Chronic Fatigue/M.E./CFS

[Aphritha]

Glad to hear things are sounding promising. Get some rest, tired horse!

[ShadowCat]

On a physical level: last night it dawned on me, my clusterheadaches are back with a vengeance after a pause of months. Painkillers no longer work and only seem to make it worse. It's like "masking my pain" doesn't do it anymore. Drinking water, lots of water, seems to help odly enough. I always drink plenty, so dehydration isn't the only cause of my headaches.

My drinking more water (the tapwater here comes from a well under the forest here, and is only naturally filtered and UV-desinfected, it is great to drink luckily) is a form of detox, but also bringing movement, flow, and water as a carrier of energy in my system, cleansing, flushing. I get this image of the water cleansing me, and taking away energetic debries... Like a shower from within really...

[ShadowCat]

Well, bloodworks confirmed I'm "healthy" as far as the docs are concerned. It's nice to know that despite obesity my bloodsugar, cholesterol etc are in good shape (picture perfect according to gp). No thyroid issues either. Liver and kidneys are fine. So with other possibilities out of the way, it's quite officially CFS now.

Doc put on her alternative hat and tested me according to chinese traditional medicine, it seems I'm healthy, all is working, but it's working at a very low energylevel, like a car that's only running at 1200 rpm. You can drive it, and you'll get there, but it will take a while.

On her advise I've closed an additional healthinsurance for 2013, so all physical therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy and everything else she might trow at me will be covered.

- - - -
From a druidry viewpoint, how could I work with this issue?

[Aigeann]

IMHO divination might possibly be the most "Druidic" way to determine the next step, if you do that sort of thing. Alternatively, I think Ideagirl's post in another topic on this board, Druidry and Mental Health, gives good advice in the fourth page:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=39229&start=60

But as always, YMMV

It's the weekend so I'll light a candle for you.

[ShadowCat]

I know how to use tarot, runes and a collection of oraclecards... For myself, I most often use the runes. I'll keep you posted on what they turn up, although it's usually quit cryptic.

Thanks Aigeann!

[ShadowCat]

Well, it's been a bit more than a month now so I thought I'd keep you posted.

My GP has since started acupuncture treatment on me (damn, some of those needles hurt). Her conclusion is that all qi-processes are working as they should, but just on a very weak level. Most of the efforts are guided now towards upping the speen-energy. I've been "punctured" four times now and it does activate something, but along with it comes a lot of healing reactions, so i've been a wreck for a good half of the time. Not fun, not nice, not practical if you have a company to run.

I'm still working on the "this is where I am" issue, although that one is sinking in. In divination I often get positive messages, the most common being: "It's all already al here, just open up and accept it". So I'm working on that as good as it goes.

On nutrition:
according to TCM I should eat a lot of "gently warming" foods. So stews with warming herbs rather than with chilis, complex starches, a bit of meat, rice, sweet and starchy vegetables. I'm eating and cooking that way for a week now, so to soon to tell any results. It's mostly "comfortfood" so it's nice to eat

[Aphritha]

Glad to hear things are coming along!
Nice that the time you're called on to eat warming foods is in winter. Appropriate! I had read a bit once on how some foods are warming and some coolings, not in reference to temperature, but I'm not sure how much I really understood.

[mabby]

Shadow Cat: I hope you are feeling better. It occurred to me as I read through this thread (and in light of your apparent health but constant fatigue) that you might want to do a cleansing of your spaces -- not an physical one, but one with water and candle and smudge stick. I think it is covered in one of the early gwersi. And, you might want to learn the Light Body Exercise now and start to use it. The LBE serves both to infuse me with energy and to protect me through shielding. I hope these things help. Also, a few small crystals may be willing to help you. It probably isn't a total fix, but every bit helps. I went through a spell like you are experiencing about 6 years ago -- and it has taken me all of this time to learn to put me first sometimes. No, my energy never did come back in full force, but now I have learned to work with it. After several stays in the hospital because I thought I could do "just one more thing", I've learned to listen. I absolutely hate naps, but at least I can go to bed with a good book or a good gwers for an hour. Your body is trying to tell you that you need to rearrange where you spend your time and energy a bit and my advice is to listen to it (of course, this wisdom only comes after being an idiot for six years, for believing it was mind over matter, etc.). Now I view it as a blessing, as I've learned to slow down, look at nature, really look, and appreciate.

