ME is not just one aspect of the body going awry. When people are cured of their ME, by taking products that kills lyme disease, they had lyme disease not ME. The same when a candida cure cures their ME. It was candida they had not ME. ME involves many systems and trying to cure one system will not cure ME. The body does want to heal itself, and the best way it does that is through rest. Boring at it may be rest is the best cure. And unbelievably what restored my sleep patterns was resting during the day. The more I rested the better I slept at night. Especially if I also drank cammomile tea in the evening and absteined from caffeine.

I would HATE to know what is going on in my body when I am feeling at my worst – it would be a very scary picture indeed. I know my pulse rate slows and my heart barely beats and my breathing almost stops. I know that if I have a shock when I am at my worst (ie someone knocking on the door loudly and suddenly) the shock wave that rushes through my body stings and hurts and leaves me shaking and crying up to half an hour to an hour afterwards.

Questions:

• 1. What are your symptoms?
• 2. What is your diet?
• 3. Do you have food intolerances?
• 4. What supplements do you take?
• 5. What products do you use for hair and body?
• 6. How many working hours do you do?
• 7. How many hours a day do you rest?

Answers:

1. As a health professional I used Patrick Holford’s book The Optimum Nutrition Bible with my clients, and in it he has a questionnaire listing symptoms of Vit A defiency, Vit B and so on. It is quite exhaustive and can take an hour to complete. It is best completed with a competent person because of the mental fatigue in well people never mind ME people. I have used it successfully on many of my clients to highlight why they have the symptoms they have. And what to do about them.
So your symptoms can be defined and linked to a supplement deficiency. It is a very helpful guide.

2. I know that this is the first port of call for ME people. Change of diet and introduction of a different way of eating. You probably do this already.

3. However the first process is to take the client off any foods they may be intolerant to. There are many tests to ascertain these – look through the internet. The next was to put them on a regime of supplements and good quality food including plenty of fresh fruit and water. These days practitioners cut to the chase and try to balance and restore the gut. Because if the gut is healthy the body will be and if the gut is unhealthy the body will be etc. So I would want to look at your diet and what you eat and make suggestions there.

4. The supplements: and the ones I would recommend for you are of-course the Omega Oils, Vit C and the Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc. The zinc can help if you suffer with nausea. Although the body needs salt (see previous article on Salt) it would be far better to take a mineral supplement to include all minerals and not just salt.

5. Your skin hurts because it is possibly lacking in vital oils – taking the omega oils as a supplement will help with this and using Olive Oil as a moisturiser. Rub olive oil and tea tree onto your skin. Use this mix as a cleanser too and throw out all your skincare products. You want to find ones with no additives or pesticides and no substances you may be allergic to. Moisture binds itself to salt, the excessive salt intake maybe making your skin dry. Everyone’s sweat stings the eyes. It kills mine. And my eyes will run and water like mad if I have used products on my face that I am allergic to. For that reason I cannot wear make-up.

6 and 7: ME people know that recovery of any type is all to do with pacing. That is resting inbetween doing any activity from reading a book to having a shower.

However I know to my detriment that you cannot list all that is wrong and pump the body full of nutrients to heal the symptoms. The ME body cannot cope with that amount of bombardment. This is why I found that changing my diet, reducing my work drastically, resting and introducing the omega oils was the start of me feeling better. Then came ginseng, later Vit C and then calcium and magnesium and zinc.

The one thing my husband tells me with pure frustration in his voice: “The trouble is Marianne you won’t admit you are ill.” My Mum died of a brain tumour and she BATTLED to be as normal as possible from diagnosis to death. It dawned on me that the worse things an ME person can do is BATTLE to be well. We have to learn to rest and pace ourselves – a real bore but the recipe for health.

I hope this helps and sheds some light on your distressing symptoms and gives you some ideas for your further research.