Been lurking on these threads for a while and wanted to share my story. My mom has had CFS since I was about 5, I don't really remember her ever being "sick" so I didn't really understand CFS. She was lucky in the fact that she was able to go back to work for about 10 years, and have a normal life, until she gave birth to my younger sibling and had a flare up of symptoms, since then she has been on disability. She is now probably back in a remission state, but still has her bad days (very rare). I was always really interested in CFS and I actually decided to quit my job and go back to school in order to apply to medical schools. I thought everything I've seen would help make me a better doctor. I've seen what my mom has went through with doctors not believing CFS even exists and I saw a way I could potentially help. Then disaster struck in my own life.
I have always been more of a low energy person but never thought I had true CFS. I was working full time while going to school full time and felt AMAZING, I thought I was crazy to ever think I was low energy and was excited to begin med school this past June (2016). I unfortunately went to a wedding out of the country in March and got horribly sick to my stomach, which left me weak and suffering from bad fatigue, acid reflux, and dizziness for about a month or two after the onset of the illness. The symptoms started to lessen gradually so I figured I was finally over this stomach bug and I moved across the country (NY to CO) to begin school. It was all downhill from here - HORRIBLY dizzy, fainting, low grade fever, so fatigued my limbs felt like they were made of metal, I couldn't drive, just overall unable to function because of what was going on. We all (my mom and boyfriend) thought it was maybe related to altitude adjustment. I saw an altitude specialist who said all of those symptoms could be from altitude, so I reluctantly had to withdraw from medical school and move back to NY. Of course I was crushed to give up my acceptance but tried to remain positive, maybe it "wasn't meant to be" at that school and I would reapply and go elsewhere next year. A bump in the road but I could live with it. Now I'm back in NY and even sicker than I was.
My mom has been going to Dr. Susan Levine for almost 20 years now and so she immediately brought me there. She said I likely have CFS, put me on Valtrex and said I should improve. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but as soon as I started the Valtrex I got MUCH worse. I felt like I had the flu and pneumonia after starting it, my joints hurt so bad I couldn't walk up and down the stairs, I was bedridden for about a month. I've been off Valtrex for about two months now and I am slowly improving. I began Nexavir cream shortly after stopping the Valtrex. I guess it's helping? Or it's just time. I've been basically housebound for about five months now. I know that it's technically only post viral right now and not CFS because it hasn't been six months, but if I'm counting since getting sick in March I'm well past that point. I'm becoming extremely depressed - I fear everything I worked for is a thing of the past and I have to accept I will likely be unable to go to medical school, let alone hold a full time job, with CFS.
I'm only 25 and thinking about living the rest of my life like this is really crushing. I have no house, no job, no career, no kids. My life hasn't even began. Dr. Levine seems to think I will "bounce back" in six months and be able to go to school, surprisingly she told me she has patients with CFS in medical school (interesting right??) but the way I'm feeling I can't even imagine ever being able to handle that. I guess I should listen to her because she sees a lot of CFS cases but I am having a lot of trouble seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. The thought of giving up or even changing careers (again) to something less demanding is something I can't wrap my head around. Anyone who is in my age bracket how have you dealt with this? I know I should probably get on an antidepressant but I'm depressed because I feel my life was stolen from me and I'm terribly sick, it's not unwarranted and I think I'd be crazy not to feel this way after everything. Any advice would be really appreciated. Knowing other people are out there going through this is really helpful, but I can't help but want my life back. Even though my mom has been through this I can't help but think she had ten more normals years- you had a husband, a kid, and a career. I guess being sick and not having that makes it easier for me to rest and get better, but it still is really hard for me. I'm hoping this nexavir gives me my life back and I will look back on this one day and barely be able to remember being this sick. I apologize for the long post, I wish everyone on this forum a speedy recovery, happiness, and good health in your future!
I have always been more of a low energy person but never thought I had true CFS. I was working full time while going to school full time and felt AMAZING, I thought I was crazy to ever think I was low energy and was excited to begin med school this past June (2016). I unfortunately went to a wedding out of the country in March and got horribly sick to my stomach, which left me weak and suffering from bad fatigue, acid reflux, and dizziness for about a month or two after the onset of the illness. The symptoms started to lessen gradually so I figured I was finally over this stomach bug and I moved across the country (NY to CO) to begin school. It was all downhill from here - HORRIBLY dizzy, fainting, low grade fever, so fatigued my limbs felt like they were made of metal, I couldn't drive, just overall unable to function because of what was going on. We all (my mom and boyfriend) thought it was maybe related to altitude adjustment. I saw an altitude specialist who said all of those symptoms could be from altitude, so I reluctantly had to withdraw from medical school and move back to NY. Of course I was crushed to give up my acceptance but tried to remain positive, maybe it "wasn't meant to be" at that school and I would reapply and go elsewhere next year. A bump in the road but I could live with it. Now I'm back in NY and even sicker than I was.
My mom has been going to Dr. Susan Levine for almost 20 years now and so she immediately brought me there. She said I likely have CFS, put me on Valtrex and said I should improve. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but as soon as I started the Valtrex I got MUCH worse. I felt like I had the flu and pneumonia after starting it, my joints hurt so bad I couldn't walk up and down the stairs, I was bedridden for about a month. I've been off Valtrex for about two months now and I am slowly improving. I began Nexavir cream shortly after stopping the Valtrex. I guess it's helping? Or it's just time. I've been basically housebound for about five months now. I know that it's technically only post viral right now and not CFS because it hasn't been six months, but if I'm counting since getting sick in March I'm well past that point. I'm becoming extremely depressed - I fear everything I worked for is a thing of the past and I have to accept I will likely be unable to go to medical school, let alone hold a full time job, with CFS.
I'm only 25 and thinking about living the rest of my life like this is really crushing. I have no house, no job, no career, no kids. My life hasn't even began. Dr. Levine seems to think I will "bounce back" in six months and be able to go to school, surprisingly she told me she has patients with CFS in medical school (interesting right??) but the way I'm feeling I can't even imagine ever being able to handle that. I guess I should listen to her because she sees a lot of CFS cases but I am having a lot of trouble seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. The thought of giving up or even changing careers (again) to something less demanding is something I can't wrap my head around. Anyone who is in my age bracket how have you dealt with this? I know I should probably get on an antidepressant but I'm depressed because I feel my life was stolen from me and I'm terribly sick, it's not unwarranted and I think I'd be crazy not to feel this way after everything. Any advice would be really appreciated. Knowing other people are out there going through this is really helpful, but I can't help but want my life back. Even though my mom has been through this I can't help but think she had ten more normals years- you had a husband, a kid, and a career. I guess being sick and not having that makes it easier for me to rest and get better, but it still is really hard for me. I'm hoping this nexavir gives me my life back and I will look back on this one day and barely be able to remember being this sick. I apologize for the long post, I wish everyone on this forum a speedy recovery, happiness, and good health in your future!