Hi again,

So it occurred to me that I should write a bit about what's going on with my health, so you can share any similar experiences or ask questions. I don't claim to have any medical qualifications, I simply have years of experience of being ill and as such, have a store of coping mechanisms.

I began with abdominal pain problems around ten years ago. I went through years of being told the pain was due to water infections and other minor things before being diagnosed with gall stones, around 4 years later. I had my gallbladder removed, continued having pain, more clear tests, then another stone removed from the bile duct. I continued to have pain and had reconstructive surgery to my bile duct system. I still have pain to this day and have a tentative diagnosis of recurrent cholangitis due to my new plumbing and Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome.

I also seem to have ME/Chronic fatigue syndrome. I have recently been diagnosed but have suffered with fatigue problems on and off for nearly 20 years, becoming debilitating in the last couple of years. I also get frequent migraines, tension headaches and have other random symptoms such as joint pain, pins and needles, poor memory etc.

I tend not to place too much emphasis on the name or origin of the fatigue problem as I feel that the way to proceed is the same. I try to follow a pacing programme to manage my symptoms. I will talk more about pacing later.

After years of being ill and eventually not being able to go out to full time work and do the things that i would like to do, I have experienced various mood problems, such as depression and anxiety through frustration.

Well, that's me in a nutshell. I'll post further on particular aspects of living and coping with illness and hopefully get to chat about your experiences.

Pixie :)