Overcoming Chronic Fatigue easily – 4 Case studies

Real Life Stories - Four people describe how they contracted Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and more importantly, how they triumphed over it.

Jan McFadden, 43

 

Jan McFadden, 43, suffered from recurring Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for nine years and gained little relief from orthodox medicines.  With the help of Immunecare Colostrum, she has now recovered sufficiently to climb Mount Snowdon in the UK.

 

Jan was first hit by chronic fatigue syndrome in the early summer of 1996.  At the time she was living in Germany with her husband who was in the armed forces: Jan worked in the ammunition depot at the base.

 

She was initially diagnosed with anaemia before being told she had post-viral fatigue arising from a bout of glandular fever she had earlier that year.  She had put that down to the ‘New Year/Post Christmas blues’.  But it turned out to be much more: Jan could barely walk around the block compared to before Christmas when she ran regularly, did aerobics and worked a long day hauling ammunition boxes to and fro.

 

Jan took some time off work but couldn’t stay away for long.  She returned but found it very hard: by the afternoon all she wanted to do was sleep: her energy and strength had deserted her.  From socialising with an active group of people, running or doing aerobics after work, Jan simply dragged herself home to bed.  All weekend she would barely move in a bid to recoup some energy for the following week.

 

Jan became fed up and despondent and was prescribed an anti-depressant Seroxat.

 

While it helped improve her mood, it didn’t counter the CFS.  But over time she regained some strength, felt a bit better at work and started to run and work out again.  The fatigue came and went.  Sometimes Jan felt fine for a few weeks, sometimes just a few days before she was struck down again.

 

People told Jan it was ‘all in the mind’ but she didn’t go along with that.  In fact, it was the reverse: her mind was raring to go but her body didn’t respond.  Then her mind started to fail her too: she couldn’t concentrate and became easily confused.  By the end of 1996 Jan had come off the drugs and was taking St John’s Wort, a natural mood booster.

 

The ups and down continued for years and in 2001, Jan started training for the infamous 32km Hermannslauf.  She used a Bioflow magnet on each wrist while she trained and for the run itself which she completed in the April.  This was the second time she had done the run and she felt empowered once more and hoped this was the turning point: she was back to fitness.

 

But that wasn’t the case.  A month later she and her husband returned to England with his work and they lived in Bicester.  Jan also worked but she had to do night shifts.  Before long her post-viral symptoms returned with a vengeance.

 

 

One Friday morning in April 2003, Jan simply couldn’t get out of bed.  She had to take seven months off work and was put back on antidepressants.  Again, they tempered her emotions but did nothing to ease the chronic fatigue.

 

If was all Jan could do to walk round the block twice for 10 minutes.  ‘I felt as though I had lead in my boots’ she recalls.  She would sleep for at least five hours during the day – sometimes nearly the whole day.  And she still slept at night only to wake feeling exhausted.

 

She forced herself to do puzzles to keep her mind going but more and more she couldn’t concentrate.  The biggest irony was Jan was trying to help herself by reading books about chronic fatigue syndrome but never got far because her brain couldn’t retain any information.  She felt trapped in her own body.

 

Jan’s breakthrough came when she read in a magazine about a lady who had overcome CFS by taking a natural product called Colostrum.  It was Spring 2004.  Jan went on to the immunecare website and ordered the Immunecare Colostrum.  She started on a high dose of four tablets in the morning and four at night.  Within days she felt more focused and able to move freely.  Within weeks she was walking long stretches, she was able to concentrate and she realised she hadn’t had a ‘bad day’ for ages.  She slept well at night and woke refreshed.  She didn’t sleep during the day yet still felt fine by evening.  Jan now enjoys walks with her dogs, can manage the housework and goes to the gym three or four times a week for an hour.  She is back to work part time and is expecting to be back full time next spring.

