It's that time of year again to fundraise for a good cause, which is to raise awareness and support biomedical research into the affects, diagnosis and potentially a cure for this chronic illness. I am committing within ME Awareness week to walk 5 miles and raise much needed funds for much needed further research.

I was diagnosed with acute CFS/ME back in 2009. I am lucky in the respect my condition is only minor in comparison to those who can be bed bound by the condition for years. This condition has no cure. Although there are several treatments which can alleviate some of the symptoms including GET, CBT and various injections and anti depressants.

A person with this condition will suffer with sleep, where they are constantly fatigued and have disrupted sleeping patterns for a period of 6 months or more, pain and discomfort in their legs, headaches, brain fog, weight loss/gain, concentration issues, temperature dysregulation and many other symptoms.

ME Research UK was founded in 2000, and its principal aim is to commission and fund scientific (biomedical) investigation into the causes, consequences and treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as ME/CFS). This is a debilitating illness which affects between 120,000 and 240,000 people in the UK, but is neither well understood nor, in many cases, properly recognised.

We also have a mission to Energise ME Research, which involves:

• raising awareness of the need for biomedical research into ME/CFS globally;
• providing high quality information on all aspects the of illness for a wide range of audiences — from summarising and appraising scientific literature on ME/CFS to informing the policy agenda;
• facilitating or hosting meetings on ME/CFS biomedical research — such as, in previous years, our “New Horizons” conferences in Edinburgh and Cambridge, and our Colloquia in Glasgow and Dundee.

Its time to raise more awareness of this condition and just how dehabilitating it can be, so please dig deep and help me raise money for a fantastic cause.

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