People often describe M.E. as feeling like a really bad flu that just won't go away. Or like trying to run a marathon on top of having the flu.
You can have all kinds of symptoms when you have M.E. Symptoms are things that you feel or notice about your body when you have an illness.
Common symptoms
It's important to tell your doctor or your parent or carer if you have any new symptoms.
People who have M.E. can be affected in lots of ways. Some may only get mild symptoms while others can be severely ill. Doctors might categorise your illness as 'mild', 'moderate', 'severe' or 'very severe'. Also, people over time may find that their illness changes in severity.
M.E. can make you feel exhausted and even too tired to think straight, so you may end up missing out on school and seeing friends. What makes it even more frustrating is that you may feel much better on some days than others. Symptoms can come and go and it's normal for them to change from hour to hour and day to day. So just when you think it's getting better you may feel you've gone back to square one just a day later. It's important to stay positive as you will start feeling better over time. Many other common illnesses also fluctuate, such as asthma and epilepsy.
Different things might affect your symptoms such as the food you eat, tablets you take and your mood. Not resting enough and trying to do more than your body can manage can make it worse - as can doing too little.
How do you cope with symptoms?
Tips from other young people
'I try and go at my own pace and ignore people who try and make me do more than I feel capable of doing'
'I don't push myself too much'
'I have learned to listen to my body'
'My doctor has given me tablets that help with the pain and sleep problems. They don't get rid of the symptoms but they have helped to lessen them which has been great'
'When I get a lot of pain I know it gets worse when I get upset and frustrated. So now I try and relax, take lots of deep breaths, and try and take my mind off the pain by listening to my favourite music or thinking about things I want to do when I get better'
'I always try and stay positive and think about positive things'
'I don't keep my problems to myself as this can make my symptoms worse. It really helps me to talk to other people with M.E. as they understand how I am feeling and often have good tips on how to cope with them'
For tips on how to deal with the symptoms better take a look at the Treatments info.
Which symptoms have you experienced? How do they affect your life?
Find out how other young people with M.E. describe their symptoms in Reality Bytes or read more in InterAction
Information produced July 2003
Updated June 2004
