11. Feb, 2015

Hope and validation

“To live without hope is to exist without living!”

That is my message to a few doctors who, over the course of my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis have told me to accept that “it is what it is”, to move on and try to make the best of a bad situation by doing what I can to manage it.

I’m beginning to believe however, that the CFS label is the toxic dumping ground for an invisible wasteland of invalidated symptoms that aren’t being correctly tested for in mainstream medicine. It is the “claytons” of all diagnoses…the illness you have when they cannot confirm a diagnosis. This leaves sufferers confused, lost and devoid of all hope that there may one day be a chance to improve their quality of life.

In this case, ignorance is NOT bliss! It perpetuates fear and that is why so many of its victims go on to acquire co-morbid conditions like anxiety and depression.

To be unable to recognize the beauty in the sun that shines, the stars that shimmer and an ocean that waves is to suffer the tortures of the damned in what seems like an eternal, hopeless purgatory.

But at last a halo of optimism is circling my soul, just as a silver lining kisses the edge of a storm cloud on a scorching summer’s day.

I’ve been seeing a GP/Naturopath, who after analysing my long list of symptoms opted to perform a couple of genetic tests. The tests revealed that I have a condition that inhibits my conversion of Folic Acid into usable and active Folate, and I also tested positive for a blood disorder that causes a depletion of vital nutrients in my body such as Zinc and B6.  Mounting evidence suggests both of these conditions may be contributing to many of my long term health issues.

About five weeks ago I began taking a supplement to treat one of these deficiencies and I have experienced a promising improvement in energy and a noticeable reduction in my anxiety. Two simple tests…and although not considered mainstream medicine,  in all these years I have never had such a noticeable improvement in my level of functioning in such a short time.

It is not my intention to invalidate a CFS diagnosis, only to reaffirm the importance of not "settling" for what some people believe is an acceptable level of functioning. Please, I implore you to keep seeking answers!

I don’t ever expect to regain an optimal level of health. I would just like to be well enough to enjoy what time I have left with a more able body and a calmer and more peaceful mind!

Perhaps the answers to many of our ailments still lie submerged beneath the mostly uncharted waters of our genetics….but for me now… I am finally floating on an ocean of hope and languishing in a vineyard of validation, and am pleased my stubborn persistence to not succumb is at last rewarding me for my efforts.