A Chronic Battle Which I Chronically WIN!
Despite being born a week past my due date, and coming out looking like I belonged to a family of sunburnt Japanese, I was a physically and mentally healthy baby. It wasn’t until the death of my grandmother when I was four that I started experiencing chronic illness.
Major depressive disorder was the first chronic illness I had to battle. After extensive testing for autistic disorders and ADHD, doctors decided that, although I was only four, I was clinically depressed. Back then, it was unheard of for a child to be depressed, so I didn’t really get a lot of help until I turned 13.
I beat the depression with the help of an absolutely amazing CBT specialist in October 2004, when I was 17. Although I had a fairly awesome childhood for a kid suffering from such an “adult” issue, I felt like my life had just begun when I was cleared.
Imagine my surprise when two years later, just as my social and working life is taking off, I’m laid up in bed wondering if I’m slowly dying. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalomyelitis) in October 2006. My fibromyalgia diagnosis came later, in October 2009, when I finally decided I needed to seek alternative medicine’s help!
As of October 2011 (it seems October is a significant month!), I have been relatively free of CFS/ME symptoms, but I’m still experiencing fibromyalgia symptoms. It’s a huge improvement on where I used to be though, so I can’t complain. I’m hoping that I’ll continue to recover throughout 2012… and hey, maybe in October I’ll be able to say I’m fully recovered!
