I got sick with a sudden onset in the fall of 2003....almost 14 years ago. I declined to the point where, at times, I could not stand up....and certainly could not leave the house.
Over the years I have gotten much better. And this year has been my best year so far......and of course I hope that continues.
I do believe in my case that my CFS is infection associated. We've seen it in the labs, and I've seen it in myself personally with the meds I've taken. Both antibiotics and antivirals have helped me. Just recently, in June, I tried to cut my Valtrex dose in half. That did not work. The HSV1 caused me significantly more problems neurologically on the lesser dose, so after 6 weeks, I increased the dose again.
In addition to antimicrobial medication, I've had to change my diet. It appears that the pathogens set off LOTS of food intolerances in me. LOTS. I can eat rice, sweet potatoes, most vegetables, some fruits (but not berries) and legumes. Just recently I tested buckwheat cereal and that did not work.
I can eat small amounts of really fresh fish. By fresh, I mean the fish doesn't smell like fish when I bring it home from the store. Today, the fish I bought (even though they said it came in to the store today) smelled just a bit so I froze it for my husband.
The third thing that has helped me has been Manuka honey. Surprisingly enough.....it does have antimicrobial properties and I think it is helping that way. It is NOT effective against HSV1 though. I will be very interested to see if my labs continue to look better next month when they are drawn again. They seemed to be quite improved in May. Many of the viral titers were lowest ever and my immune function tests were the best ever. And I attribute it to the honey. We've been keeping track of these labs since 2005 so it is pretty impressive to see the change....
You can check out my
Manuka Honey post on my blog. In October I will post a health update. That will include labs if they continue to look good.
This past week I've had a cold. Even with that cold today I ran errands to 6 different places, did 2 loads of laundry, some cooking, etc and I am fine. Now I'm not perfect, but I feel like my body is healing....and I can only hope that I am. This is the best I've felt in 14 years....and I am grateful. One example, is I've been walking for a 1/2 hour to the bottom of my neighborhood and back up again....something I've not done since becoming ill.....I don't do it every day and haven't done it since getting sick, but I can tell that if I didn't have the cold that I could do it (if that makes sense).
I will say that stress (emotional type stress) can really drain the energy from me. I recover quickly though, but there is something about that which really takes it out of me....
I can only hope and pray that we all get better....and I will do that now, for all of us...pray. In the meantime....yes there is hope. I am feeling better. And I say that most gratefully, and to give you hope.
Best,