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“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend." - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Improvements

After 2 1/2 months of XMRV treatment, I definitely feel better.  My need for rest has diminished quite a bit.  I still force myself to lie down twice a day, but I'm often antsy and peeking at the clock around the 20-minute marker.  I am sleeping less.  I don't seem to require 10 hours of sleep in order to feel good.  Often, I will wake at 6 am after 7-8 hours sleep, and I'll be unable to doze again. 

I feel uplifted, happy, almost exhilarated.  I find myself smiling a lot more.  It's like a weight, a fog has lifted from me.

I still have to be careful with activity.  I shopped WalMart the week before Easter.  It was way too big an outing for me; I should have started with something small, like a trip to the corner grocery store.  But I find that I'm chomping at the bit, eager to push the envelope just a little bit to see what happens.  Did I crash?  Um, yes, yes I did.  It was a big one, but it only lasted one day.  A crash like that would have normally taken me at least a week to recover from, if I indeed ever fully recovered.

I'm doing more around the house.  Not that much more, but noticeably.  It's interesting how I had unconsciously been conserving energy, calculating the most energy-efficient way to do anything.  I watched my husband put on his shoes one morning.  He picked one up, untied it, set it down, did the same with the other shoe.  Then he picked up the first shoe, put it on, and put on the other shoe.  I was amazed that he didn't realize that he was wasting so much energy by putting the shoe down and picking it up again.  I never would have done that!  Likewise, I always made a beeline for the nearest chair whenever I entered the room.  If the phone rang, I'd wait until one of the children handed it to me.

Yet, twice this week -- twice! -- I found myself pacing while talking on the phone.

The other thing that I've noticed is that I am tolerating social interactions much better. I've been out to dinner with my husband twice without any negative repercussions.  My sister-in-law dropped by and stayed a couple of hours.  I was exhausted, but it didn't cause a crash.  I can handle a drop-in visitor for about an hour now.  Talking on the phone is still challenging; I'm good for about 45 minutes of that.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying creative pursuits with my writing, and I've started using essential oils for symptom relief.  I haven't been using them long enough to report anything, but so far I've found a couple that seem promising for pain and stomach problems.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there! 

8 comments:

Elaine said...

Shelli,
What wonderful news! That is one test I have not yet had... I am so pleased for you. Thankful that you are getting some symptom relief and beginning to have some endurance:) what a blessing for you.

Ohhhh I'm just so happy for you!

Blessings,
Elaine

Alison said...

Glad you're feeling better, hope it keeps up!

I never thought about it but in the last year or so I developed a very particular energy saving way of putting on my shoes. Sit down, untie (because I always slip them off tied) put them both on, tie them both, stand up, go.

Laurel said...

So glad you are doing better, Shelli!

Renee said...

This is really good news, Shelli..hope and pray it continues and your energy grows and grows! What essential oils are you using for stomach?

Sue Jackson said...

Ha ha - see, Shelli? I switched the the end of the alphabet on my blog following list and discovered I hadn't been to your CFS blog in a long time! I never seem to get past the As and B's!

Wow, this post is absolutely amazing to me. Stunning that you are seeing such improvements. I am absolutely thrilled for you!!!!

The scientist in me is intrigued. The negative XMRV study that came out this week sounded pretty convincing - they used the same methods as WPI, had Dr. Mikovits helping, and still couldn't find XMRV. The few samples where they did find it, they proved it was due to previously unknown contaminants.

And now here you are, improving on anti-retrovirals. Wow. I guess the role of XMRV in particular might still be in question, but it seems like there must be some sort of retrovirus behind ME/CFS, doesn't it?

I am so happy for you, Shelli!! And I look forward to hearing more (I promise to start at the end of the alphabet some of the time).

Happy Mother's Day!!

Sue

Shelli said...

Thank you, all, and Sue, that has been my train of thought with the most recent news on XMRV. Dr. Singh is very respectable, someone whose political point of view I don't question in the least. I'm still waiting to hear from the US govt study by the "virus hunter" before I completely throw XMRV out the window. In the meantime, I'll continue my current course of treatment, and I won't bother adding additional anti-retrovirals to my treatment. We'll play this out, then wait for the science to catch up!

Amanda said...

WOW! That's such good news Shelli! I hope and pray that you continue to feel well. Enjoy every moment of renewed energy and strength!
:) Amanda

Lori P said...

Shelli!!! I have tears for you! So happy to hear that the treatment is working. So happy for you. I hope it just continues to get better and better. Keep the faith, my friend.