Like doc_blues I too missed this first time around. It makes for very interesting reading as I have been suffering with something similar for the last 6 years.
My illness came on after a weekends riding in Wales and since then I have never been able to achieve anywhere like the level of activity that I once did.
My overriding symptom has been fatigue and flu like symptoms, (i.e. sore throat, aching limbs/joints) and unfreshing sleep. Plus like many others, I appear to be have become very suscepitble to any viruses and illnesses that are going. I also have to be very careful not to overdo things, as either working too hard or exercising too much brings my symptoms on.
Whilst my GP practice has been sympathetic, they have not been that proactive in persuing the CFS route. Initial diagnosis was that I had had a virus. After numerous visits back to the GP, I eventually had a whole raft of blood tests. Which were all negative.
I was also tested for Lymes disease (twice), as living in the New Forest makes that a likely possibility. But both tests were negative. (Interestingly a friend of mine had a similar set of symptoms to me around about the same time. We had both lived in France and had spent a fair bit of time in the mountains there. He was suspected of having Lymes).
Like some of the other posters, there have been periods where I have been able to exercise quite hard, but my symptoms always return within a few weeks.
It has been hard to come to terms with not being as fit and active as I was, but at least I can still work. I think the most frustrating thing is not having a confirmed diagnosis. Even if I definitely knew I had CFS, there is no real treatment, but it would be nice to know that I am not making it all up!! On several trips to hospital, I could tell that the hospital staff thought I was a timer waster.
Interestingly when I was at the GPs this week with yet another sore throat, a new GP (after having read my notes) asked whether I had ever seen a CFS specialist. So who knows?
Having lived with this for 6 years, I would really recommend that you push your GP hard for help as early as possible.
Like many of the other posters, I have learned to manage my life to minimise the symptoms. However, more often than not it means that my sports/hobbies suffer just so I can have enough energy to work.
She has been working with same crazy herbal man and the last 6 months have been a massive improvement. In both cases GP/normal medical route provided no real or clear answers other than my EBV and her CMV tests which were both high.
