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“Life was a dark place. I never dreamed I’d be able to be bike riding
this spring.”
I rode my bike today for the first in, what, ten years? I cried. I feel like
I’m finally getting my life back after years of struggling just to make it
through the day.
So many times the family made plans and at the last minute, I’d be too tired
to go. I gave up making plans. I gave up trying to see friends because I
either forgot to meet them or had to cancel due to fatigue. I lost my
career, my social life, my pleasure activities. Life was a dark place I
struggled to get through.
I experienced a ‘sudden’ onset of Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction
Syndrome/fibromyalgia about ten years ago. Doctors didn’t have a name for it
at the time. Then they called it Epstein Barr virus.
Eventually, I was able to get out of bed and go to work part-time. It was
very difficult. Besides being in a lot of pain, my short-term memory was
gone. I couldn’t remember who I’d spoken to or what we discussed after
talking to a client for two hours—even if it was just five minutes ago. I
developed strategies of note taking and filing so I could access the
information and ‘act’ like I remembered talking to them. When I had to
return clients’ phone calls, I couldn’t remember two digits in the number
when dialing the phone. I would have to put my finger on each digit in their
phone number to dial it.
Over the years, I invested thousands of dollars, spending all of the
family’s savings on trying to find a way back to health and some treatments
did improve a few of my problems.
Then, about six months ago, my sister, who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia,
told me about the book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia.
I read the book and was astounded! My four sisters all had health battles,
but until now, only one of them was thought to have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
like I did. Now I knew, from reading the book that we were all suffering
from the same thing; we just emphasized different symptoms. (And my
daughters at 17 and 24 were expressing early symptoms as well.)
I began taking guaifenesin under the supervision of Dr. Penniston. The first
time I took ‘guai’, I slept without night sweats! Holy Cow! I would go on
taking guai if that’s all it ever did for me.
Within a few days, I noticed some of my symptoms becoming aggravated. The
worsening of my symptoms came and went, so I could tolerate them. At the
same time, I was sleeping better! Life is so much easier when you’re able to
sleep! The worst of the cycles were over in about two months and all my
symptoms continue to improve.
Oh, and giving up products with salicylates—a necessary part of the
guaifenesin regimen—is a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits. The
reason I carefully avoid salicylates is because I will have muscle fatigue,
night sweat and sleep difficulties if I have any significant exposure (to
salicylates). It’s not worth it!
I never dreamed I’d be able to be bike riding this spring. Life is looking
better every day.
Sincerely,
Greta Lee
Age 47
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