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Medical 'Cures' and Treatments – You Name It, I've Tried It

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I know people mean well, which is why I am always polite when I respond, but years and years of people asking me if I have tried this or that cure for my illness, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), can be very wearing. I have been repeatedly told that “so and so’s friend” had ME but they went on a retreat and they’re now better (considering ME is an auto immune illness with no cure that’s good going). I’ve been told I should lose weight, despite the fact my weight gain occurred after I got ill. I’ve been offered every miracle and vitamin supplement under the sun and of course they’re not cheap. Believe me, I’ve been offered every scrap of advice you could imagine. When I don’t jump up and down with excitement, I can see the look that says, “They don’t want to be cured, they like being ill.”

The truth is, I have tried everything. I have tried complimentary therapy after complimentary therapy. The money I had after I left my job went on trying every supplement and therapy I could find. I became a Reiki Master in the process and got a certificate in crystal healing. You name it, I tried it. The only thing that disappeared was my money.

So I stopped spending money on complimentary therapy. It’s not that I wasn’t appreciative of the benefits, it wasn’t going to cure my ME, and I couldn’t afford it. I wasn’t working anymore.

I know people are trying to help, but do they think I haven’t already found that useful website after 15 years of being ill, or that I’ve never thought of trying various things to get better? Do they think I don’t know my own illness after 15 years? I am always polite and I always will be, but please don’t ask anyone who has ME if they have tried…

Yes I’ve tried acupuncture, reiki
Every kind of diet see
Aromatherapy, shiatsu
Positive thinking I can do
Hydrotherapy, Angel healing
Psychiatry, how am I feeling?
Reflexology, herbalist
Yes, I think you’re getting the gist
Flower remedies, meditation
How to deal with my frustration
Therapy with colour, CBT
Supplements, herbal tea
Hypnotherapy waste of time
All this taking money of mine
Crystal healing, spiritual too
Shamens and “healers” join the queue
So yes I have been helping myself
At great cost and no benefit to health
What I need is a medical cure
Not a closed doctors door.
Thank you all for the advice
But I’ve tried them all and at a price.

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Thinkstock Image By 1Viktoria

Originally published: May 25, 2017
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