This will be my last post for CFS Squared – Tales of CFS. I have enjoyed writing here, for the past two years. But it’s time for me to move on now.
I must say, that this last word stuff is a little daunting. I kind of want to sneak away – and leave you with fun and quirky posts. But, I owe more than that to all of you, and to myself.
On more than one occasion, I have written about Do No Harm. I am going to share a little secret with all of you. Writing and/or following a health …read more

The last few weeks have been difficult ones for me. I have had some heinous cough- that is not really going away. I have all sorts of mono symptoms that haven’t really been going away. My skin has been peeling like crazy. And some other stuff has been brought to the surface, that I am not quite ready to divulge on here (don’t worry- it will get under control). Due, to the chest cough, and the skin peeling thing, it has been suggested that I give up dairy products. Remember when I tried to …read more

I love these videos of the old Jack Lalanne show. They make me happy. In this episode he talks about a poor woman, who spontaneously breaks out into song – She is happy – and her happiness is contagious. Its lovely. We have a lot to learn from this man.

First off, I want to thank everyone for the comments on this blog.  The comments are an integral part of this blog, the people who comment are just as important to CFS Squared as the writer.  I love being part of such a great community!
Now lets get down to business.  CFS Squared is of course about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and all of the stuff that goes with it (good and bad), and there is a lot of good that comes with this illness.  For the most part, I write about my personal journey with this illness.  …read more

You have been feeling lousy for months. This flu you have has lasted a long time, and doesn’t show signs of leaving. You go to the doctor, for what is the 100th time. Your doc has given you every test known to man. Everything comes back negative. Finally, you are given the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. You say, “finallly! great – now cure me”.
Your doctor gives you a few options:

suggests you stop working, and implement the 50% rule, gives you a schedule of medications to take everyday
gives you just the meds
tells you to continue …read more

There are many ways to manage Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Prescription drugs are just one way. Doctors will sometimes discuss lifestyle changes, and alternative therapy- but not always. Some will just push the pills. Why do you think this is?
How many people have seen an ad on television for prozac, ambien, or lyrica- and have convinced themselves that they need these drugs. They then go to their doctors and ask to be put on them. Do the doctors listen and explain why you do or don’t need these pills. Or do they just grab their prescription …read more

So the title of this post, is slightly misleading.  I don’t think that there is a magic age where depression stops being an issue for people.  However,  a study done by Dartmouth and the University of Warwick suggests that depression peaks at the age of 44.
It is said that only in a persons 50’s do most people emerge from a dark depression. 
So if depression, is a part of your CFS condition- how does this make you feel.  I suppose if you are already nearing the magic number of “44″ you would be happy with this news.
For those of us who have …read more

How many of these prescription pills do you or have you taken for your condition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Ambien
Zopiclone
Valium
Zoloft
Xanax
Donormyl

This is the list of prescription drugs found at the scene of Heath Ledger’s apartment, at the time of his death. I have taken 5 of the 6 drugs listed, at various times to help deal with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. On several occasions, I took some of them at the same time. You may ask, which ones? – It makes no difference. All of them can be dangerous, if not taken properly. Even when taken properly, and …read more

I subscribe to the school of thought that if something you are doing or taking is causing a reaction – then you are on the right track.  Be it a positive reaction or a negative reaction.  Any reaction is encouraging.  I know that many people will disagree with me (I only have to read comments on certain posts to know this to be true).  But I want to know why you disagree.
Enlighten me!
Picture Source – Flickr .adriel 

Recently I wrote a post about a drug called lyrica, that that had an overwhelming response of people chiming in, to talk about the side effects that they are experiencing. So many comments, that I felt it was necessary to cut off that section for the post. However, the response prompted me to think about whether we have any idea what the drugs that we take are actually doing to us.
Take my example, when I was diagnosed with CFS, the only thing that really helped me at all was long term antibiotic use. While I have no …read more