Reappearance of the Ailing
Sorry I haven't been posting much.
I've been pretty sick and feeling like crap. I have insomnia and I'm barely eating (I've lost four kilograms in four weeks) and this really isn't good for someone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
But there is kind of good news because I went to see my doctor who I've only started seeing in the last couple of months. I'd done blood tests a month ago and the results were back. Turns out that I have a few illnesses which could have started, or at least been co-factors to the CFS and we can actually start treating them now.
I have something called Mycoplasma Pneumonia where these little bacteria called mycoplasma attach themselves to cells in your body (anywhere in your body) and act like parasites as they absorb the nutrients from that cell to sustain themselves. So it pretty much stifles my immune system and could do a whole lot of other stuff because it seems to be linked to diseases throughout the body and varying in symptoms. Whether or not it is a cause of CFS is unknown (yet it is interesting that women are four times more likely to have CFS, just as women are four times more likely to be affected by mycoplasma).
I also came out positive for Human Herpes Virus type 6, which isn't as dodgy as it sounds. Pretty much everyone in the world has had it in their body (and most children under three are affected by it) but it is rare for adults to react to it. In immunocompromised people, though, it can take a hold and - again - suppress the immune system even more, stopping some cells from functioning and fueling other, less helpful ones.
And I'm immensely Vitamin D deficient, which is partly due to lack of sunlight and partly due to a tendency in CFS to be deficient.
So, this means a hell of a lot of pills. I was working it out just before and it comes out to 14 tablets a day. I need to have an antibiotic, an anti-viral and a vitamin D supplement, all twice a day, so that's six. Then I need 3 different tablets of probiotics twice a day, to replace the good bacteria that are killed off by the antibiotic, so that's six. And then I take a multivitamin and an anti-depressant (because of the CFS and recent illnesses, though I may have to stop taking it because it can be immune-suppressant and I'm trying to attack these nasty blighters and need all the immunity I can get). So that's 14 in all. Everyday. And I don't even want to think about the ultimate cost of all this because the anti-virals themselves cost almost $500 for just 50 or so (They aren't subsidised unless you're taking them for genital herpes. Shouldn't I be rewarded for my pure ways?). Not to mention doctor fees, with the CFS specialist and a psychologist.
Argh. It will be tough and I could get some pretty nasty side effects, but it's so fricking worth it it's not funny. After 6 years of being sick, I'd go through pseudo-hell to get better.
Sorry about that. I sort of had to get that off my chest because it feels really quite momentous. Probably quite boring, but momentous all the same.
And uni's almost over so hopefully things will get easier soon.
Oo, and I'm turning 18 in less than three weeks and that seems immensely bizarre because it feels like it should be a few months away instead of a few weeks. Yeep! I'm not ready for 18!
I've been pretty sick and feeling like crap. I have insomnia and I'm barely eating (I've lost four kilograms in four weeks) and this really isn't good for someone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
But there is kind of good news because I went to see my doctor who I've only started seeing in the last couple of months. I'd done blood tests a month ago and the results were back. Turns out that I have a few illnesses which could have started, or at least been co-factors to the CFS and we can actually start treating them now.
I have something called Mycoplasma Pneumonia where these little bacteria called mycoplasma attach themselves to cells in your body (anywhere in your body) and act like parasites as they absorb the nutrients from that cell to sustain themselves. So it pretty much stifles my immune system and could do a whole lot of other stuff because it seems to be linked to diseases throughout the body and varying in symptoms. Whether or not it is a cause of CFS is unknown (yet it is interesting that women are four times more likely to have CFS, just as women are four times more likely to be affected by mycoplasma).
I also came out positive for Human Herpes Virus type 6, which isn't as dodgy as it sounds. Pretty much everyone in the world has had it in their body (and most children under three are affected by it) but it is rare for adults to react to it. In immunocompromised people, though, it can take a hold and - again - suppress the immune system even more, stopping some cells from functioning and fueling other, less helpful ones.
And I'm immensely Vitamin D deficient, which is partly due to lack of sunlight and partly due to a tendency in CFS to be deficient.
So, this means a hell of a lot of pills. I was working it out just before and it comes out to 14 tablets a day. I need to have an antibiotic, an anti-viral and a vitamin D supplement, all twice a day, so that's six. Then I need 3 different tablets of probiotics twice a day, to replace the good bacteria that are killed off by the antibiotic, so that's six. And then I take a multivitamin and an anti-depressant (because of the CFS and recent illnesses, though I may have to stop taking it because it can be immune-suppressant and I'm trying to attack these nasty blighters and need all the immunity I can get). So that's 14 in all. Everyday. And I don't even want to think about the ultimate cost of all this because the anti-virals themselves cost almost $500 for just 50 or so (They aren't subsidised unless you're taking them for genital herpes. Shouldn't I be rewarded for my pure ways?). Not to mention doctor fees, with the CFS specialist and a psychologist.
Argh. It will be tough and I could get some pretty nasty side effects, but it's so fricking worth it it's not funny. After 6 years of being sick, I'd go through pseudo-hell to get better.
Sorry about that. I sort of had to get that off my chest because it feels really quite momentous. Probably quite boring, but momentous all the same.
And uni's almost over so hopefully things will get easier soon.
Oo, and I'm turning 18 in less than three weeks and that seems immensely bizarre because it feels like it should be a few months away instead of a few weeks. Yeep! I'm not ready for 18!