Extreme fatigue.. excessive sleep..muscle weakness back pain

Hi Jane, 

I am sorry to hear you have been struggling so much, what you have written certainly sounds like chronic fatigue syndrome/ME.  

I suffer from fatigue fairly badly to point of struggling to get about the house and do stuff, need to take a lot of breaks but getting up and down from the sofa is also exhausting.  I also experience pain in numerous places especially my legs, hips and back.  

Your doing the the right thing by coming on here, iv only just joined hearing others stories helps, makes me feel less alone.  Reading and doing research is also good but most importantly doing something which is manageable but also what you enjoy.  I like to watch a couple of episodes of my favourite tv programs or a good film.  I also enjoy therapeutic colouring, or mindfulness colouring, I have a few adult colouring books that I do when I can once or twice a week.  Seeing friends and family also helps, but for me not to much in short space of time. 

Things will will change or improve soon I'm sure, I am up and down and it really makes me feel down.  I had mental health conditions before I had physical conditions.  I also try to read when I can focus and concentrate. I am passionate about certain subjects and enjoy all aspects of psychology and human behaviour, sociology, criminology and anthropology also fascinates me.  I am currently studying with the Open University and my dream on day is to return to work and help people, especially children and their families.  That is my focus which at times I loose but telling others about brings it back into focus even if only for a short period of time.  

I hope you find something you enjoy that gives you a little rest from all your struggles, if you already I suggest keeping doing that and maybe try to find some new things too. 

Kind regards and best wishes

Hey Jane,

Nice work getting the strength up to post. It can be a drain just trying to assemble it all on the page right? I have been there and I understand completely.

Now, let's talk about beating it.

There's 1000 cures and everyone who has overcome it will tell you a different method. I can't diagnose you, I don't know if you have any nutritional deficiences or any underlying conditions that have manifest. Finish your cycle of medical tests in case there is anything - but if you end up with the docs saying "there's nothing physcially wrong with you" then that's a very lonely place to be. A lot of us have been there including myself and I may be able to help with my approach, which is focussed on pacing and emotional awareness. You should also try to seek out a CFS clinic who can assist you with pacing diaries and morale encouragement, as well as tracking.

As some general starting advice, you need to start treating yourself as a science experiment, consciously observing your actions, your thoughts and your emotions and keeping them all tracked in a journal. Writing things down makes you objective about them and aware of how they affect other things. Awareness will lead to control. A lack of awareness wil lead to feeling victim to unknown forces. One accumulates more power the other surrenders it. You want to preciously guard and increase your power.

Get yourself a notebook to carry around and focus at the moment on information gathering and journaling. Just making this up as I go, but your plan may look something like this:

1) Accept you're ill (done)

2) Medical diagnosis, treat extreme physical symptoms (doing)

3) Observe and document

4) Implement routine

5) Progressive pacing, conscious reprogramming

6) Consistency until 100% recovered

I've been meaning to actually put the learnings I developed during my recovery 7 years ago into a proper plan for others. I'm on here at the moment for a while trying to help where I can, which I do from time to time as an act of gratitude. Maybe I will if it's useful to enough people.

I have had similar symptoms for years and have found that the only thing that helps is taking Wellbutrin.  This is an antidepressant, and although I am not a depressed person, it treats the symptoms of excessive fatigue so I can get on with my life. I am on here looking for alternative treatments because I hate taking medication, but in the mean time this is what has worked for me.