 

Meanwhile, Jan has managed to achieve one of her lifelong ambitions – to climb Mount Snowdon.  Given the last few years of fatigue it seemed an unlikely achievement.  As Jan was recovering she started to work towards this goal, training more each week until she was able to undertake the Challenge.  While she admits it was hard to do the fact remains that Jan is now able to set a goal, work towards it and achieve a result.

 

She remains on the Immunecare Colostrum in a bid to hold the virus at bay and maintain as healthy an immune system as possible ready to fight it, should it recur.

 

 

Josie, 43, lives in Rugby, Warwickshire

 

For the last eight years Josie, 43, has suffered from persistent cold and flu viruses and extreme fatigue.  Just to get through the day, she took maximum doses of cold and flu remedies and drank coffee and Red Bull to keep her alert.  By mid morning at work Josie was exhausted, nauseous and barely able to concentrate on the job she so loves.  She would somehow get through the day but as soon as she got home would go straight to bed.  In the morning she awoke feeling un-refreshed to face another day of headaches, stuffy nose and respiratory problems.  At the weekend she stayed in bed nearly all the time in an effort to get her energy up for the following week.

 

Josie consulted a number of GPs who at best were puzzled and at worst disinterested.  She continued with the over the counter remedies until one day she felt so bad she consulted a specialist who diagnosed functional dyspepsia – a painful condition that affects the gut, disrupts digestion and leads to bloating, nausea and discomfort.

 

Despite following a very healthy diet and supplementing with vitamins, Josie could not shift her digestive problems nor her persistent colds and chronic fatigue.

 

By this time Josie was close to thinking she would need to leave work.  She runs a busy hub exchange centre for Royal Mails and adores her work: she was very worried that she may have to give up due to her ill health.

 

After nearly eight years of debilitation, Josie read about two natural products – Immunecare Colostrum and Immunecare Lactoferrin – that are known to help boost the immune system, fight off viruses, stabilise and heal the gut and help the body get back to good health and remain strong.  Josie called Immunecare and was pleasantly surprised to be given personal advice on the phone before she ordered the two sets of tablets.

 

After just the third day, Josie was able to work throughout the day without resorting to caffeine boosters.  Within a week she worked a full day and then went home – but not straight to bed.  She was able to cook a meal and potter about a little.  She didn’t need to spend the weekend in bed either: her energy was definitely returning.

 

At work she felt much more alert and was significantly more productive.  For the first time in years Josie was feeling positive and stronger.

 

Within a month of taking the Immunecare Colostrum and Immunecare Lactoferrin, Josie felt able to stop taking the cold and flu remedies totally – having cut them right down.  She was amazed by her own energy levels and was relieved that the ‘weight’ she had dragged around for so many years had finally lifted.   Aside from the physical improvements Josie has also noticed she had distinct clarity of thought where before everything seemed ‘foggy’.

 

Josie’s social life is also back on track and she is working at full capacity.  Plus she enjoys her time at home relaxing – it’s no longer just a bolthole where she can fall into bed!

 

 

Lisa Goddard, 38 years old.

Lisa Goddard, 38, is married and lives in Cambridge.  She was a scientist, and is currently doing a PhD in theology and biosciences.  One year into this challenging course, in the winter of 2002, Lisa fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  For two years this condition blighted her life and stopped her from doing anything, let alone any work towards her PhD.  She simply couldn’t concentrate or summon the energy to sit at her computer.

 

As a scientist, Lisa refused to accept the GP’s verdict of there not being much she could do.  She set about trying to analyse her way to a cure.  She tried exclusion diets, an anti candida programme, took around 25-30 different vitamins and took up a graded home exercise programme.  And it was this gentle exercise combined with Echinacea that gave Lisa enough energy to pick up her life.  But it only worked so far: she was still immensely tired, unable to work more than 30 minutes at a stretch and her quality of life was very poor indeed.

 

A specialist eventually diagnosed that Lisa had had Glandular Fever at some time in the past and he suggested she try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to pull her out of the doldrums – but she is still on the waiting list for this. She was given the anti depressant Citaloprom to help her sleep.  It helped settle her sleep pattern but had no effect on the daily fatigue she suffered.