[ShadowCat]

Aphrita,

The discussion on "hot" en "cold" foods is a difficult one. Chili is hot in flavour, but it stimulates the cooling of the body (that's why food gets hotter where climates get hotter). It's also dependent on the ripening and processing of the food. For instance, sunfresh oranges picked when ripe are warming, but most oranges are picked green, stored in coolhouses for up to a year and then chemically ripened and painted orange with coloured wax. They are extremely acidic and cooling to the body. When in doubt, eating locally and in season is almost always right (in all but the extreme climates).

As I was really gettting "into" raw food, it's a good thing someone pointed out the obvious once more to me. That said, I like raw food cuisine and will be revisiting it next summer. Luckily I'm an onmivore.

Mabby,

Thank you for your honest advise. It's hard to admit that even though I've had a lot of experience in meditation and energywork, right now I struggle to rebuild it, and work with my inner grove and the LBE. Right now I'm allowing myself to rest (most of the time) and I've been able to avoid the hospital so far. Although I've felt incredibly faint sometimes and thought I would topple over, I don't come from fainting stock and stay upright to the point where I wish I could fall over and be done with it sometimes. (I know that that should be a mayor warning light and sometimes question my sanity for pushing on and on despite it).

The spaceclearing, yes, but also on a different level. My s.o. comes from parents who have suffered in WWII and have become hoarders since then. So he's never learned to dispose of broken, useless items and our (1400 m3) house is getting way to full. Since I am a minimalist and love the wabi-sabi toned down feel of empty space, it's a bit of a constant struggle between us. Especially since I don't have the energy to clean up after him. He does all the housekeeping, washing etc, but he has a blind spot for things that are stuck.

[Morganna]

Hi and Happy New Year everyone!

I have had M.E for the last 5 years. Energy work does help but for me it helps maintain it to a level I can function with. My M.E is held up in my sacral as it is emotion related. I know why I have it. I was even warned by spirit in a round about way that I would get it but I carried on regardless. Anyway meditation and therapies all help. However, for me it isn't enough. Through meditation I have been told to work on my feelings with the M.E and a month later someone mentioned mickel therapy, which is a talking therapy, which sets the client tasks to perform. It is designed with M.E clients etc in mind. I have heard lots of good things and plan on giving it a go, whenever I can afford it. Has anyone else heard of it?

May the sun soon shine again and energise us all.

xxx

[RedSky]

cluster headaches. I suffered for years. I found the right neurologist who prescribed calcium ion uptake inhibitors, verapimil by name here.
since my bp is high I've been on beta blockers since shortly thereafter which knock wood, I haven't had a headache since '04. I hope you find what plagues you. peace

[ShadowCat]

I've looked in to the Mickeltherapy after Morganna mentioned it. The story behind it seems sound enough (watch the free video), I'm just a bit sceptical whether a few sessions of talking would be enough to change this problem: yes, the way you use mind and body affect the amygdala and surrounding structures, but I wonder if it's a permanent solution. In my case, it's not just the amygdala, but the adrenals and the rest of the endocrinic system that are out of wack.

Also, the obvious marketingscheme behind it annoys me: you have to buy a book, and in talking sessions they promise to more or less give you a lecture on the book. My guess is that if you read the book, it will drop more than a few times that you really need the sessions for it to work and for more information. Being a naturopath I'm quite critical on people preying on the chronically ill. I don't think it can do harm, Morganna, so feel free to try. Just start with the book, and decide whether you want to shell out the big bucks for the therapy. *This* topic on DHP on "How to determine whether someone is a quack" might be useful for you too.

