Post Viral Fatigue

Hi jacqueline,

Yes this does sound like post viral fatigue. I also had a this. I caught measles from the hospital I worked at and ended up in intensive care with pneumonia, very lucky to be alive.

Since this I had suffered from cfs. I too saw OH, but I was constantly sick for months after that I was off for so long that I just decided to leave as I felt I needed to concentrate on my health.

12 months after I got an easy little part time job but even this was too much for me, so in February I had to leave there, since then my fatigue has just got worse. It's an ongoing battle.

They say you can recover from this and if you do then it is in the first 12 months. 3 years on and I'm still getting worse.

My only advice is to rest when your body is telling you to, because if you don't then you will know about it.

I do sincerely hope you feel better soon xx

It certainly sounds as though you have developed post viral fatigue which as you are finding out is totally debillitating. Coming to terms with the condition is probably the hardest part of the process now and you'll need to make radical changes to your lifestyle in order to give yourself the best chance of getting the optimum results out of any recovery.

I've had this for fifteen years and am unable to work very many hours a week at all so it's that sort of change you're going to have to get used to unfortunately.

You need to concentrate initially on doing as little as possible, so that you can establish a baseline from which you avoid the dreadful "boom and bust" that many of us have suffered, until we learn how to cope.

It's a horrible condition to be faced with I know but you will with time almost certainly recover to some degree, if not always fully so. There is a large community of us out there with the same thing and you'll get good advice here as to how to cope with many of the problems that you'll come up with, from doctors and social services to family, on the route to improvement.

Depression initially is a perfectly normal reaction to getting hit with this, but with time you'll learn to cope and hopefully, those on here will give all the help they can..... :-)

 

I know just what you mean as I was a very active person but I do have good news after many years of trying to fight this condition I am now feeling the best I have felt in a long time and no more days in bed.

The key to my success is learning to live with this condition was pacing. However like you as soon as I felt good I would do all those jobs which had stacked up, WRONG!!

I started treating my condition like someone who wants to cycle 100 miles. You don't go out the first day and ride 100 miles you work up to it. The first challenge was to learn just how much I could do without ending up in bed. My GP encouraged me to take 30min rest periods doing absolutely nothing. I got a yoga mat and just lay on the floor.

If you discuss this approach with your OH dept then it means you can do some work and at least having some money coming in. Its better to do 1hr a day then do 3hrs the first day and then can't work again for the rest of the week. I would say don't rush into increasing your energy levels and if you have family get them to help get those jobs done.

Bets of luck

In a word, yes. It sounds like ME/CFS. Assuming you do have this illness, there are a few words of advice I'd give you, as a long-term sufferer. First, don't let your doctors fob this off as depression. Yes, it's normal to feel depressed as a result of being ill, but a person could also be depressed because of any other illness, like, say, cancer. It doesn't negate the fact of a serious illness. Also, take it easy and be very careful of overdoing it. That can result in worsening of symptoms and even in severe relapse. I know the work situation is very difficult to resolve. But if you continue to work while being ill, you can eventually become so ill that you simply can't work, period. That happened to me. Also, if you're in the U.K., beware of the NHS system's program of graded exercise. That is widely questioned and can result in a crash. You can maximize your chances of getting better if you pace yourself, get lots of rest, destress as best you can, and eat healthfully. 

Hi Jacqueline, I am so sorry to hear how you are feeling.  I am in my 7th year of this condition.  When first diagnosed I was able to continue working part time for 4 years.  However, my role changed and I was not supported as I should have been and I had a major crash in 2013 and have not been able to work since.  I suffer with pain in my body all the time and yes the stairs can feel like a mountain.  I have been bedbound, housebound, and had to use a wheelchair over the last few years.  I am back on my feet but walk with stick or crutch.  You really need to listen to your body and accept where you are at present.  When you have accepted, you then can move on very slowly.  There is no point in worrying about work, as stress will make you 10 times worse and you will crash anyway. 

If you are unable to work and have to give up and have been diagnosed, you are entitled to PIP and ESA.  If you have been diagnosed and want to drop your hours, you can still claim PIP.  This benefit you can get whether your work or not. Please visit Action for ME site where you can find out all sorts of information and guidance and they have their own welfare helpline.

I wish you all the very best, but please remember if you continue to stress and work when you are unable to then you will be in for a very long hard journey, so look after  yourself, you and your health come first.

Tx