| Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction | | | | became totally bed-ridden for a period of time. |
| Syndrome (also known as CFS and CFIDS) is a | | | | Over the years I have mourned the loss of who |
| debilitating illness. I should know I have it. | | | | I once was, but I have learned to adapt the best |
| More than four million people in the United States | | | | I can. Although I always had a love for writing, I |
| suffer with it. It destroys once healthy individuals, | | | | began writing from bed when all I could do was |
| ends careers, and splits up families. The Center | | | | move my hand across a sheet of paper. I started |
| for Disease Control (CDC) reports that more | | | | with short stories and magazine articles and |
| people suffer from CFIDS than MS, lung cancer | | | | worked my way up to a fiction novel. |
| and AIDS altogether. Yet it is an often an | | | | My favorite stories have always been romantic |
| unrecognized illness by people and doctors. Here | | | | suspense, so I decided on it to write. Writing has |
| are the criteria for this devastating illness: | | | | proven challenging but also rewarding. I can work |
| 1. Incapacitating fatigue for over six months | | | | at home and at my own pace so as not to bring |
| without feeling refreshed after sleep and with no | | | | on a flare-up of symptoms. I am unable to meet |
| other discernable reason | | | | writing deadlines or do book tours, but I have |
| 2. Issues with concentration and short-term | | | | found a good publisher who works well with me. |
| memory | | | | As a writer, here are some of the challenges I |
| 3. Flu-type symptoms such as achiness, tender | | | | face: |
| lymph nodes, sore throat and headache | | | | - Cognitive issues. Have you ever experienced not |
| 4. Continued fatigue and worsening of symptoms | | | | remembering a word or forgetting how to spell it? |
| after physical or mental exertion which requires | | | | I just did that with the words gamut, vary and |
| recovery time | | | | existence. This is frustrating when I graduated |
| These are the main diagnostic criteria; however | | | | with honors and a 3.98 grade point average. A |
| there are a multitude of other additional | | | | few hours later, the word might just roll off my |
| complicating symptoms. These vary from person | | | | tongue. |
| to person and fluctuate per person. It is an illness | | | | - Short-term memory issues. The inability to |
| that does not discriminate. It's a complicated illness | | | | retain information is a big issue. I hear valuable |
| to diagnosis and treat but also to live with. If you | | | | information that pertains to my book but I can't |
| get treated quickly, your chance of recovering is | | | | remember it long enough to write it down. After |
| greater. By treatment I mean, dealing with the | | | | finishing my second book, the book cover artist |
| symptoms of the illness. There are no known | | | | called me and asked me specific questions about |
| cures. | | | | my characters and facts in the book. I had to |
| Early diagnosis is a quandary for both patient and | | | | read my book and call him back. |
| doctor, especially for those not aware of the | | | | - Repetitive issues. Fatigue and brain fog causes |
| illnesses existence in order to question their | | | | me to repetitively type the same word without |
| doctor about it. Another reason is because | | | | knowing it. Also, I substitute one word for |
| doctors are still not educated about it. Also there | | | | another. |
| is no diagnostic test available and a gamut of | | | | - Physical symptoms. Lying, sitting or standing for |
| other syndromes and diseases must first be | | | | any length of time is hard. I must take frequent |
| excluded in order to arrive at a CFIDS diagnosis. | | | | breaks when typing. If I work too long, it can |
| This takes a great deal of time. | | | | send me into a relapse and I will be bedridden for |
| My onset of symptoms began when I was in my | | | | days or even weeks. |
| early twenties going to college. I went to multiple | | | | - Sensitivity issues. Light from the computer |
| doctors in various areas of expertise. They all said | | | | screen can be painful. Headaches, eye pain, and |
| I was overweight and overworked. The severity | | | | dry eyes are common problems and are |
| continued to increase until I later lost my job and | | | | aggravated by continual computer use. |
| ended up in a hospital emergency room with an | | | | - Lowered immune function. Because my immune |
| enlarged liver and spleen and a diagnosis of | | | | system is in a weakened state, I tend to catch |
| mononucleosis and Epstein-Barr virus. | | | | the majority of bugs going around. This can |
| A combination of viruses, not necessarily including | | | | further aggravate my symptoms, and it might be |
| Epstein-Barr, is being studied as a culprit for this | | | | months before I can write again. |
| illness. Unfortunately because of the name and not | | | | There are a host of other mental and physical |
| having a specific diagnostic test, funding is not as | | | | symptoms associated with this disabling illness, but |
| supported as with other auto-immune diseases | | | | for me these are the biggest challenges I face as |
| like MS or AIDS. | | | | a writer. Writing gives me the chance to escape |
| I was forced by this illness to give up a successful | | | | my ravaged body and mind and live pain-free |
| career as a computer programmer/analyst and | | | | through my characters. |