RedSky, It's good to hear that you have found medication that rids you of your headaches. It's hard for people to understand how debilitating headaches can be when you feel like lobbing of your own head with an axe would be an improvement over your current pain. On the outside, one often looks just fine and fit. For myself I have good hopes to be eventually free of chemical aids: I have had a year without headaches when I was eating Paleo, lost some weight in the process, and was outside a lot. It went just fine until I got Mono, so I hope that I can eventually pick up that path and work with it further.

[ShadowCat]

Hey folks,

It's been a bit less than a week and I've been "punctured" once more. I seem to have crossed some unseen barrier because things are now steadily on the way up. First thing it does for me is to allow myself, for the first time in years, to give in to my tiredness and just say: hell no, I won't work today (ah, the blessing and curse of a business of your own, being able to determine your own hours, have been turned from always working more and more, to giving myself sickleave).

Also I've started taking MSM, a sulpher supplement that should do a lot of good and I'll be starting a massagetherapy to get things moving again.

[Aphritha]

Awesome! I'm glad to hear your therapy is working. I hope things continue to improve!
Choosing your own hours is so much easier in theory. I had/have a similar problem when I took over the homemaker position. Too much and I threw out my back and started stressing out, too little and nothing got done and things were unpleasant for everyone. Setting boundaries for ourselves is difficult at times it seems, for we're often overly critical of ourselves or let our emotions run away with us!
What does the MSM do?

[Aigeann]

Hey folks,

It's been a bit less than a week and I've been "punctured" once more. I seem to have crossed some unseen barrier because things are now steadily on the way up. First thing it does for me is to allow myself, for the first time in years, to give in to my tiredness and just say: hell no, I won't work today (ah, the blessing and curse of a business of your own, being able to determine your own hours, have been turned from always working more and more, to giving myself sickleave).

Also I've started taking MSM, a sulpher supplement that should do a lot of good and I'll be starting a massagetherapy to get things moving again.

Sounds like healthy thinking! I'll keep you in my prayers.

[ShadowCat]

MSM is methylsulfonylmethane, a sulfurous substance that is found naturally in the body. MSM is found in food and dietary sources, including fruits and vegetables, alfalfa, fish, grains, certain species of algae, milk, tea, and coffee. MSM is also produced in your body, which means that you do not need to obtain it from your diet in order to sustain life. Due to the sulfur that is naturally contained in MSM, it helps to detoxify heavy metals and promotes healthy liver function. In addition MSM promotes healthy hair, skin and nails. Alternative medical practitioners suggest that MSM supplements help treat chronic pain and a variety of inflammatory disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, bursitis, tenosynovitis, tendinitis and eye inflammation. MSM helps to reduce histamine in your body, which is the inflammatory substance responsible for many allergy symptoms. MSM is therefore recommended by some alternative medicine practitioners for the treatment of allergies. People also use MSM to help treat muscle cramps and pain, asthma, depression, scleroderma, scar tissue, stretch marks, hair loss, wrinkles, periodontal disease, gastrointestinal upset, chronic constipation, interstitial cystitis, gastric hyperacidity, ulcers, diverticulosis, premenstrual syndrome, poor circulation, hypertension and elevated serum cholesterol. In addition, MSM is used to help protect against sunburn and windburn and to promote wound healing. (Text partly borrowed from livestrong.com). It's something that generally greases the wheels and should make a body hum along beter.

Ailgeann, thank you for your prayers. Mine are prayers of gratitude, since a lot of things are coming right along at the right moment. It turns out that the manual therapist I went to see is a very spiritual woman, we started talking and within 10 minutes it was like we knew eachother for years. On a clinical hand, I seem to have a kind of fatty edema that has to do with lack of strength in supportive tissues. Massages will strengten and she also sees the connection between the rest of the problems I've got: stretching the fabric until it breaks... She's a gift on my path right now, and I can't express the feelings of gratitude, wonder and joy (and trust in the world)...

