Again I decided that I needed to do more to try and help myself to solve this fatigue problem, so I did further research. As a result of this research I arranged via my doctor to go and see a Neurologist Consultant to see if they had any views on whether my CFS could have been caused by my earlier episode of Shingles as I had read that CFS is thought to be brought on by some viruses. In fact CFS can also be referred to as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS).
There was also another surprising thing I discovered that I felt needed investigation, which was something called Post Polio Syndrome, which can give fatigue symptoms. This was interesting and news to me (and to my doctor who had never heard of Post Polio Syndrome) as I had contracted Polio when I was a child at age seven. Fortunately, if you can say it like that, my Polio was restricted to one leg. At no time in the past had anyone said to me that in later life this weakening of my leg or some other effect of having had Polio might give me other problems.
So it was surprising to read that it was also possible that the Polio virus could have travelled up the spinal core and damaged the brain, which in a young person would not show itself, but in later life might start to become apparent.
This is one of the problems of doing your own research; you have to be careful not to think you have everything wrong with you. That is why I only go to my doctor when I think I need some advice and why my doctor then referred me to the Neurologist Consultant to explore this possibility.
Polio is a very uncommon thing these days and many doctors have no direct experience of it or its long term effects. The Neurologist gave me a thorough examination and made the comment that I might be suffering from a mild form of Post Hepatic Neuralgia as a result of my Shingles outbreak due to the ongoing problems I was having on the right side of my head, which included ongoing headaches on that side of my head.
Regarding the Post Polio Syndrome question the Neurologist thought it was unlikely as there was no sign of any neurological problem, but the Neurologist referred me to another Neurologist who might have more experience of Post Polio Syndrome.
A month or so later I saw the second Neurologist who also gave me a thorough examination and also concluded that there was nothing to suggest that I was suffering from Post Polio Syndrome. The Neurologist decided that some other tests would be useful so another month or two went by and I then had a Lumber puncher, which is where they take some fluid from your spine, and an EEG, which is when they put all those electrodes on you head and analyse your brain waves. The actual procedures were not a problem, the only thing you should expect after a Lumber puncher is very bad headaches for a few days until your body has replaced the small amount of fluid that they removed.
At the end of these tests the good news was they could find nothing wrong; all the tests had been okay.
The only thing suggested by the Neurologist, and this might have been also as a result of one of my questions, was the possibility of trying a drug called Modafinil which enhances wakefulness, but the Neurologist felt that I should see a Psychiatrist consultant that he thought would know more about this drug.
Go to Part10. See how time just slips by!
