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Are there skills from your education or career that have helped you as an ME/CFS patient?

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
1,942
Location
Southern California
I'm curious to learn more about how people's experience in their home life, education, or career helped them navigate the unique set of challenges presented by this disease.

I imagine there's quite a range.

For myself, I'd say being an entrepreneur taught me how to quickly assimilate information, plan strategically, and stay open to less conventional solutions. Of course this background did little to prepare me in terms of medical, scientific, or nutritional knowledge
 
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Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,995
Interesting question
My ability to research, understand and strategically plan plus my medical knowledge has helped a great deal, but losing ones mental faculties is a very scary thing to have happen. I hope a treatment is found soon because i'm physically and mentally in bad shape, from memory to logic things are looking bad.
 

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
1,942
Location
Southern California
Interesting question
My ability to research, understand and strategically plan plus my medical knowledge has helped a great deal, but losing ones mental faculties is a very scary thing to have happen. I hope a treatment is found soon because i'm physically and mentally in bad shape, from memory to logic things are looking bad.

What was your career?
 

Marky90

Science breeds knowledge, opinion breeds ignorance
Messages
1,253
Interesting question.X2

I`m a law student, but I`m not too sure it has played any defining role in itself. Maybe I was able to find the relevant information faster than some, but that also has it`s backside, cause u realize there`s not too many avenues to explore at any given time. Unless you`re willing to try almost everything, which I`m not.

My personal experience, when I`m not overexerting, is that the burden is mainly mental. I can live with these symptoms, but it is the groundhog day scenario that makes it hard. The isolation, the nostalgia and the experience of time flying by. All you wished you could do, but you cant. All u can do, but it does not feel good. Constantly aware of the disease. You gotta be pretty friggin stubborn with this disease. I would say that is my best weapon, that, and the deep wish for justice for our patient group. Those traits are just part of my personality, and was why i chose to study law in the first place. In periods where i lose motivation, those bring my focus back again. That, and my love for music, culture and life in general.

Sorry if I drifted a bit here
 

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
1,942
Location
Southern California
Interesting question.X2

I`m a law student, but I`m not too sure it has played any defining role in itself. Maybe I was able to find the relevant information faster than some, but that also has it`s backside, cause u realize there`s not too many avenues to explore at any given time. Unless you`re willing to try almost everything, which I`m not.

My personal experience, when I`m not overexerting, is that the burden is mainly mental. I can live with these symptoms, but it is the groundhog day scenario that makes it hard. The isolation, the nostalgia and the experience of time flying by. All you wished you could do, but you cant. All u can do, but it does not feel good. Constantly aware of the disease. You gotta be pretty friggin stubborn with this disease. I would say that is my best weapon, that, and the deep wish for justice for our patient group. Those traits are just part of my personality, and was why i chose to study law in the first place. In periods where i lose motivation, those bring my focus back again. That, and my love for music, culture and life in general.

Sorry if I drifted a bit here

I can relate to a lot of that, interesting perspective
 

Groggy Doggy

Guest
Messages
1,130
I'm curious to learn more about how people's experience in their home life, education, or career helped them navigate the unique set of challenges presented by this disease.

I imagine there's quite a range.

For myself, I'd say being an entrepreneur taught me how to quickly assimilate information, plan strategically, and stay open to less conventional solutions. Of course this background did little to prepare me in terms of medical, scientific, or nutritional knowledge

Persistence. Don't follow the herd. Think "out of the box". Listen to your "gut" and trust your intuition. Ignore negative people who try to discourage you. Research, research, research... be an informed risk taker. Celebrate each victory!!
 

JaimeS

Senior Member
Messages
3,408
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
With almost surgical precision. ;)

My mom had CFS in the 1990s, and I could see that allopathy could do nothing for her. That's how I ended up in the only MS program in the US for alternative medicine. For all their woo (and yes... there was intense woo) there were enough hard-science minds teaching there that I learned how to dissect and judge scientific articles, and it was there that I learned my first real laboratory skills. Also how the shape of chemicals relates to their function in the body. 10+ years teaching science made me more confident in the basics.

But I think that would've all been a load of poo if it hadn't been for a sea-change in my behavior. At first, I was thinking that I ought to simply wait to see what a physician would say. I refused to take anything, even OTC, because I was worried it would shift my symptoms in a way that made me tougher to diagnose. I don't remember what the tripping point was, exactly, but there was a :ill::confused:o_O:(:mad: moment, followed by lots of :nerd:. I tested meds empirically, going off and on them multiple times to ensure to the best of my ability that they were actually doing what I thought they were. Since different stages of the disease are different, I occasionally repeated the process and was able to eliminate something that used to help out, but no longer did. I kept meticulous symptom diaries. Made some dramatic changes in diet and kept diarying on.

stand_back_i_m_going_to_try_science_by_motorcycle_hero-d9i34zm.png


I'm not cured, but me at onset versus me now is no comparison. I'm working full-time in person in a lab. I work from home some days when all I have to do is write, to husband my energy -- but beyond that, I'm almost living the life of a well person.

