Monday 24 March 2014

So whose an expert??? Part 2

And the story continues....
I managed to settle into a admin job in 2003. During the next few years I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and we thought we, d never have a child. But in 2005 we were graciously granted a wee baby boy. (I,ll  write in another blog all about that experience) From then on my health continued to be as bad as ever but I had managed to keep working. In saying that there were plenty of difficulties in keeping up with work. I was off sick a few days every month. Thankfully I had a decent boss.

In 2008 we thought we had found the source of all my problems when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. To be honest the diabetes was more a wake up call to what i was eating and made me change some bad habits slowly. In my mind though I thought there was still more to my health issues. I was very stressed with work and terribly unhappy at my quality of life. Coming home in the evenings I was ready for bed but I was a mummy and a wife and had to keep going as you do.

Being as unhappy as I was I needed a fresh start and in 2009 we had an opportunity as a family to coordinate a new community project in Co. Tipperary ( no singing now lol). So after much thought we moved down from Co. Down to Co. Tipp which was all a bit stressful to say the least. The house we moved into was a mess but we managed to sort it out and make do; apart from the water that looked like iron brew but definitely didn't taste like it. Our job became very stressful  due to communication breakdowns between committees, directors and trustees and as time progressed there my health began getting worse. Within 14 months of moving down the project had lost it's funding and we had to return home. By then I was continually getting skin rashes, sore throats, swollen glands, colds, exhaustion and flu like pains all over my body.

I remember us returning to Co. Down in one of the worst winters in January 2011, the move was horrendous,, I hardly had energy to pack but to be honest my hubby did most of the packing and moving. The thoughts of starting all over again was overwhelming. When I still think of the whole event my stress levels rise. As soon as I came back I was going to visit the local GP clinic regularly. I was given a few rounds of antibiotics and a few other tablets for various ailments. By Mach that year,,I just couldn't take anymore and went to see the doctor to try and finally sort this out. I used the word stress and she agreed and I was advised to try and remove the stress from my life. Now how does one do that???? But I came home very frustrated and that week I decided to write down every symptom I was having and then it was me not the doctor who got the fact that all my symptoms weren't rooted in stress but in an extremely fatigued body. So I went back with my list and said " I DO NOT REMEMBER THE LAST DAY, WEEK, MONTH OR YEAR THAT I HAVE FELT WELL OR ENERGETIC". At long last she listened and said that I had CFS. Her explanation was that I was suffering from Chronic fatigue which was the new name for ME which is also referred to as the yuppie flu. While her explanation was by no means perfect and the yuppie flu bit peeved me off considerably,  I was delighted to get a diagnosis. A little while later I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia as well because pain levels rose within my body, I became so stiff with aches and pains...

In the next blog I'll tell you about the exhausting process of getting further tests.... All fun.

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