Please Read: Inappropriate Links & Comments

Thanks to one of my loyal readers here at Fighting Fatigue, I found that someone who left a comment had included a pornography link with their signature.  I try to review all comments as I am able and delete anything that’s not appropriate but this one got past me and I apologize.  I suffer from many chronic illnesses like most of you readers and at times things do get past me because I am so sick.  Again I apologize and I don’t want to lose readers because commenters have to post inappropriate links.

So, if you are someone who does this, please know you are wasting your time posting links to pornography or spammy links to products because I will just delete your information.  If the comment is okay itself I will leave the comment but I will delete the website address from your name or user name.

Readers…Please Read About Sending Emails to Me

I have been receiving a lot of emails lately asking me for information on dosages of medications to take, how to get rid of side effects, and what to take for different ailments.  I also receive many emails with people asking me to diagnose their symptoms.  I love receiving emails from my readers, but I have stated many times that I am not a physician and I cannot give medical advice like that.  I wouldn’t even know where to begin with some of the questions I am getting.  I always recommend that you contact your physician with any questions related to medications and side effects and symptoms.  I wish I were able to help with those issues but I am not qualified to do so.

Ideas For Videos: What Would You Like To See?

I have finally gotten with the times and have started doing You Tube videos and I would like to have your opinions as to what topics you would like to see made into a vlog or video. There are already more than enough videos out there on ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia that talk about the basics: symptoms, diagnosing, and current treatments. With my videos I would like to share with viewers different aspects of these illnesses. Here are the two I have done so far:

Tips For Moms With CFS – Vlog #1

To Families & Loves Ones Of CFS Patients – Vlog #2

I want to provide valuable information for you, my faithful viewers and readers, so don’t be afraid to speak up!  I love to hear what you have to say!

Vlog #2: To Families & Loved Ones of CFS Patients

My second video is availasble now on You Tube and you can watch it below! This video offers advice to families and loved ones of those suffering from CFS. Please pass the video on to others!

Purpose & Mission of Fighting Fatigue

 I have come across a situation over the past few days where I feel that I need to clarify and restate what the purpose of this website is and my intentions here.  I was attacked on a Fibromyalgia support forum due to a study that I posted that was on Fibromyalgia and working women.  Because I have run this website for over three years now and it has become more popular and receives a lot of traffic, I know that everyone is not going to agree with everything that I post and that’s okay.  What is not okay is when I am attacked or made to feel that I have no idea what it is like to suffer from chronic illnesses like Fibromyalgia when I have lived almost 20 years suffering. 

I started Fighting Fatigue as an outlet for me to post about what it is like living and suffering with ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, & Interstitial Cystitis.  I needed an outlet and needed some way to cope with what was happening to me physically.  I too wanted to help others who suffer and I have received hundreds of emails over the years from other sufferers who needed to reach out to someone who understands them.  I have not ever pretended to be a medical professional, scientist or researcher.  I have always stated that I am a patient, posting my own experiences, etc.   Because this is a chronic illness website, I often will post about studies that are done on ME/CFS, FM & IC.  I feel that, regardless of whether I agree with the studies or not, that it is important to chronicle the history of these illnesses.  Because I do not have a medical background, I do not always understand the research study information that is available.  In this case, I will research to see if I can find information on the study that is in layman’s terms.  If it is not an easy read for me, I will usually just post the study from the source in its entirety and then I include the source link.  Whether a study done is not what we want to hear, or doesn’t seem fair to those suffering from it, it is still part of the illnesses history and I feel needs to be reported. 

The study that caused havoc on this particular Fibromyalgia forum was one that was featured on ProHealth and was from an Arthritis Journal and it said that working women with Fibromyalgia have overall better health (excluding pain).  This was one particular study where I quoted the study in its entirety and, like I always try to do, I included the source link to the study information.  Also in this post I talked about how I felt better emotionally since going back to work and I have spoken to others with FM who felt the same way.  Because of this study (which I did not say I agreed with), people on the FM forum were freaking out because they thought that it would make others think that they are using FM as an excuse so they don’t have to work;  that someone from Social Security would see the post and assume that FM patients need to work instead of being on disability and on and on.

It didn’t seem to matter how many times I said on the forum that I did not create this study, I was just posting the information and the study.  Then because I included my own opinion on how I feel emotionally better with working, they were assuming that I was saying this was part of the study.  What a mess.  I ended up, after apologizing for causing any confusion, deleted the post altogether.  But even after doing so people are still on there making a big deal about it.  I posted again that I did not create this study, yada, yada, yada, and that I deleted the post, it’s over, move on. 

I was repeatedly lectured on what FM patients go through, like I haven’t experienced it all myself, and was basically made to feel that I have no clue when all I have ever tried to do is help others.  Whether it is fair or not, there is always going to be studies done, research printed, that we may not like the answers to or agree with.  This particular study did not say how severe the working women’s FM was and it was rather vague.  I do agree there should have been more information included but there wasn’t.  I have no control over that.  But when I post about my own experiences, they are MY experiences and I won’t apologize for those. 

If you read my About page, I clearly state (and have stated multiple times over the past three years):

Please note that I am not a medical expert or physician.  You should always consult your physician before starting any new treatments or trying anything that may be discussed here.

My purpose and goal here will always be to provide whatever information I can find on ME/CFS, FM, IC & other illnesses and to offer tips and suggestions that have worked for me personally and to post my story. I hope this clears things up and there will be no further misunderstandings.

Vlog #1 – Tips for Moms with CFS

Today I posted my first vlog on You Tube & I hope you enjoy it.  Please leave a comment & rate the video after you have watched it.  This video gives moms some tips on how to handle parenting with CFS & I also share some of my own parenting struggles.  Please pass it on to everyone you know you could benefit from it! 

Voting Almost Over: Fighting Fatigue For Women’s Health Hero

The voting for Women’s Health Hero is almost over so if you haven’t voted yet, please read the rest of the post below, click on the link and give me a little love! 

Please vote for Fighting Fatigue in the first ever Our Bodies Ourselves Women’s Health Hero Contest.  All you have to do is to go to the page where my picture and nomination story are, then click on the stars to vote.  That’s it!  If you have Internet 6 or earlier versions, you won’t be able to vote  – you will have to leave a comment saying you would like to vote for me.  Voting ends May 8th and you can read more about the contest at the Our Bodies Ourselves website.  Thanks in advance for your support of Fighting Fatigue! 

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