Relapse.

Recently I haven't put on as many posts as I would like because I have had a little relapse, recently I have found that the main time that I have relapses is if I get a cold; however when I was bad so many things would trigger me off over doing anything really. I think now if I were to do to much it would still set me back but now I know how much is too much for me the majority of the time.
Another time when I might have a relapse, and is meant to be one of the ways that teens can get CFS, is when you have a growth spurt, which is something that my mum thinks might be happening at the moment, this is really annoying because it is something that is unavoidable especially when you are a teenager.
Relapses can be really frustrating but I think the main thing to do is try to avoid them! It is hard, especially when you are feeling better there is so much you want to do, so you need to try to hold yourself back a bit even if you are feeling much better. With trying not to get colds, I have just been taking lots of vitamins, but other than that I don't know how you can avoid getting colds, any suggestions (leave some ideas in the comments below)?
Will try putting up more blog posts as I am starting to get better from this relapse.

I would love it if you left comments below telling me about your experiences.Or if you want to ask me anything personally, email me at ateenwithcfs@gmail.com

 ☮

Mini tip: Water

Drinking water, has helped me hugely, I don't know why, I know that it is good for your health, so generally makes you feel better; so that stops the normal feeling a bit rubbish taken off the top of CFS symptoms. Water is the main thing I drink, the only other things I drink are fresh juice or black tea (tea with no milk or sugar, I like Earl Grey, and I know many people with CFS like coffee). Give it a go, it might work for you, it did for me!

I would love it if you left comments below telling me about your experiences. Or if you want to ask me anything personally, email me at ateenwithcfs@gmail.com

☮

What my symptoms were and are now.

I do sometimes struggle to recall what my symptoms were when I was at my worst as I was so tired, I have heard of all of the levels of CFS and I think that mine, when they were at their worst 6/10, I was never so bad that I had to be hospitalised or could literately not get out of bed. When I was at my worst my symptoms were: tiredness (rarely get out of bed or lying on the couch, other than to go to the bathroom), dizziness  feeling sick, loss of appetite, dizziness, headaches off and on and a constant sore throat. Through all of the tips that I have given and will give on the blog, has helped me to majorly reduce my symptoms and got me to where I am now.
Now my symptoms are nearly non existent  sometimes I get sore throats, I get tired a little bit easier than everyone else and if I ever get a cold it seems to take a little bit longer for me than everyone else. Other than that I am back to my normal self, if anything I have come out better than I was, I empathise better and I think that I have become more mature as well.

I would love it if you left comments below telling me about your experiences. Or if you want to ask me anything personally, email me at ateenwithcfs@gmail.com

☮

It is OK to feel tired!

As my symptoms have got better, when I have felt tired I have had the occasional freak out like, OMG what if I have a relapse, and you need to remind yourself that it is normal to get tired, everyone gets tired, before you had CFS you would of got tired, and you always will, it is normal. So when you feel like you are getting better, and you begin to feel tired just remember  it is normal, happens to everyone, and you just need a good night sleep!

I would love it if you left comments below telling me about your experiences. Or if you want to ask me anything personally, email me at ateenwithcfs@gmail.com

 ☮

At the beginning...

When I was first diagnosed with CFS I had no idea what it was, and the doctor couldn't tell me that much about it, obviously I knew the symptoms because I had them! But I still felt like I didn't know anything about what it was, I had so many questions: why have I got this? How long is it going to last? How can I get rid of it? Well I never got a straight answer to any of them, but I know a lot more now than I used to, so I thought I would share my knowledge.

My symptoms began after having a swine flu vaccination (November 2010) which gave me the symptoms of swine flu, I believe that this could of been the thing that triggered it (CFS) along side going back to school to early, when I really didn't feel very well. Throughout the winter months it continued to get worse, so we went to the doctors and they did blood tests for various things including iron deficiency; the results came back saying that I had really healthy blood, which I found almost frustrating, by now, I just wanted to know what it was. By this point I had been referred to a paediatrician, in January (2011) the doctor told me that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and that there was no know cure for it but that he would make appointments for me to visit a physiotherapist and CBT (cognitive brain therapy).
Around this time was when I found my symptoms to be at their worst, I would rarely leave my bed room, never mind my house, other than hospital appointments, however I would avoid sleeping thought the day but to my annoyance would not be able to sleep through the night, even if I began to try getting to sleep at 8pm, I could still be awake at 4am.
During this time I had missed a lot of school, my mum and dad went for a meeting with my head of year and well being coordinator and they set up for me to go on a reduced timetable, where I would just go in for a few lessons a day, this began around April, although I began to seem better towards the end of the winter, I still found it really hard and would maybe go in for one or two lessons because I would be so exhausted; the next day I would have to stay off.
I am sure many of you will of had similar experiences to me or you are currently going through this, over time I have learnt different ways of dealing with it, things that have worked successfully for me and things that were recommended to me by my physiotherapist, that didn't work for me but might work for you.

I would love it if you left comments below telling me about your experiences.

☮