Goal Setting for Summer Fun Among the Fatigued

I’m better than I ever could have imagined and still, no where near where I could be.  I hiked for 2.5 miles last week ! (I did come home and take a nap right after though *sighs*). That was so far beyond anything I could have hoped for years, and still, I could be feeling better yet if I could stick to a cleaner diet. 

It took me a bit of time to overcome the Christmas dietary delusions and I’m back to feeling like I can accomplish some things, but this wayward trend toward sugary things when I have p.m.s is truly my downfall.  It’s keeping me from getting “mo’ bettah” sooner.

So… my current goals:

1. Get back to eating 5 full servings of veggies a day – currently consuming about 3.
2. Get the ding dang sugar and processed foods out of my diet – ya looney pms crazed woman.
3. Maintain an exercise schedule, currently taking 3 or 4 walks a week, with emphasis on increasing times.
4. Boost up on supplements – I still forget to take them every day, and they help so much!
5. Focus on the Future -  I need to get better so I can be normal AND get a job! 

The catalyst is that my neice is graduating from highschool in May and we have a trip planned.   I hope to include much more activity than previous (last 15 years?) vacations.  Previously, I could go on a trip – but the only thing that I would ever think about was when I could sit down, or where – truly my only thought.  But this fantabulous resort has a water park in florida weather and I want to play! 

I took a trip with hubby last year to florida and georgia.  On the beach in florida, I was able to sit in the sand and look at the gulf, but I wasn’t able to walk or swim.  In georgia, we stayed at a resort and I was able to swim in the pool, but only for 10 minutes, then I was wasted.  Swimming is one of my greatest pleasures in life -  I’m going to do everything in my power to be able to swim and have the “Fun” word.  I just want to be normal.

In April, I plan to go on colonix again, and get back to the strictest of diets – meat, veggies, water.  I’ll keep you posted……

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Sex and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

 

I found that someone had done a google search for “Sex and Chronic Fatigue” and landed on my blog recently.  In my recent research, I haven’t come across any discussions on the matter, so I’ll delve into this tasty topic for a moment or two.  Following is my experience and my advice for those couples where one partner is suffering from this syndrome.

Is having sex possible with a person suffering from Chronic Fatigue, CFS?  Yes. But some considerations are in order.  It helps to understand that CFS sufferers have a daily energy output or allotment.  Once that energy is spent, it’s all over, time for bedrest.  Sex is a high-energy activity and consumes nearly 100 percent of our daily energy.  Very often, I’ll tell my husband he’s getting just a ‘bite-sized’ sex portion, we call it a bite sized snickers bar, meaning that our sexual activity will be delicious but short lived.  It’s not a quickie in terms of attitude, it’s a quickie in terms of how active I can be for him in bed.  Apparently orgasms zap a ton of energy, very enjoyable but it comes with a price.  After sex I need to rest.  It doesn’t always mean a nap, but it definitely means that I’m not going to do the dishes, or laundry that day.

Diminished libido:  CFS patients have reported diminished or non-existent libido.  This is true in my case as well.  It can also be said that I have a diminished capacity for any ‘normal’ activity though too.  This lack of libido and recognition of the energy required, can cause some sense of trepidation or anxiety for the partner with CFS.  I actually have to plan in advance when I can devote the sex energy to my husband and prepare the household the day before, so that no futher demands are placed on me for that day.  While my libido is pretty much non-existent, I do love my husband so much that I want to please him in any way that I can.  I want to give him sex.  Sex makes men happy   Plus, if I take the energy to give him some good lovin, then my having CFS doesn’t seem to affect him that much and he’s much more capable of tolerating my illness.  

Sex hurts:  This is another important consideration for the partners of CFS sufferers.  Chronic Fatigue is almost always in consort with Fibromyalgia.  CFS sufferers hurt all over, every day, relentlessly.  Everything hurts.  Sometimes for me, being touched hurts.  My muscles fail easily under most tasks and then I have to pay for it the next day.  It doesn’t really matter what sex position we include – they all hurt.  This is why I mention the bite-sized portions of sex above.  A shorter duration of sexual activity lessens the repercussions.  In addition, we make use of pillows, lots & lots of pillows.  We use the pillows to lift my body into different positions so that I don’t have to use the energy to support myself.  The pillows also offer much needed cushioning to my elbows and knees.  Am I getting too detailed?  Is it time to change the channel yet?

