"I developed ME following Glandular Fever 22years ago. I have a classic history of quite severe ME. Included in my range of symptoms were myalgia, acute "crippling" post exertional burning fatigue, spinal inflammation, intolerance of alcohol, sleep dysfunction and frequent waking during the night feeling very ill indeed. Almost every day I would feel as if I`d just run a marathon.
During the frequent and long lasting relapses the effort of doing even the simplest task caused severe symptoms. If I tried to wash my hair it was a major undertaking and the only activity I could manage that day. Often if I prepared a simple meal it was a struggle to manage to eat it. On the very best of days I could get up etc but was unable to walk more than few steps without suffering symptoms. I had to spent almost all my time lying down reading, and occasionally painting or drawing. I felt ill continually and would estimate my activity levels to be 10% of normal.
The pattern of the illness became predictable. I would do a seemingly minor activity, think I was o.k (or got away with it) only to wake during the night with the symptoms, which if I was lucky subsided after 3 days, but more often than not went on to a relapse that lasted for many months, and even almost total rest didn't ease the symptoms. I was in a catch 22 situation activity worsened my condition but rest didn't help.
When I gradually improved and began to increase my activity levels the pattern repeated itself. It felt like walking up a downward escalator.
My key aim became to gain some stability with the condition, avoid relapses and continue researching the condition in an attempt to gain a foothold onto the ladder of health. I listened to my body, paced my energy, and was careful not to exceed the narrow parameters (I`d tried pushing through the symptoms on numerous occasions and it always resulted in another relapse and a deterioration in the level at which I was left to function).
Over the years I saw many doctors and consultants (including a visit to the National M.E.Centre in 1998) they all confirmed ME.
Despite rigorously following numerous treatments both conventional and one or two unconventional nothing helped significantly.
It came as a relief when the medical evidence, especially the genetic research confirmed that ME was a neurological illness with measurable physiological changes. The relief of having the illness understood and acknowledged by the medical profession however did nothing to help reduce its severity.
I've listed a few of the studies that just confirmed to me what my body had been telling me for years, and why I couldn't break through the barrier to become healthy and physically active.
· The Canadian Clinical Working Case Definition, based on the collective extensive experience of a consensus panel representing treating physicians diagnosing and treating more than 20,000 ME patients stated that ME is a severe systemic illness with evidence of immunological and toxicological signs, clear disturbances of the neuroendocrine stress axis, impairment of the autonomic nervous system, irregularities in perfusion to the brain and indeed peripheral vascular system.
· After aerobic activity of as little as 3 minutes patients can switch to an inefficient anaerobic and damaging system of energy production(Cheney. Prof of Medicine Capital University USA)
· As a result of inefficient burning system patients can lose up to 70% of energy production (Cheney).
· ……..15 genes became more active and one less active, showing problems in various systems including the immune system, neurological function and mitochondrial metabolism.
· There is an inappropriate loss of physical and mental stamina, rapid muscular and cognitive fatiguability, post exertional malaise and fatigue. There is pathologically slow period usually within 24hours or longer (extract Canadian Clinical case definition).
· Patients with ME/CFS exhaust more rapidly than other subjects in keeping with an abnormality in oxidative metabolism and resultant acceleration of glycolosis in the working skeletal muscles. The results of this test shows patients with ME fail to recover properly from exercise and this failure is more pronounced 24 hours after exercise. While recovery in controls was complete in 200 minutes post exercise "an even further decline in force" was observed among the ME group 24 hours post exercise.(European Journal Of Neurology 1999)
· Changes in the stress response systems demonstrates that ME sufferers have a genetic make up that effects the body's ability to adapt to stress and change. Journal of Pharmocogenomics 2006
In August 2004 George, my adored and supportive husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. He was the person who had shared this illness with me, who helped to make the often almost unbearable illness bearable.
After his death I was stable ME wise for 8months, but following antibiotic therapy in an attempt to gain some improvement I had another severe relapse which lasted almost continually from August 2005 until Jan 2006. This was when I first heard about the Lightning Process.
HOW I CAME TO DECIDE THAT FOR ME THE LIGHTNING PROCESS WAS FOR ME.
In Jan 2006 I began to hear of a trickle of people making dramatic 3-day recoveries from ME and I set about looking at the evidence.
Stories of people becoming physically well after years of illness in such a short time frame, seemed beyond belief. Many times I'd heard the hyped up stories of miracle cures from ME and knew lots of people who had thrown good money after bad.
My first port of call was to contact Phil. He suggested I speak to people who had undergone the training process and were well, and he encouraged me to ask as many questions and be as confident as possible in the effectiveness of the Lighting Process before considering undertaking the course.
I spoke to several people who had recovered fully.
Some of key questions I asked were-:
· Did they have a substantiated well documented history of ME.
· I established that they had all been ill for several years, and fulfilled the criteria for ME.
· Everyone appeared to have taken an informed view of the treatment and had gathered their evidence before embarking on the process.
· Most importantly to me the treatment had stood the test of time, and the initial improvement was sustained and consistent, with several people now one year on from the process, all well, healthy and active.
To undergo the training process I had to travel to London, the effect of which would have been more than enough to precipitate a relapse and it took all my courage to take the risk.
In my opinion Phil's approach is sound biology that ties in with the most up to date research. It appears to me that the wide-ranging symptoms can all be explained by immune dysfunction. One of the many advantages of Phil's training process is that he shows you how to stop the cause of the immune suppression and by doing that the immune system normalises and all the symptoms dissipate.
SINCE MY RETURN FROM LONDON.
Within 3 days of returning home I was walking to the shops approx 20minutes (I had previously only managed this about 6 times in the last 20 years).
Within 3 weeks I had my first game of tennis, and now play regularly, I've purchased a table tennis table and play daily, swim 12 lengths a couple of times a week and am actively gardening. I am fit and able to go where I want when I want.
Perhaps so far the key occasions for me have been to go on holiday with one of my sons to Spain. For the first time ever in his 21 years I have been be able to walk along the beach with him, play bat and ball, and a couple of rounds of 9 holes of golf (although I am still questioning the wisdom of his advice to "aim for the bunker Mum"). My renewed fitness has also allowed a much-awaited game of tennis where I was completely hammered by my elder son, but after sitting on the sidelines for 22years (on a good day) this was an indescribable pleasure….
Since my return 75 days ago I've remained consistently well and only on a couple of days have I felt tired, but that is a normal physiological tiredness as a result of being so physically active.
On a very personal note my one regret is that my husband who was supportive and loving every single day of the illness didn't live to see my return to health, ironically the month that I went to London for the LP training was the month he would have retired as a police officer.
As a result of one person being prepared to think out of the box and use a mind and body approach to an illness that's been seen as just physiological I have now got a quality of life that back in January would have been beyond my wildest dreams. I owe Phil an immense debt of gratitude."
Judith
May 2006