sick and tired of always being sick and tired

well, it has indeed been a while since i last blogged here! since having found myspace i have been chattering away there and admit i have neglected my fans here- apologies faithful readers! having an awful lot of time on my hands these days has not really inspired much blog-worthy material- being in the house all day does wonders for killing off brain cells and de-motivating you to complete any useful tasks!

since the beginning of august i have been signed off work and been very ill. it all began with labyrinthitis, a delightful inner ear viral infection that makes you dizzy, nauseous, exhausted and comes complete with vertigo and sore ears!! this developed into post-viral fatigue, and as the name suggests, causes complete fatigue after a virus. it's a very frustrating thing to have- the symptoms are not visible and it takes some effort trying to explain to people that it's more than feeling tired. i have never, in all my days, felt this exhausted. it drains you in every possible way. going out for a few hours becomes a major ordeal, resulting in the need to have at least a full day to recover. at night you can't sleep and wake at all hours. long, frustrated days are spent lying in bed or on the couch, too tired to read anything that involves much concentration. meeting someone for coffee becomes a huge effort and excitement!

i am beginning to feel a little better, but it is a long slow process that does not have a cure. my brother had ME (post viral fatigue that lasts more than 6 months!) for a number of years when he was in his early teens and his recovery began when he started seeing a nutritionist and dietician who was able to put him on a de-tox programme to help his body have the best chance of recovering. it totally worked, so i have now gone to the same nutritionist and have started a de-tox!! the first week was the hardest as i have to cut out sugar, wheat, caffeine and dairy from my diet!! i love the natural treatment in the programme- i am now taking 12 different forms of vitamins and mineral supplements to detox the liver, increase energy and provide the body with all the things it needs!! it's not easy and one of the supplements is flor-essence, a totally rank tea that has to be boiled in a pan and filtered, and contains ingredients including: slippery elm bark, Burdock root, sheep sorrel herb, watercress herb and Turkish rhubarb root!!! it smells like compost and i have to drink it later!!

so we shall see how it goes...
( i also can't seem to insert any pictures, they're just refusing to appear, hmmm!)