SA lot of great comments. I had no idea so many suffer from the CFS. I am 45 and have had chronic pain for 15 years. It started while I was working in Tokyo for 2 years. I was not accustomed to the busy, stressful environment of such a huge city. I am not much of a drinker but I found alcohol helped reduce the pain in my face and head. Well I realized early that that was just a bad idea. When I returned home to Canada I started to take Effexor as I was getting depressed from always being in pain. I used to have so much energy but I am always lethargic; it's very frustrating. Lately I have started trying injections of anesthetic in my neck and back and that seems to have helped a bit. I tried Yoga for 2 yrs but it did not help at all. So I find that mediation, breathing, relaxing, staying positive is the best remedy for keeping from getting the blues. I will try to change my diet and find out more about some of the suggestions such as serrapeptase and concerta.

In Sept/10 I had to have a kidney removed due to cancer. It seems from that date on I have been getting more tired and listless. I went back to work from Dec/10 to Mar/11 and had to take 2 weeks off due to lack of energy. My legs gave out on me at one point even. From March to May I tried working again. May was the final straw; I was sitting down more than doing my job. The most irritating part is every time I saw my dr. he said it was depression because of the pain & wanting to stay in bed. He even tried to blame it on menopause. I kept telling him I know my body & something is not right. I am not depressed other than the fact I can't work. Today I am going to see him & tell him to start ruling out all illnesses so I can hopefully get help before it is too late for total recovery. I sleep very well, other than washroom breaks, but need at least one, sometimes 2 catnaps a day. I, like all of you, would love to get my life back.

I have CFS. It has been getting progressively worse over the past few years. I don't feel alive. I don't feel human. I am finishing up my master's degree, but I know I cannot work full or part-time. So, I don't know what I'll do for money or my student loans. I applied for disability and am waiting to get a court date. It will be some time. If it were not for God, I would just quit right now. It is so bad. I feel so awful- to the point where sometimes I think I should be in the hospital. I just saw an alternative MD and he believes that many CFS cases are caused by Lyme disease, Lyme co-infections, and EBV. He put me on Valtrex. I have read some of the testimonials on here and believe some of you should be tested (just blood work). If you do have any of these, you could be treated and get better. I have not received my results yet.

I had all the symptoms associated with CFS for several years. I thought I was depressed because of the illness. When my depression was treated my CFS went away.

I was diagnosed with CFS about 12 months ago although I'm sure I had it way before that. Apart from the total debilitating fatigue and excruciating pain, I find some peoples attitude towards it infuriating. Up until the past couple of weeks I would have to sleep for 2-3 hours then make myself get up for the same amount of time then return to bed and so it went on. I'm on a lot of meds to try and combat the pain but pacing/rest periods are the only real winners in my case.