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January -
February 1999
One to One
A
sharing of tips,strategies, ideas
and helpful thoughts from one person with CFIDS to another
Sometimes I liken the restrictions
of living with CFIDS and chronic
fibromyalgia is comparable to walking into your favorite ice cream parlor and asking for a double scoop,
only to find they are out of your favorite flavor. Having 30 other choices doesn't take that craving away,
but sometimes we have to make best with a second, third or even fourth choice.
I was forced
to resign from a teaching career of 25 years this past June. I knew that the time was coming. My health
was continuing up and down and working was simply out of the question. Nothing can compare to this experience,
and for the first few weeks, the mere thought brought me to tears of fear and complete discouragement.
I
decided to share/donate my teaching materials with the program that I have so dearly loved. Children's
books, volumes of teacher lesson plans and educational materials that I had collected over the years are
now a part of several classrooms. If I could not teach, then my teaching tools were going to continue
without me! That was the best I could do.
We have to continue to be survivors. Give yourself
31 choices when you need to. No matter how small or great the problem is, have those backup choices ready
and realize that "the promise of the rainbow is not found in cloud-free days but in the midst of the storm."
Susan
Hazlett
La Verne, Calif.
Through pacing my day, using some nutritional supplements and coming to terms with the
fact that there
is a lot of "down time" in my schedule, I have learned to have a very full life. I have two great little
boys, ages 4 and 1, a wonderful husband who helps out a lot, and I let myself experience the joy life
has to offer. I have refused to let this disease consume my life.
Some of the things that
help me include:
- I try to avoid stress at all cost. Stress usually
requires at least 24 hours to recover from.
- When listening to the radio, it has to be a talk
station or music with a slow beat. Fast music is too stressful.
- I never watch sad movies, read sad books, etc.,
because they leave me feeling down, and recovering takes too much energy.
- 5-HTP, a nutritional supplement is helpful for
sleeping.
- NADH, 10 mg., also a nutritional supplement, works for me, too.
Sharon Thompson
Wexford, Pa.
I have had CFIDS for almost three years. My doctor told me I basically would have to
live with this
for the rest of my life. I decided a few months ago to see a doctor who specializes in immune system enhancement.
After reading my 20-plus-page survey on symptoms, she announced I had a thyroid problem and possibly adrenal
exhaustion. My previous blood tests confirmed her thoughts. My TSH was 4.1, in the "normal" range, but
she said people with TSH over 2.5 often have symptoms. Also, my doctor had tested for T4, not T3, which
is the active thyroid portion your body needs for use. It has to convert T4 to T3, and many people have
problems in this conversion. When she tested my T3, I was in the lower 19% of normal.
This
doctor put me on a natural thyroid hormone containing T3, and I felt a difference after just one day.
After two months, I felt 80% better! I also added DHEA for my adrenals, since I was in the low 10% of
normal.
My only remaining symptom is being very much out of shape and having to build up
my exercise slowly. But I can now walk for 20 minutes without being lightheaded and suffering for it the
next day!
Kathy Martel
Allen, Texas
"One to One" is a new feature in the Chronicle. If you have a coping tip,
a favorite quotation,
a self-care treatment or anything else that has helped you as a PWC, share it with others through this
column. Mark your notes "One to One" and please include either an E-mail address or a phone number.
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