So, one happy camper that is looking forward to gwerses 9 and on, since I've had a lot of time to work with the first ones and I feel quite well-charged atm.

[Aphritha]

Thank you for the information on MSM, I think I'll look into this for myself.
Enjoy your path through the Gwersi.

[LadyAoftheshire]

This thread was great to read. I'm awake again at 3am and felt led to the forum and this section. I've had CFS for 12 years now. Stress is my primary trigger as well as not getting enough time to myself to recharge. Work is particularly stressful right now, I have a 4 month old baby and financially, necessary things keep breaking and needing to be replaced/repaired. I think my main problem is that I know what it is that I need to do, I just don't do it. I have depression grouped in with the CFS which some days makes it equally hard to get out of bed. I had dealt with depression and done therapy/counselling for 10 years which does help to a degree but this time it's crept up on me. Not post-baby depressed, it's not around having a baby or related to that. Baby is my Main ray of sunshine at the moment , an excellent reason to get out of bed.

I will check out the recommendations in this thread. I've previously have acupuncture, reflexology, massage, homeopathy, Chiro, naturopathy, dietary (no gluten, dairy, refined sugar) you name it. It is nice to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this all.
X

[ShadowCat]

Lady, thank you for sharing that.
I can't imagine what 12 years like this is, since I'm only ill for two and feel like going screaming mad at times.

This morning I worked with the druidcraft deck (which I had already before starting OBOD, since it's such a lovely deck) to get some insights. I don't work with fixed spreads most of the time, but I interact with the deck, asking insights and questions and reacting to what comes up in the cards. Often the cards I drop while shuffling are the right ones (but that on a sidenote).

Since I feel so physically weak the last weeks, I first asked whether the source should be searched in mental, physical, emotional or soul levels. Up came the princess of cups. To me she speaks of a time of neccessary retreat, of looking within, meditating, but not dwelling on the past. This is where I am now, tired, broken, but still very much alive. To confirm whether I had understood it right, I took a second card: six of cups. It confirms the link to past experiences. I am what I am because of my past, but to get stuck on it, is not productive. Blaming my past will get me nowhere, feeling sorry for myself, will get me nowhere. So both of them speak of using the quit time in the right way, not fretting on what was or could have been, but merely aknowledging it and letting go, turning the focus back on me, my desires, my wishes for selffulfilment. Because I'm at this point of doubting whether I need physical rest or I should be training, I took a last card, prince of wands: action, get on the horse (but be cautious for overly courageous acts), but a clear statement that physical excercise coupled with mental and emotional rest and reset are the key for me.

I share this, because maybe it might be helpful for others too. Lady, you are very honest in that respect, although the psychical complaints are very real, our mind holds the key. When you say

"I know what it is that I need to do, I just don't do it"

you are speaking the words that I am to cowardly to admit. Thank you. Wishing you the power to turn that insight into action, the financial respite to get things in order and the light in your babes eye to lighten your every day for the rest of your life.

[mabby]

Lady and Shadowcat:
I wish I had the strength and energy to send you strong healing rays, but I, too, am at a low ebb right now. I live in a cold region (Michigan, USA) and since the snow has arrived, I've been housebound by choice. Some days I am such a slug that just hope no one comes calling to witness my inertia and lack of ambition. But I have noticed that I have much less pain if I stay warm and rested. I can calmly move around my house doing laundry, etc. and accomplish some things, but I have come to understand that this retreat from the world is necessary. Once I accepted my condition and quit expecting so much from myself, I have been given time -- time to learn what winter is really about. In another time, our hybernation would be accepted as a time to relax and replenish, a time to learn and contemplate. I'm rambling -- what I meant to say is that perhaps we should look at the positive side of this. Maybe we should emulate the bear more right now. As I write this I can feel some of the pain retreating. Maybe we should give ourselves permission to rest and just be instead of giving power to this disease. Never give up your sovereignty.