Onset of ME means drastic lifestyle changes for Aoife

AOIFE RYAN looks forward one day to going on a holiday and starting a family. Currently, neither is an option for the 32-year-old Dublin woman with ME, whose life has been put on hold for nearly seven years.

Aoife is just one of 10,000 suffering from ME, a debilitating illness often called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Experts have failed to establish what causes the incurable illness which typically affects women in the 20-40 age bracket.

For Aoife, it began in September 1997 with aches and pains. No longer able to work out in the gym, she also left her job 18 months after the onset of the illness. By that stage she had to be helped into her clothes and brought to bed. She was using a walking stick.

“I thought it was something you could fight but it got to the stage I realised I couldn’t. My body stopped working and I couldn’t get out of bed one morning.

“I saved up a lot of energy to marry in 2000 but we didn’t go on honeymoon. After the wedding I was in bed for six weeks,” she said.

Dr Anne McIntyre said: “ME is potentially a serious, disabling and chronic illness, affecting the brain, muscles and immune system. It causes profound exhaustion, pain and mental confusion.”

Symptoms include disabling fatigue made worse by even minor exertion, muscle and joint pains, sore throats, swollen glands, disturbed sleep, impaired concentration and headaches.

One in five sufferers make a nearly-complete recovery within two years but 20% remain seriously disabled.

In ME Awareness Week (May 8-15), volunteers will sell blue ribbons to raise funds for research. Events highlighting the illness will be held at different venues around the country.

For more information contact Irish ME/CFS Support Group helpline [phone] or email [e-mail].