Hello!
My name is Iona, and here’s my story.
The start of which is a bit of a downer, apologies!
10 years ago, after kissing my first ever boyfriend too much, he bestowed upon me the loving gift of glandular fever. The next few months were a bit of a blur, but consisted of sleep (lots of), extremely swollen tonsils (to the point where I was close to being taken to hospital because they were so enlarged that I struggled to breathe) and being too weak to walk just to the bathroom on my own.
I spent the next decade in and out of uni, in and out of work and in and out of doctor surgeries. I was so fatigued, so brain-fogged and so sore that it was impossible for me to go to classes & ultimately I dropped out on 3 separate occasions. Holding down a job wasn’t much better either. I would manage to keep working for a few months before exhausting myself so much I’d have quit & take another few months to recover. Round and round it went. Each time making me feel more inept, pathetic, hopeless – sequentially pushing me into a pit of depression.
Doctors I went to see were useless. I had blood test after blood test after blood test and none of them could diagnose what was wrong with me. ‘It could be M.E.’, ‘It might be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’, but mostly just ‘Sorry, the results don’t indicate anything’. I even had a doctor tell me that he didn’t believe Chronic Fatigue was a real illness. Really I’m just a lazy slob that can’t be bothered, right? But the appointment always ended in the same resounding ‘Sorry, there’s nothing we can do to help you.’
My social life dwindled. Friends struggled to understand that when I couldn’t come out because I was exhausted didn’t mean I was just a bit tired & would be fine after a couple of pints of cider. It literally meant I was so exhausted I couldn’t even comprehend walking more than a few metres. Being the one that always cancelled plans was horrible and filled me with guilt. It sucked. It all did.
BUT thankfully, things have since turned around! I finally found a doctor that didn’t think I was just a lazy lump, that properly diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) & prescribed me with medication that actually helped. I felt the best I had since I was 17.
After 6 months I decided to stop taking the meds, and was determined to find a natural way to make my body function in a healthy & responsive manner. Firstly I took a good hard look at my diet – it was pretty abysmal. I relied so much on sugar to give me an energy boost throughout the day. I couldn’t fathom not having that ’emergency’ block of chocolate in my bag (which was eaten daily) for when my energy levels plummeted. So the first thing I did was completely cut refined sugar from my diet. It was tough and there were slip-ups, but I can’t tell you how much of a difference it has made to how I feel now. Paired with a diet full of healthly staples and lots of water, my body glows like I never thought would ever be possible.
Secondly, I focused on exercise. Something I had never really been keen on, even before I became ill. I’d attempted to exercise throughout my decade of CFS but had been going about it in the completely the wrong way – if I was having a ‘good’ day I’d go jump on my bike and cycle as fast as I could, or go for big run, or sweat it out majorly at the gym, to try make the most of the time I had feeling nearly 'normal'. But then the next day I’d wake up & feel like I’d been hit by a bus, then trampled on by a herd of elephants then pecked at by a wake of vultures. It made me absolutely terrified of exercise. I linked exercise with feeling ill. Really ill. This needed to change. And it did. It took determination and it took patience. There was no miraculous, all of a sudden being able to run 10kms in one go. There was however, very gradually building on my strength & my stamina to the point where now I LOVE exercise. Something I never, ever thought I would hear myself say.
Don’t get me wrong, every day is still a struggle (albeit a much less one), I still need to listen to my body & have times where I need to just rest. But the changes I’ve made in my diet & my exercising habits have completely turned my life around. I am the healthiest & happiest I’ve ever been! It feels amazing!
I have taken all of these experiences and turn them into something positive. I perservered with studying and am now a fully qualified personal trainer! I now use my determination along with my newly acquired skills to help other people with debilitating illnesses, aprehensions or otherwise see the light at the end of the tunnel, not to mention be able to (gradually) run out and enjoy it! And I love every moment of it.
*If you have any questions about CFS, please do drop me a line. Whether you’re a sufferer & you just need a rant (I know how isolating it can be), have some tips yourself on how to combat it, or just want to be more aware of what it is, I’m more than happy to chat :)