AnUnusual Blog

EDITED ON MAY 12th 2026 WITH CORRECTIONS, INFO, AND RESOURCES. Edits in blue!

it’s worth doing a little research yourself and acquainting yourself with the symptoms. Here are a few:

Post-exertional malaise: this is the big one. This is what makes it so much like burnout. Basically, you tire out much easier from exertion - your ability to recover is sabotaged, and takes a lot longer. Practically anything can count as exertion if you’re sick enough - exercise, talking to friends, reading, video games… massive pain in the ass. And weird, shitty, seemingly unrelated symptoms can pop out of nowhere the sicker you get.

Brain fog: another form of fuckery. Cognitive impairment. Your energy levels are lower, so your brain doesn’t cooperate the way it should. This leads to trouble recalling things, trouble making decisions, lack of coordination, and many, many other frustrating things.

Immune system problems: these are a cluster of symptoms that can vary quite a bit from case to case. I hear your immune system can get underactive, and you can get diseases more easily, among other things? (Fact check this.) EDIT: While I’m uncomfortable writing this off completely, and I haven’t fully fact checked this, it’s looking a lot more like an overactive immune system is part-and-parcel of ME/CFS. My mom and I, on the other hand, have overactive immune systems, and we get lovely symptoms like food sensitivities from out of nowhere. Like eggs? Good source of nutrients? Fuck you, stomach don’t like them anymore, have headaches and gastric agony from the pain dimension.

Generalized muscle and joint pain: I don’t have the research in front of me, but from what I can remember, lactic acid builds up more easily in the muscles of those with ME/CFS. Basically, it doesn’t take much effort for you to get sore, and you have achy spots on your body that improve with massages but don’t seem to go away completely or permanently. (My mom and I both get sore in our lower backs)

These are just some of the symptoms you can get. Still with me? Good.

Think you might have it?

Things can be done about this. Really smart people have been working hard to find a cure, and there’ve been some really promising discoveries.

Now, ME/CFS is a real sonuvabitch to diagnose because so far, there’s been no way to test for it directly - you have to use process of elimination instead, and rule out other conditions. This is a long and annoying process.

EDIT: There might just be a blood test for ME/CFS on the horizon, which would make things SO much easier. In the meantime, it still helps to rule out other conditions (as frustrating as it is), and there is a certain exercise test which produces a unique result for people with ME/CFS. This test is called the CPET test, and it may be worth talking to a doctor about. More info on this test and other stuff in the reblog.

Unfortunately, I can’t speak when it comes to other forms of health insurance in the United States besides Medicaid. But what you’ll wanna do is basically take various lists (which are part of a packet that my mom put together - I’ll link said packet on a reblog) to different specialists, and test for the conditions on those lists. Rule ‘em out, make sure you don’t have them.

Again, this is arduous and difficult. But getting a diagnosis can be very helpful when it comes to getting support or benefits.

That said, there are things you can do without having to get a diagnosis. Certain medications have been known to help with the symptoms. I’ll list a couple that have helped me here.

DO NOT TAKE MEDICATIONS WILLY-NILLY WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR. MAKE SURE THEY’RE SAFE FIRST.

I recently had an incident where I took one of these meds, and some potentially deadly complications came up. It got resolved, I was able to continue taking it, but you can’t be too careful!

Metformin has helped some people with ME/CFS. I happened to have other reasons for taking it, but once I did, I noticed that my energy levels raised a bit and I had less brain fog.

Naltrexone is a medication best known for treating cravings and addictions. In smaller doses, it can help diminish the negative impact of the symptoms. (However, it’s been known to amplify the effects of some other medications - this is what I had trouble with earlier. Be cautious and pay attention to your body!) EDIT: You’ll want to start with an extremely small dose - less than a milligram. Then, if you’re finding that you need more, start increasing the dose gradually, bit by bit. If you experience a lot of tightness in your head, neck, and shoulders, it’s too much.

Trazodone can be used in small doses to help with sleep issues, including those caused by ME/CFS - more lovely symptoms that I didn’t mention earlier. Again, pay attention to this one, because it can cause problems if you’re not careful - especially if you take a lot of medications.

You’ll notice that use of these medications are generally off-label, as they’re usually prescribed for other reasons.

Now, don’t create more problems for yourself or lie to your doctor(s), but if you happen to have the problems those medications are intended to treat (i.e. you struggle with cravings or sleep problems), then by all means, use those problems to get the help you need!

…

This is a lot of information, I know. And I’m sorry. This entire disease is bullshit.

I have one final piece of advice. The most annoying, frustrating, and yet important part of all this.

The most consistent way you get better - improve your condition, become less sick - is by resting.

It is the hardest fucking part.

Because there will be things that you will want to do. Or need to do. Or have to do. Some of those things will be unavoidable, and you might take a hit when you do them. But otherwise? You’re going to have to rest.

You’re going to have to listen to your body when it tells you ‘no.’ Even if it means not hanging out with friends. Or doing something that would normally be really good for you. Or, hell, even just getting outside of the house. There will be times where you have to lie in bed and just… do nothing.

And you will fuck up sometimes, because you want to live and exist in the world. That’s okay - don’t beat yourself up about it. Just do the best you can. The whole game is rigged, and you shouldn’t have to play it in the first place, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win.

All of that up there - the more intense stuff - that can be avoided if you take care of yourself and start resting up early, before things get too bad. But if not, don’t give up, you can make it through this.

Hopefully no part of this comes across as unhelpful or pretentious or anything - if this helps at least one other person, I consider it a success. But hopefully it’ll help more people than that.

Take care of yourselves, lovelies.