Sophie’s Post-Viral Fatigue Experience

It’s now been just over a year since I found the programme online, following my diagnosis of post-viral fatigue. This is my honest account of what happened and what I did about it.

I became ill in January 2018 with the flu, but I’d felt pretty unwell for 6 or more months prior to that with episodes of fainting and dizziness. I’d been to the GP several times and they couldn’t find anything abnormal.

I was severely ill with the flu, the fatigue was completely debilitating and I ended up in A&E with heart palpitations and difficulty breathing. I gradually got a bit better but the fatigue was still terrible. I was so weak and was struggling to get around the house let alone outside, and I wasn’t able to work. I also couldn’t sleep at all, I felt completely wired at night and was extremely stressed about taking so much time off work.

“I had sensitivity to light and sound, hypoglycaemia, brain fog and couldn’t hold long conversations. The fatigue seemed to come and go seemingly at random with terrible crashes a few hours after I’d eaten.”

I had sensitivity to light and sound, hypoglycaemia, brain fog and couldn’t hold long conversations. The fatigue seemed to come and go seemingly at random with terrible crashes a few hours after I’d eaten. I had no idea what was happening to me and was terrified of making it worse. My GP kept saying it was post-viral fatigue but I knew I hadn’t felt right for a long time prior to the flu, so I was convinced something else was going on.

I was very fortunate to be referred to a doctor of functional medicine, and while I waited for this referral, I found the Energy Excellence Course in March 2018 and decided to give it a go. I had had a strong feeling all along that my illness was linked to being completely burnt out with work (I’d held a high-stress job for 6 years), as I’d felt so detached and not right for a long time. Working through the course gave me a much clearer view of that part of my life, and the confidence to start changing it.

I had a bumpy road unfortunately. Alongside starting the course, my doctor had put me on a paleo diet and a series of supplements, and I reacted very badly to them, resulting in histamine toxicity, a rare reaction. This made me severely ill for 8 weeks in May–June 2018, and I lost a large percentage of my muscle mass and weight. I couldn’t take more than a few steps and could barely use my arms because my muscles had withered. That illness, and its treatment, was managed by my doctor throughout. Alongside that medical care, I kept using what I’d learned on the course to help manage my own stress and fear about my situation, and since last summer I’ve been gradually rebuilding my fitness, stamina and strength.

“It meant I was no longer living in fear of ‘crashing’ or overdoing it. Using the process gave me a way to work with that fear instead of being ruled by it.”

I’m now on a diet that suits me, more whole foods and no sugar or dairy, and a few supplements prescribed by my doctor to address deficiencies and support my gut health. Alongside that medical care, the course gave me tools that felt like a genuine turning point for how I related to my own fatigue day to day. It meant I was no longer living in fear of ‘crashing’ or overdoing it, so I used the Energy Excellence Process and the other tools to slowly get fitter without being afraid of appropriate exercise. I very occasionally still get that wired, adrenalised feeling if I’m triggered by a memory or situation from when I was ill, but I use the process and move on with my day.

Because I had become so poorly and weak in the summer of 2018, it took me much longer than 6 weeks using the tools to feel the benefit. It has been slow and steady progress the whole way, with real setbacks along it, and each small step forward has felt hard-won.

I’ve now quit my job and I’m retraining to be a nutrition and health coach, alongside personal training. It is a huge leap that I would not have had the confidence to make before my illness and before finding this course, but I’m excited to be heading in this new direction.

If anyone reading this is thinking about doing the online Energy Excellence Course, it’s not a magic bullet, and you really need to commit to using the process, which is hard work to begin with. What I can tell you honestly is that it gave me tools I still use, and that the road, even with a serious setback in the middle of it, was one I could keep walking.