I don't know where I would be if I didn't have science background. It would not have been pretty.

As I always say when I talk about how much I'm improved, know that I'm aware that there are those of you out there who have done everything "right" and still aren't any better. I'm sorry -- I don't know what separates us. I wish I did.

-J
 

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,995
I'm not cured, but me at onset versus me now is no comparison. I'm working full-time in person in a lab. I work from home some days when all I have to do is write, to husband my energy -- but beyond that, I'm almost living the life of a well person.
What treatments did you find helpful?
 

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,995

JaimeS

Senior Member
Messages
3,408
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
Very interesting, i have tried some of the things your taking to little effect, though a few i would be interested in trying if i have the money someday.

If and only if! You can end up spending a lot trying things out. With how busy I've been lately, I've forgotten to order new supplements in time once or twice. The results are disastrous and often shockingly swift. So I'm not "better" I've just found which fingers to stick in the dam.
 

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,995
If and only if! You can end up spending a lot trying things out. With how busy I've been lately, I've forgotten to order new supplements in time once or twice. The results are disastrous and often shockingly swift. So I'm not "better" I've just found which fingers to stick in the dam.
I've tried many in my time, though your correct things do change which is frustrating.
I have a few to replenish and a few more to try on tap, hopefully someday is someday soon, if something is going to work it will be a big improvement that i really need
 

Basilico

Florida
Messages
948
I was a special ed (math) teacher. The math part has helped me to approach new supplements/protocols in a systematic way that tries to reduce the number of variables I'm working with.

The special ed part helps in coming up with modifications/adaptations and thinking in terms of goals/objectives (a major aspect of special ed)...so if I'm struggling to reach a goal, I'm very good at breaking down the objectives necessary to reach that goal and tackle those objectives step by step. I find that by focusing on the individual steps necessary to reach an overarching goal, I can prevent myself from getting too overwhelmed and giving up.

Also, as a classroom teacher, I have a lot of experience anticipating likely problems to prevent them from happening (basic classroom management). I've found this to be a useful skill in my personal life now with chronic illness; for example, I recently went on a short (but ambitious) roadtrip with my husband for his birthday. We spent A LOT of time preparing for all the things that could possibly go wrong and came up with ways to both prevent problems and fall-back plans if the problems happened anyway. As a teacher, you always need a fallback plan, especially if you are depending on any kind of technology for the lesson. We shocked ourselves with how well the trip went...it reminded us that we may need to overplan, but we are still capable of doing things that we really want to, even with chronic illness.
 
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MikeJackmin

Senior Member
Messages
132
I used to be a computer programmer, and there was a common joke in our world that the best programmers were fundamentally lazy people; give them a difficult task, and rather then just go ahead and do it, they would sit back and find an easier way. Solving problems in the unexpected easy way is a good habit to have in that line of work.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Having an art background , I tend to be an experimental risk taker, though less so now. This has helped me to trial drugs and supplements that might have negative side effects.

Critiques could be brutal, even personal, so I developed a thicker skin, to an extent. People can be cruel to the ill.

I have learned from this disease, though, that conservation of energy is a critical part of my routine. Less waste.
Since memory is weaker, I test it in small ways.
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
Before becoming ill, I was an Occupational Therapist. This enables me to be well versed in energy conservation, keeping myself sane with finding things to occupy my mind and time, and also how to adapt things in my environment to my limitations. I sometimes amaze myself when I can still come up with creative solutions to making meal prep, showering and housework easier!
 

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,995
I sometimes amaze myself when I can still come up with creative solutions to making meal prep, showering and housework easier
Can you share these with us, especially food i am having big problems
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
For meals, I like to boil a few eggs before bed, to have when I get up. Quick nutritious snacks like Quinoa or Granola bars, all natural peanut butter and all fruit preserves on Ezekial bread(sprouted wheat) is my favorite. Cooking a large quantity of a dish on a good day and freezing microwavable portions; soups and stews especially. Pre-chopping veggies and freezing them ahead of time to use in soups and stews. In the kitchen try sliding things along the counter top instead of lifting.

Around the house try to keep multiples of an item such as boxes of Kleenex so you don't have to walk from room to room to get them. We have two bathrooms, so I keep cleaning products in both so as not to have to travel too much if I want to do a quick scrub to the sink (which isn't often) If you have to transport things around the house a laundry cart with wheels saves you from having to lift and carry things. I knew a lady who sat in a wheeled office chair to mop her floor, lol.

For showering, when I am very weak I use a shower chair and a hand held hose. Also, there are things like a long handled sponge for reaching difficult parts of the body. I use a wet washcloth for sitting on the bench to prevent slipping, I also use a wrung out, wet wash cloth on the rim of the bathtub if I have to climb in and out for gripping safety. You can buy grab bars that have suction to place in the shower or near the tub if it is too expensive to have them installed. You can use a mild, bottled soap like Castile for washing both hair and body at the same time. There's just a few for hygiene!

Maybe I'll think of more later...