare into the abyss and let my mind wonder. You could do it with your eyes closed, but I find I'll usually fall asleep if I do it that way.

Caroline. Chronic fatigue syndrome may be one of other diseases you own needing perspective as how best to grow tools to improve your life. I suggest you immediately purchase4 sheets of 3 inch wide sheet of memory foam the size bed you want from either Amazon Prime or softer sheets from net. Also take as many soma 30 min before bed such your brain relaxes and you sleep deep on your memory foam bed. I'm curious your age associated with this disease. I've seen much in this life to share.

Hi Caroline, I have recently had a diagnosis of CFS from my doctor and am waiting to go to my local CFS Clinic.

I too love my job and wanted to go back to work. I tried a phased return after been off 7 weeks and it was a massive mistake, I could not do it and found that I crashed and burned after two days of 4 hours, I had a day off inbetween the shifts as well. This was frustrating and upsetting for me. I have now had 12 weeks off work and can't see myself going back soon. It's so frustrating as like I say I love my job, and I have a contract until the end of January so am frightened that I will loose my job ( they are fantastic with me but the job needs doing, so they won't renew my contract)

Please don't try and rush back to work and then try a phased return and see how it goes.

Of course I am not saying that the same will happen to you, I can only say what happened to me.

I went swimming on Monday to try and do something different and something I enjoyed before the illness. I used to do 50 to 60 lengths and this would not affect me in any way. I did 20 lengths and have suffered every day since. It's so frustrating and upsetting.

I hope you manage to get back to work and don't crash. 😁

It's very tricky. I loved my job and did everything I could think of to stay. It became obvious one morning when I couldn't get out of bed (and after that morning I was never the same) that it was not in my best interest to continue working. I think if I had heeded my body's warnings I could have avoided the severity of symptoms that resulted so I want to support you in doing what you think is best if you think keeping your job is best for you. However, if you strongly feel that you're body is saying "NO!" than I would suggest that there might be some very strong wisdom there that shouldn't be ignored. Yes, it's not fun to have to rearrange your life, but if you have family support or some soft place to fall, it will be worth it. It's your health. You might not fully comprehend the value of your health at the moment but if you push yourself over the threshold of return, you will know the value of it then. Fortunately I've been able to keep part of my job and do it at home. It's just a very small part of it but it's something. I live with my folks now. They are getting pretty elderly so I can help here and there. I also sell stuff on Ebay. I miss my job, but I know without any doubt that it was the right decision to leave.