| The wonders of alcohol. | | | | mind. |
| The achilles heel for many people. The 'norm' for | | | | Having CFS/ME can be a very lonely and |
| some others. And poison if you have CFS/PVFS | | | | devastating experience and depression can be a |
| ME ... | | | | very real and serious symptom for some CFS |
| I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue | | | | sufferers. So the last thing you need is to take |
| Syndrome/CFS back in 1995, I thought that | | | | substances that make you feel worse. |
| having a drink or two wouldn't affect me any | | | | And guess what? |
| differently to my PRE-CFS days. Unfortunately I | | | | Yep, you've guess it, alcohol is also a depressant. |
| didn't realize what I was doing to myself. | | | | So it's not a great thing to drink if you're |
| I didn't know how badly alcohol can affect the | | | | depressed! |
| severity of this CFS ... | | | | And according to Dr Shepherd, many sufferers |
| Nowadays I don't touch alcohol at all, and haven't | | | | sadly do turn to alcohol... |
| done so for a few years now. I'd rather see at | | | | But alcohol is no answer. Apart from probably |
| least a few hours in the day instead of being | | | | making you feel depressed, you could also |
| bedridden for weeks on end because of one | | | | develop an alcohol dependency! |
| alcoholic drink! | | | | What's more, if you **are** alcohol intolerant, |
| Because when you have CFS/M.E., you might as | | | | then it would make it much harder for you to |
| well be pouring arsenic down your throat... | | | | recover from M.E./CFS (pretty much impossible |
| ------SIDE NOTE------- | | | | even), while you keep putting alcohol in your body. |
| Okay - so that comparison might be a little | | | | And here's some more 'food for thought'... |
| 'dramatic', but you get what I mean right? | | | | When you think about how badly a CFS sufferer |
| -----SIDE NOTE------- | | | | can be affected by **one** alcoholic drink, then |
| You see when you have CFS/M.E., you are likely | | | | how badly could alcohol be affecting you if you're |
| to develop **alcohol intolerance**... | | | | drinking more??? |
| The smallest alcoholic drink - even a tiny bit, can | | | | So there you go - a whole list of reasons why |
| send you into a relapse - as I learnt the hard way | | | | you might think twice about drinking anything |
| many years ago. | | | | remotely alcoholic while you have CFS/M.E. |
| Having an alcoholic drink now and again was | | | | While you may no longer be alcohol intolerant |
| enough to tip the severity of my PVFS/CFS over | | | | once you have recovered from CFS/M.E., it may |
| the edge and put me in bed indefinitely. | | | | well be a major culprit for preventing you from |
| When a **normal** person gets drunk they may | | | | **recovering** from your CFS/M.E while you still |
| feel a bit bad for a day or so, after which, they're | | | | have it. |
| back to 'normal', bouncing back and raring to go. | | | | I didn't know about the possible effects of alcohol |
| But when a person with M.E./CFS gets drunk - or | | | | when I first had Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome ... |
| even has just one drink, they're likely to feel like | | | | ... and I suffered the consequences. My illness got |
| 'death warmed up' for what seems like an | | | | worse. A lot worse. And I was only having a |
| eternity!!! | | | | couple of drinks now and again! So I hope this |
| Personally, I don't actually like alcohol much so I | | | | article arms you with enough info for you to |
| don't miss it. But even if I did, I have realized that | | | | make an educated decision about alcohol either |
| alcohol no longer makes me feel the way it used | | | | way. You never know - it may well make the |
| to before I had CFS... | | | | difference... |
| Drinking alcohol now feels like I'm feeding myself | | | | To find out more about diet and nutrition for ME |
| poison, and my body reacts accordingly - i.e. a | | | | CFS visit: |
| flare, or worse, a relapse - and I suffer the | | | | And to read reviews of my favorite supplements |
| consequences for a long, long time afterwards. | | | | & items for ME/CFS, visit: |
| Unfortunately, most of us CFS sufferers are just | | | | Copyright, Claire Williams, 2003-2005. All Rights |
| not strong enough to resist the poisons of alcohol. | | | | Reserved. |
| So for most of us, it's unfortunately a case of | | | | ** Publication Guidelines ** |
| accepting it, or getting much, much worse. | | | | The article above may be freely reproduced |
| As Dr Shepherd writes in his book 'Living With | | | | provided that: |
| M.E.': | | | | (1) you only mail to a 100% opt-in list; (2) ALL |
| "Some people who previously enjoyed and | | | | links are LIVE hyperlinks (3) the article is published |
| tolerated regular consumption of alcohol without | | | | in its entirety including the title, copyright notice, & |
| any adverse effects, now find that even small | | | | the author's bio & resource box (which must be |
| amounts make them extremely unwell." | | | | placed directly below the article). |
| -- p214, Dr Shepherd, 'Living With M.E.' -- | | | | Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.net and has |
| So if you have M.E./CFS, it is likely that you may | | | | suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome since |
| have developed an intolerance to alcohol. | | | | 1995. |
| And that's not forgetting that alcohol also affects | | | | She created sleepydust.net to help ME / Chronic |
| the effects of antidepressants (often prescribed | | | | Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers deal |
| to CFS sufferers to treat their fatigue and to help | | | | with their condition - from handling their money |
| sufferers sleep)! So if you're taking | | | | worries, to recovering from their illness... |
| antidepressants, it's definitely something to bear in | | | | |