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I’m enjoying this one too! Only one episode left to watch!

Happy birthday!! 🎂 🥳

Currently, there is no cure for ME. Some medical professionals still don’t even believe it exists. Efforts to raise awareness usually don’t go far beyond those of us who already have the disease. So please, educate yourself, share the posts, and donate to any of the wonderful ME charities worldwide.

My own symptoms have been getting progressively worse over the last nine years, and at the moment I’m about 90% housebound. I use a mobility aid when I do manage to go out, I need frequent rest breaks, I’m unable to work, and I had to stop driving years ago. 🧵

One of the key symptoms of ME is post-exertional malaise or PEM, which is a delayed worsening of symptoms after any kind of exertion, no matter how small. This can include physical or cognitive exertion. 🧵

Symptom severity can range from “mild” (sufferers at this stage have already lost about 50% of their normal function) to “very severe” (where patients are bed bound and may be unable to eat, speak, or tolerate light and sound). 🧵

What is ME? It’s a complex, physical, disabling, multi-system chronic illness. It can affect the brain, muscles, immune system, digestive system, and the autonomic nervous system. 🧵

But ME is wildly underfunded and it’s a condition that is misunderstood by both doctors and the general public, so even though this is primarily a writing account, I’ve decided to share a little bit about ME and about my experiences with it. 🧵

Congratulations!! 🎉

Call your Congressional reps and tell them that you do NOT approve of these cuts. Pick your grounds based on personal experience (relying on Head Start programs, importance of AIDS/HIV research, ME/CFS funding, wastewater monitoring)-- and tell Congress you're pro-science, not pro-disease. 🧵💪