Oral Pleasures:  My diminished libido also leads me to offering him oral pleasures instead of my whole body.  This is one of my avenues of making sure that he’s given good attention while saving some of my energy if I’m having a slower day.  This is an excellent substitute – he’s happy, I’m happy, but even this outlay of energy often has its price in terms of my energy allotment.  I still have to rest afterwards, I’m just not a complete zombie.  Turning the table around and offering my secret treasure to him for oral sex is very difficult for me.  Most women typically require advanced bathing techniques to feel comfortable enough for this activity.  So now you’re asking me to bathe and offer my charms, and have sex?  Only on the very best of days do I have enough energy for this.  It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s that afterwards, I feel like I’m dyin.

I hope this post gives partners of CFS sufferers some insight into why when you ask for sex, we roll our eyes & say “Are you out of your ever-lovin mind?”.

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Supplementing my supplements?

If I plan to beat this nasty chronic fatigue thing to any degree, I recognize that there are physiological components that I must address.  From my peabrain research, it’s clear that diet alone ain’t gonna cut it.   Studies have shown that damage has been done on a cellular level.  Mitochondrial support is crucial.  In addition to my dietary overhaul, attention also needs to be paid to the function of my intestines.  It seems reasonable that it’s very difficult to absorb any supplements if my colon is a complete mess.  So, the current four pronged approach becomes:  1. detox diet 2. fix my colon through cleansing/yeast fighting 3. supplement my aching body 4. Communicate with my mitochondria and love them like my own little babies.

All of the supplements that I’m taking as listed below, are an amalgam of CFS research on countless sites, by numerous studies.  Perhaps the foremost is Dr. Teitelbaum’s treatment protocol for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 

http://www.immunesupport.com/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-teitelbaum.htm

I know that his protocol was developed after reading many of the same clinical studies that I have reviewed.  Getting to a point where I feel better with CFS seems a complicated task.  And since I got a D in chemistry (had the active virus during that coursework – ouch!), having to delve into the Krebs Cycle once again to figure out what’s wrong with me makes my little wormy brain squirm & wiggle under the pressure.  But I feel like I’m getting there!

Vitamins/Minerals		Dose
Alpha Base Multiple Vit/Mineral Tab		4 x week
B6 100mg (if no Alpha)		1 x day
B12 – sublingual 2mg (if no Alpha)		1 x day
Calcium 1000/Magnesium500		2 x day
Iron 50mg		1 x day
Molybdenum 500mcg		1 x day
Ultimate Zinc 24mg/Vitamin C 150mg		1 x day
Mitochondrial Treatments
Creatine (shipment hasn’t come yet)
Coenzyme Q10 -100mg		1 x day
D-Ribose powder 5g		3 x day
NT Factor – Phosphoglycolipids		3 x day
NADH 20mg		1 x day
Nac N-Acetyl L-Cysteine 500mg		1 x day
Yeast Fighters
Caprylic Acid 2 Tabs (alternate w/others)		1 x day
Solaray Yeast Cleanse (alternate)		6 x day
Fungal Defense (alternate)		4 x day
Primal Defense (soon as alternate)
Pau D’arco Tea		4 x week
Colonix w/parasite killer		30 day program
Probiotics
Now (brand) 8 Bil. Acidoph & Bifidus		2 x day
Various probiotics are in NT Factor

I know that to many readers, this list of supplements seems enormous.   I’m still researching which supplement conflicts with another.  So far, I know that the NADH has to be taken separately from others, as it is destroyed by supplemental acids.  Also, don’t take B-Vitamins on an empty stomach.  I’ll keep researching this too.

I already feel better on this program.  So far, I’ve been on the diet for 3 weeks, and have only taken the NT Factor for one week – it’s made quite a difference.  I’m not dancing any jigs yet, but I hurt less, can stand a little longer, have been doing the dishes and I sleep a little better.  So far so good!