Some of my scarier symptoms

Hello again,

Today I'd like to talk to you about some of the really scary bits of having severe M.E. These symptoms come and go, but often with no warning and can fluctuate in severity. I can find them quite unsettling, but I know that they'll go away again with time, and are usually a sign of me overdoing it. 

The first of these is paralysis. This is a fairly recent addition to the family of ailments that seem to plague my body, but in the short time it's been around, it's already made a bad impression. Most of the time it's just my legs but sometimes it can be my whole body, speech included. First I get pins and needles and shooting pains. The pain radiates from my neck and spine, down each of my limbs, leaving a trail of tingling as it goes. It doesn't leave, just gets worse; and as it worsens I lose the feeling and the movement there. I don't like it one bit, but it passes, eventually. Sometimes it lasts a few minutes, other times it can take hours. At times it comes on very suddenly with a sudden pain in my head, stomach or chest.

Speaking of chest pains, this is my second scary symptom. I am asthmatic so I have to be careful about these; have to decipher if it's my M.E. or my asthma and take the appropriate action. However, it can be awfully unnerving, I can get short of breath and sometimes it feels like my heart is beating oddly- I think that's called palpitations? I try not to let them worry me, as anxiety obviously makes all the pain worse. It does pass, eventually, but when it's happening it isn't pleasant. I find that breathing exercises can help to settle it a bit, though not all together. Very occasionally, they can result in me collapsing, but thankfully not too often. 

Collapse, that's another one. Sometimes I just get too weak to sit up and just flop sideways onto the bed or off whatever I'm sitting on. I also get acute dizzy and faint spells if I have to sit up for too long, or if I change position too quickly. It's kind of like being travel sick I suppose but about a hundred times worse, as if the vehicle making you travel sick was also spinning and travelling across the hyperspace barrier. Horizontal is the best position for me though sometimes I'm not sure where 'horizontal' is! Today the dizziness has been particularly bad, though that could just be that I've had a very long day and was sick this morning. Some people with M.E. suffer with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS; symptoms of which include faintness, dizziness and fatigue. I'm unsure whether this could be causing my fainting spells, as the symptoms do fit quite well. 

One thing I really struggle with, is knowing when a symptom is new, or just an M.E. flare up. This can be really difficult with accidents or injuries, as some symptoms that suggest more serious injury, could just be M.E. symptoms. For example, severe headache, brain fog (confusion), nausea and dizziness are all symptoms of a head injury- however, they are also normal symptoms for me. Being able to tell the difference is sometimes very tricky, though I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry.

Take care friends, Alice xxx

© Alice Daley 2013