My Journey with M.E continued..

   A month has passed since I wrote the post " A Day With M.E" I decided that I would update you all on how the past month has been for me. I told you all previously that my biggest struggle in the past few months was that I was having trouble with my Gut/Digestive system, which has gone cuckoo. As M.E symptoms can be linked to other problems within the body, and I've discovered a problem with my stomach, knowing my luck  I more than likely have another symptom hiding elsewhere in the body!  As odd as it sounds I have discovered a swollen lymph node on the left hand side of  my neck which has been there since February when my gut problems worsened . If your wondering What does a swollen lymph node have to do with it?  Well Lymph nodes, also referred to as lymph glands, are an important part of the immune system, and as I've mentioned previously M.E sufferers have quite a poor immune system so this is where it all goes belly up, so as you can see it's just one big viscous circle as one small thing can impact the whole body. My own doctor is under the illusion that there is an infection embedded in my stomach, hence the swollen node,  as generally a swollen lymph node is the sign of infection. Luckily I have had an ultrasound on the lump recently just to make sure that there was no abnormalities and thankfully everything has shown up normal, which means it can only be one thing, an infection.

Since the begining of 2016, I have tried three types of medications,and thankfully 3rd time lucky I've found a medication that is helping to ease the bloating, burping and pain that I to go through on a daily basis. There are days where I could feel like my stomach is about to burst because I'm so bloated, Its like I have a food baby all day every day which isint very comfortable as we all know the feeling of having a food baby. I have been very weight conscious since a very young age so being bloated on top of that isint really helping the situation, Both bloating and burping are embarrassing symptoms to have as I would literally burp from the minute I wake up in the morning to the minute I go to bed at night , even when having an empty stomach, which isint the most attractive thing in the world, ecspecially for a 19 year old girl. I have always suffered with my stomach since been diagnosed with M.E in 2012, but recently it's starting to play a massive role in my life as you have to be very careful about what your eating Particularly if you are going away for the day as you know if you chance eating a sneaky McDonald's that your going to spend the rest of your day in a heap with your stomach, and let's me honest it's not really worth it. On top of my every day stomach problems, you have to remember I am still only a teenage girl, so I also go through that lovely monthly expirence which all of us poor ladies have to face once a month!! Apologies to to my family and boyfriend who put up with me, but I did inform you all that I'm not the best patient.

Thankfully I've found medication that can ease the symptoms a tiny bit, but it can also be quite a nuisance as it has to be taken  roughly 20 minutes before I eat so it's all about having to plan meals and meal times, which I suppose is a good thing in one sense because it stops you from unnecessary eating. I'm not a massive fan of taking medication as you all know, and plus I am only 19 so I'd rather not become dependant on medication just to get by each day at such a young age,but so far so good.!! With M.E you just have to be prepared that there will be setbacks along the way no matter how good or bad your feeling you just have to accept it, but thankfully I have two more months of the course of medication to take so fingers crossed it might improve any infection that may be in my body and hopefully things can  return to normal (whatever normal is!!).

Other than digestion problems everything else seems to be under control, I've had a few swollen joint flare ups, and the occasional headaches and mood swings in the past month all manageable though,  as I was still able to get up out of bed and enjoy each day. I always see an improvement in myself during the summer months, as I'm a firm believer that the weather can help both your physical and mental health ,as the long bright evenings entice you to get up and out of the house and stay active which can  help your whole well being. I also think staying mentally active is a major key for dealing with M.E , just like Augustus Waters quotes in "The Fault In Our Stars ", " Pain demands to be felt" which is exactly why I try to stay as mentally active as I can to keep my mind off things.  It's the days you sit down feeling sorry for yourself which are the days where you are going to be at your worst. The illness M.E isin't going to be cured over night so you just have to learn to get up and get on with it when given the opportunity to.

I am aware that they're are a number of you following me specifically for my updates about M.E and others following me for a variety of other reasons so I'm trying to keep things balanced  that all of you are getting the content that you're looking for. If anyone has any questions in relation to M.E please don't hesitate to contact me by email: Caoimhe-hickey@hotmail.com or by facebook :It's All About M.E, and I will try and help in any way that I can do so. 

That's all for now.Until Next Time.

Much Love,

Caoimhe x