Have you looked at existing research, Andrew? There is a huge document you can download here for example:
http://www.meresearch.org.uk/information/researchdbase/index.html
and you can find some on this site too.
My own current view from research I have read is that the gut is the source of the illness in many people, and that this is the case for post-exertional malaise (PEM) too. I think it is due to acidosis/hyperlactaemia. We produce too much lactate/lactic acid in our muscles, creating a hyperlactaemic state which feeds back to the gut. Maybe the vagus nerve is affected at that stage. The reason we produce too much lactic acid in the muscles may be a consequence of autoimmunity, perhaps something attacking the mitochondria.
Many of us seem to have abnormal carbohydrate metabolism (also leading to acidosis, this time in the gut), and are sensitive to gluten, and have noticed considerable improvements since making dietary changes. So there could be a vicious cycle going on, with gut acidosis/leaky gut triggering the production of autoantibodies, which impair muscle function, leading to acidification there too, and feeding back and acidifying the gut again, perpetuating the leaky gut. Gut flora are involved, so that we need to rebalance them in favour of the non-acidifying ones, which can be done through diet and supplements. Attacking the acidity on several fronts simultaneously is the answer, I think.
Apologies for reposting this from another thread where I posted it yesterday (and a few other places previously), but this paper shows how leaky gut can lead to autoimmunity:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2886850/
and this one claims that treating leaky gut can treat ME/CFS, with reference to autoimmunity:
http://integrativehealthconnection....1/Leaky-gut-in-CFS-treatment-of-leaky-gut.pdf
I think a lot of us are trying this, including myself, and I have seen many significant improvements.
What are/were you studying?
Sorry for the late reply! I was studying Biochemistry at Warwick, but if I recover to the stage where I can attend university again I'd like to switch to biomedical to allow me to do research in areas such as ME/CFS.