Just Diagnosed after 15 Years

---

In 2001 I woke up one morning with flu-like symptoms, sore glands in my neck, all over achy pain.  I thought I had the flu, but it didn't make sense because I had the flu recently and recovered.  This time I didn't recover for about 6 months.  I had periods of time I was able to get my active life back, but each time I had a flare the symptoms were worse and lasted longer.  This latest one has lasted over two years and is by far the worst.  I understand now how I continually pushed myself and caused more crashes or would have a good day and try to catch up on everything then be more sick the next day.  Now I'm learning to pace myself better.  I wear a band and watch so I can see when my pulse raises so I stop and rest.  I also have orthostatic intolerance.  I take Midodrine for that, which is helping and I just started taking LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone) .5 and plan to increase the dose slowly....may feel worse the first week or so but stick with it....good response for me so far but it can be difficult to find the right dose as it's different for everyone.  Best to start low and go slow from .5 mg initially then slowly increase to not more than 4.5 mg.  If you're looking for a doctor to prescribe it try checking with a local compounding pharmacy and ask if they make it (make sure they don't add calcium as that prevents absorption)...then ask them for a list of doctors that prescribe it.  THE most important thing I needed to learn was to pace myself, rest often....rest means laying flat, eyes closed, quiet room....no computer, reading, t.v. or distractions.  Try resting at least twice a day, same time everyday for at least 15 - 30 minutes.