 

Then Lisa heard about Immunecare Colostrum – a great immune booster that is naturally anti-viral.

 

Lisa and her friends at church had been praying about the situation: Lisa thought it may well have been an answer to her prayers so decided to give it a try. As well as the Colostrum, she took Immunecare Lactoferrin – a ‘super supplement’ that is anti bacterial, anti viral and anti oxidant among other things.  The combination of the two has proved to be a powerful formula.  Lisa started taking them in the New Year.

 

Within a week her energy levels were markedly improved. It has been an answer to the prayers of friends and of her church.

 

Lisa then went back to working on her PhD and within two weeks was able to work six or seven hours a day.  Lisa feared that after a few weeks her body would become accustomed to the products and their effect would fall away.  But far from it: she goes from strength to strength.

 

Before taking Immunecare Colostrum and Immunecare Lactoferrin, Lisa found it a challenge to see a friend for even an hour.  Conversation exhausted her. Tasks around the house were virtually impossible and she was housebound most of the time.

 

Now, her energy is restored, the fatigue has gone and Lisa is positively brimming with excitement as she has picked up the threads of her study and is making good progress on her PhD.

 

 

 

Maria Kerr, aged 37 from Lanarkshire

Two years ago Maria’s friends would describe her as: “Lively, outgoing and full of energy.” Unfortunately, in February 2003, after contracting a virus which gave her an upset stomach and severe head and shoulder pains, she went to bed and slept for 24 hours. When she awoke she felt no better. In fact, her problems had only just begun…

 

“I never felt I really recovered from the virus, I felt very tired and just couldn’t shake off a feeling of constant fatigue,” says Maria. “My whole character changed as I was exhausted and I had severe headaches and muscle pains, concentration and memory problems. I had to take extended sick leave, and my personal life also suffered as a result. I’m a single mum, and my 9 year old son found it hard to understand why mummy was always too tired to play.”

 

Maria’s GP was sympathetic and conducted a number of blood tests to see whether she suffered from any allergies or food intolerances but it wasn’t until he referred her to a consultant Gastroenterologist, who also had a special interest in fatigue, that she was diagnosed with ME in May 2003.

 

“I was relieved to find out I really did have a medical condition but there was no treatment offered to improve my health. When I researched the condition on the internet, the outlook seemed very bleak. I talked to people via chat rooms on ME support networks, but there was so much negativity and no optimism that one could recover from this condition that I just felt more and more depressed,” she explains.

 

Maria continued to research treatment options and spent a fortune on supplements including Co-enzyme Q10, Evening primrose oil, Cod liver oil, Ginseng. None of these had any effect and she became increasingly disheartened that she would ever be able to improve her condition.

 

“Having tried just about everything and anything I could to improve my condition, I was at an all time low earlier this year. I had tried to return to work in April 2004 but I just couldn’t cope, and my financial situation was worsening. As the school holidays were approaching, I dreaded how I would cope as some days I couldn’t get out of bed, let alone entertain my energetic son.”

 

In June this year, Maria read about a lady who felt she had recovered from ME using a dietary supplement called Immunecare Colostrum. Even though she had tried her fair share of supplements, and this story sounded too good to be true, Maria still felt she had to try the supplement for herself.

 

“As a mother, I knew about the immune boosting health benefits that colostrum gives newborns, so I thought this may at least help my body fight back against this disease,” explains Maria. “I haven’t changed my diet or lifestyle and have been taking Immunecare Colostrum for 3 months now, and I feel a completely different person. My energy levels have returned to normal and the headaches are gone. I just have a little shoulder and neck pain but that’s all. In August this year I returned to work and I even managed to keep my son entertained during the school holidays!”

 

“I was so shocked when I was diagnosed with ME, and I found it difficult to find people who had a positive outlook on how to live with this condition and improve it. It may not work for everyone, but in the face of adversity Immunecare Colostrum has helped me get my life back to normal.”