For a few days now, I have been meaning to update this.  However The Fog has descended and that makes writing difficult.

The Fog is a constant menace for anyone who has CFS/fibromyalgia/whatever-it-is and is difficult to describe.

One way for a healthy person to experience The Fog is to stay awake for about 48 hours (an no napping allowed) – the effect on the brain is similar.  It is like a car where the battery is nearly run flat – enough juice to turn the engine over, but not enough to start it.

I have had quite a few ideas for posts, but every time I start to think the post through, the brain stalls and descends into the realm of random disconnected thoughts.  Some may say this is what I normally write anyway?

I am not sure whether the Fog is directly attributable to the CFS, or whether it is down to medication.  Alternatively it could be due to lack of sleep which is another of the occasional little joys of the ailment.

One way or another, I hope it will pass soon.

Normal service will be resumed then…..

One of the many symptoms of CFS is the ability to have a nights sleep and to wake completely unrefreshed!

For two nights on the trot, I went to sleep at my normal time, which is usually around one or two in the morning (I’m a night owl).  Each morning I woke at around seven with the knowledge that I wouldn’t get back to sleep.  I also felt like I hadn’t slept at all.

Yesterday was the day after the second night, and was therefore a “lost day”.  I have them quite often.

A lost day is a day where I am fit for nothing.  I was desperately sleepy all day, yet couldn’t have a nap because of Restless Legs – Yes, I’m a wreck!!  Every time I relaxed to the point where I felt I could doze, the legs started kicking and became extremely painful.  The only cure for that was to walk around for a bit, which isn’t a good way to sleep.

I had a great night last night.  I went to sleep at two, and didn’t wake until midday – ten hours!  Yet even now I feel a bit sleepy. 

Of course, apart from the physical tiredness, there is the accompanying mental fatigue.  This is the bit I find very hard to live with, as I enjoy my writing and meditating.  I tend to be a thinker and dreamer, and when the though process shuts down I am at a bit of a loss.

I meant to write a piece for this yesterday, but the thoughts I did have made no coherent sense.  It was like trying to write in porridge.

Even today, it ain’t so easy!!!

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or CFS) is a nasty ailment.

It suffers (sic) from many drawbacks- 

• It has no outward symptoms.
• It is difficult to diagnose.
• People are reluctant to admit to ‘feeling tired’ all the time.
• It seems to have many and varied associated complaints.

The main symptom of CFS is a feeling of unnatural fatigue.  By unnatural, I mean a tiredness that is completely out of proportion to the exertion.  The simple act of doing some mundane every-day chore can leave the victim feeling washed out for hours, even days after. 

Because of its lack of outward symptoms, the sufferer is frequently accused of ‘laying it on’, ‘malingering’ or just plain good old fashioned ‘being neurotic’.  Why would an outwardly healthy person insist on a day in the armchair or a day in bed just because they went to the shops, if they weren’t being a hopeless hypochondriac?  In fact one of the biggest hurdles faced by a sufferer is in convincing friends, family and colleagues that the condition exists.

There is a lot of confusion between CFS and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or ME.  The two terms are frequently confused and interchanged.  Symptoms are essentially the same, though there are differences (ME is considered to be pathological, whereas CFS is considered to be neurological).

I have had the condition now for a few years.  Whether I have CFS or ME is open to debate, but for the sake of argument, I’ll leave it at CFS for the moment.  One way or another, it is a pain.  Literally.

It is estimated that around 4% of the population have CFS, though I would imagine this figure would be a lot higher as many are reluctant to report their fatigue, and many more are just dismissed as the aforementioned neurotic.

I thought it might be of some value to cover the topic of CFS on this site.  I haven’t seen many sites examining the topic.  Because of its stigma, many people are reluctant to talk about it, so I thought a piece of open writing might be of some help?