My symptoms

I'm going to talk about my symptoms.

It will be different for everyone, but see if you have any of them. 

In the beginning, I started writing down any symptoms I had so I wouldn't forget any, and so that I could see if they were a part of my M.E. I suggest if you think you have M.E. or another illness, that you note down anything and everything.

So here are mine:

• Dizziness 
• Sensitivity to sound and light
• Uncordination 
• Pain - I have pain in my legs everyday, it feels like a mixture of bone, muscle and joint pain. It usually worsens the more I do, especially using stairs. A lot of people with M.E. have generalised pain, like what you get when you have the flu. It's a widespread general ache in your bones
• Nausea - I have a medication to help with it 
• Weakness - mine is generally in my legs, they can visibly shake when I push too hard. They feel like they will give way, during those times I use a walking stick to support myself. Denys helps me when it is severe. I also get it in my arms. It was one of the early symptoms that made me aware that something was wrong. Denys and I were decorating our house and I was painting a skirtingboard. Every few minutes my arms would shake and become very painful meaning that I had to stop and recover. I couldn't understand why they were so weak, it had never happened before. It also happens when I'm cooking, particularly something I have to keep stirring or moving, my arms become tired and painful
• My tinnitus seemes to have worsened. This is where you hear a loud buzzing/ringing sound in your ears. I have always had it, but it seems to be worse 
• Muscle spasms - I get this in my arms and legs particularly. It is out of my control and I can't stop it from happening. I feel an electrical surge in my leg or arm which makes the muscle spasm and it moves involuntarily. I have hit and kicked people by mistake, as well as pouring hot tea down myself. It is worse when I am relaxed
• Poor concentration. I am unable to read books like I used to as the words don't sink it, I end up reading the same sentances over and over again. It is the same with films and TV programmes at times, I forget what just happened. 
• Cognitive problems and fog - such as memory, I have big gaps in my memory, I will forget what I did yesterday, what I was saying, where I was going, what I was doing etc. 
• Clumsiness 
• I get out of breath easily, sometimes just by going up the stairs 
• Unrefreshing sleep, and being tired all the time. And ironically, insomnia, which doesn't respond well to sleeping tablets 
• A daily headache and migraines
• PEM (post exertional malaise) 
• Sensory overload which I have talked about a few times, I'm having it daily at the moment 
• Trouble finding the right word, misspelling words, saying sentances jumbled up and forgetting how to spell even simple words 

For me, my most life disrupting symptoms are fatigue, pain, and forgetfulness. At the moment sensory overload is wreaking havoc, but usually I only have it a handful of times a month. 

Do you recognise any of these symptoms? Are there ones you have I haven't mentioned? Let me know in the comments .

Thanks for reading .

That ME Girl