ME awareness
M.E. Awareness
ME Awareness Week started on the 6 th May and will run till 12th May, It has been created to help raise awareness and money for those that suffer with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.). This is a little known long-term (chronic), fluctuating, neurological condition that causes symptoms affecting many body systems, commonly the nervous system. ME is a relatively unknown illness to the general public however it affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, and around 17 million people worldwide. This is why awareness events like this official awareness week are so important for those that suffer with the illness on a daily basis. Awareness events like this raise not only awareness that allows sufferers to be more understood but they also raise much needed money to both care for sufferers and research for treatment and cures.
ME is a chronic condition, this means that those affected will usually have the illness for life, it also means the person has to adjust to the demands of the illness and the therapy used to treat the condition. Diagnosis of ME, therefore, is a life changing event that will have huge repercussions for those involved. People with M.E. experience debilitating pain, headaches, flu symptoms, fatigue and other symptoms associated with post-exertional malaise, the body and brain?s inability to recover after expending even small amounts of energy. This means that extreme fatigue is a daily symptom of ME which can be extremely debilitating. Below is an extract from the Action For Me website where Sam, someone who suffers from ME, tells us in his words what it is like living with the condition:
?It?s like having glandular fever, taking your glandular fever on an all-night drinking binge, then taking your glandular fever and your hangover and doing a 30km forced march over the Brecon Beacons. The way you would feel at the end of that is how it feels to have M.E. every day. It is like being on a carousel: you have ups and downs but you can never get off.?
Like many lesser known illnesses ME is underfunded and needs the support of donations to help research and provide care for those who need it. As it stands there is so much still unknown about this disease and so researching into better treatment is crucial. Please read more about the illness here